European Voice: “Maltese politician charged with fraud elected to European Parliament”
Published:
April 29, 2013 at 11:42am
Maltese politician charged with fraud elected to European Parliament
By Toby Vogel – 26.04.2013 / 17:05 CET
Claudette Abela Baldacchino of Malta, who was elected to the European Parliament this week, faces criminal charges for alleged fraud involving European Union funding.
Abela Baldacchino was charged last year together with five others for allegedly over-claiming some €96,000 in travel expenses from the European Commission in 2004-07, when they served as local councillors. All six say that they are innocent.
The alleged fraud was uncovered by the EU’s anti-fraud office, OLAF.
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http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2013/april/maltese-politician-charged-with-fraud-elected-to-european-parliament/77103.aspx
Why is it that the Malta Labour Party has always relished in embarrassing Malta overseas?
It’s not just the Labour Party unfortunately (though they’re of course to blame by allowing her to contest), but it’s also the fault of the people who elected her.
The people voted for her way before she was accused?
[Daphne – Yes, but she should stand down or be asked to do so by her party, precisely because the electorate voted for her before they knew she faced those accusations.]
How embarrassing. I hate that my country’s reputation is going down the drain.
Utterly shameless.
Not exactly so… It’s perfectly normal for a ‘modern’ Labour supporter to believe and behave as if innocent of such an accusation. You’ll soon see why.
Remember Mintoff addressing the Drydock workers soon after being elected to power in 1971? The GWU had just stopped a 10-month strike that paralysed the enterprise during the last days of Borg Olivier’s administration.
In his speech he told the workers how they used to ‘abuse’ the company while it was under the ‘Crown’s’ responsibility. He not only implied that such behaviour was understandable but also justifiable as a form of social justice, Malta being a colony or a neo-colony of Britain!
Of course, in a similar “Issa Malta Taghna (Lkoll)” (fraudulent) slogan, Mintoff told the workers such abusive behaviour had to stop. Not only that but they had to emulate workers in other countries in being more productive and challenged them to show the world that they too had their ‘pair of balls’.
Later on during his government this idea – that the foreigner (particularly if s/he’s from “Cain’s” side, i.e. western) owed Malta and its people their living – continued to gain popular ground especially among Labour supporters. Morality and the natural sense of fairness gave way to egotistic and political convenience – supported by twisted ‘socialist’ arguments.
Lest someone (Privitera and co.?) accuses me of ‘political racism’, I’m not saying fraud is peculiar only to Labour, but that Labour’s father figure has publicly condoned it (at least theoretically) and justified it. This attitude was then (consciously or not) filtered down to the party structure and base.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130428/local/MEP-vows-not-to-invoke-immunity.467472
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130425/local/abela-baldacchino-s-election-making-a-mockery-of-european-democracy-epp-vice-president.467099
It had to be Johnny foreigner to speak out.
Nation of thieving scoundrels at work again…
Claudette Abela Baldacchino said that she will not seek immunity from prosecution. Apparently this is not a noble voluntary act but a condition imposed by the European Socialists.
Hannes Swoboda, the leader of the Socialist group in the European Parliament, said that:
“We look forward to Claudette Abela Baldacchino becoming a member of the S&D Group PROVIDED THAT HER PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITY IS LIFTED so that the ongoing OLAF investigation can continue without disruption.” (my block letters)
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/S-D-president-comes-out-in-defence-of-Abela-Baldacchino-20130427
Meritocracy