Talking positive? Working together? Malta taghna lkoll? They’ve had a siege mentality from day one.
Malta’s prime minister. Believe it. True, we haven’t seen him for some time, but maybe he’s busy lining up the Thermos flasks.
When people feel they are under siege, they begin to concentrate on their paranoia and can’t operate normally. This government has behaved with paranoia from day one, when it executed all the permanent secretaries and put the head of the civil service to the firing squad, then demanded the resignations of all chairmen, CEOs and directors of state corporations and even public authorities.
Since then it has adopted one of two approaches to those it considers its enemies.
1. The neutering approach, which is to appear to be offering the hand of friendship to those it considers most vulnerable to such approaches, as a prelude to wiping them out. This is the equivalent of inviting your enemy to dinner and then poisoning him once he is seated at your table thinking ‘Wow, this is great.’ It is a tactic as old as history, with different methods of elimination used as appropriate.
2. The menacing approach, coupled with harassment – this is the method which will be used with those real and perceived enemies of the Labour Party who refuse to accept invitations to the table (ma jridux jahdmu maghna) because they know that supping with the devil requires a long spoon or, at the very least, a personal food-taster. Ostensibly legal means will be used to harass and menace individuals, who are left with no means to defend them and powerless to seek redress. It was a system Labour of the 1970s and 1980s used to greatly deleterious effect, even creating laws, systems and regulations that allowed them to harass and target individuals with the law on their side, even though the spirit of those laws breached every democratic value and in many instances, also human rights.
These lines from L-Orizzont’s (the newspaper that claims Ronnie Pellegrini is one of its reporters) leading article today sum up the paranoia and siege mentality, when Labour has been in government for a mere, piddling two months. They speak about the dangers of leaving ‘enemies of the state’ – I use that term with all its Soviet implications – in positions of trust.
wisq probabbli qed juzaw il-karigi li thallew f’idejhom u l-poteri li ghandhom biex jissoktaw bil-komplotti, il-pjani fini u l-istrategiji fis-satra halli hekk kif tfegg xi opportunita favorevoli ghalihom u/jew ghall-PN, jergghu johorgu fil-berah l-armi l-kbar
With this level of suspicion and paranoia expressed openly by the Labour media, no wonder the Cabinet is removing everyone across the board, forbidding mobile phones at meetings, and so on.
And no wonder, too, that Joseph Muscat has holed himself up in his ivory tower and is rarely seen in public. Any moment now and he will start doing what his hero Dom Mintoff used to do, and cooking his own food in hotel rooms, only accepting invitations to official functions (or other public dining) if the food is shared by all at a buffet, and carrying a Thermos flask around with him with his own hot drinks, made by himself, even at the Auberge de Castille.
Oh, didn’t you know that this is what Mintoff did, because he was so scared of being poisoned? Well, now you do.
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I open the newspaper this morning, and what do I see? A beaming Simon Busuttil greeting a smirking Joseph Muscat at PN headquarters.
I think an open letter to Simon Busuttil is in order. He’s off to a very bad start.
Hold your friends close, but your enemies even closer.
Your neat cliché would make sense if Simon Busuttil could get his head round the notion of enemies.
If you don’t believe – if you don’t KNOW – to within the very depths of your viscera, that you can do the job better than the other man, then you’ve no business doing politics.
This isn’t happy Sweden, where you know that things will turn out right whoever’s in government, where all parties are fundamentally good at heart. This is Malta, with all the ideological split of Continental Europe, plus the savagery and immorality of North Africa. Ideology is dead? Like hell it is.
Simon Busuttil is a fool to think that Joseph Muscat is his colleague. To Labour, he isn’t Doctor Busuttil, l-ex MEP. He is Dak il-Pufta tal-Burden Sharing, dak il-Laghqi ta’ Gonzi.
Labour have been on a war footing since 1987. They are perfectly convinced that History is on their side, and now they feel vindicated, and the war footing has changed into a full frontal assault. Like the barbarian hordes, they are sweeping everything before them. Simon Busuttil’s reply? A meek call for cooperation and togetherness.
You know, in the end it is so cathartic to have Labour in power. Let them do their worst. If platitudes is all that the PN can come up with, then they deserve another hammering at the polls.
You’re so right H.P. Baxter.
I sincerely trust that Simon Busuttil has learnt that what Joseph says and what he does are two different things altogether.
Our only hope is that Simon is playing Joseph’s game. If not, Malta does not stand a chance.
‘do their worst’, Baxxter? After 60 months, this place will make Cyprus look like Utopia.
Agree 100%
Unfortunately, that picture reinforces a perception of weakness.
I hope he is stronger and is aware that his opponent is vicious, shallow and completely unethical. Normal decency and diplomatic rules of the game do not apply when your opponent has the characteristics of Muscat.
Totally agree.
” A beaming Simon Busuttil greeting a smirking Joseph Muscat at PN headquarters.”.And this while vindictive political transfers against Nationalist sympathisers is the order of the day. Mhux ta min jafdah lil Muscat
Here too, Malta Taghna will be first in line.
Perhaps Malta Taghna kollha is better.
Malta taghna lkoll? Malta taghna biss.
Tghidli qalbi gej zmien il-Gestapo.
So that is why he employed Michelle at Castille: She can prepare his tea and cook him some minestra in between attending a fashion shows.
No…Michelle can bring the tupperware bit-tumpana tal-mummy from home. I’m pretty sure he must still eat his mummy’s food. I know this is irrelevant, but this brings to mind the “day in the life of joseph muscat” piece that was aired a while ago. He was shown eating two oranges for lunch and “naqra soup u salad” that Michelle made for supper, plus putting in an hour or so at the gym. The man is so obviously a liar. Who does fat boy, thighs-rubbing-together, waddle, waddle think he’s making a fool of? I can’t believe so many people fell for it.
U ftit “selit” u anke kosksu – issa nahseb il-kabocci rohsu.
knives between the teeth…pretend smiles..
“Heqq, il-qahba milli jkollha ttik, jhid il-Malti.”
Probably, its because they were expert at these things – having elves throwing spanners in the government’s wheels.
I remember being astonished after the 1987 election, when Labour supporters walked back home, cowering behind parked cars because they were afraid of meeting Nationalist supporters. When I mentioned this to a Nationalist MP – the answer was ” qed ikejlu b’xibirhom!” Q.E.D.
“I trust everyone and no one”.
These were the words of Minister Joe Mizzi in an interview on the Times last Sunday (how could you have missed this, Daphne?):
[Daphne – I didn’t.]
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130519/local/-I-trust-everyone-and-no-one-.470241
This phrase is the harbinger of extreme paranoia that has beset some members of goverment.
What kind of democratic government minister openly claims that he does not trust anyone? Does this mean Joe Mizzi’s decisions are formulated by only himself without any consultation (with experts/civil servants…anyone)?
By the way, not a word on oil exploration from Malta’s oil king.
And these are only the early days.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130520/local/joseph-muscat-calls-on-busuttil-at-pn-headquarters.470520
Why only now? Is it because they’re in government and subject to criticism? Are they wilting under pressure?
It’s clear that any leader apart from Sant would have won for PL after ’25 years’ of PN.
Isn’t it also clear that Simon is going to wipe the floor with Joey in 5 years time?
Maybe I am just a naive outsider.
You’ve been in Malta for three years, right? Not quite an outsider then.
I just read this.
http://www.maltarightnow.com/Default.asp?module=news&at=Approvat+numru+kbir+ta%27+transfers+politi%26%23267%3Bi&t=a&aid=99847312&cid=19
Is this true? I haven’t yet seen it reported on any other newspaper.
They say that Joseph Muscat is doppia faccia; says one thing but does the opposite.
They say that Busuttil is copying Muscat.
True? Tghid jaqliegh f’zejtu? I think the wittier wins. Who is he?
[Daphne – Wittier doesn’t mean smarter or sharper. Neither man is witty, though both are sharp.]
Know your enemy.
Muscat outsmarted Simon on the electoral manifesto which the former just copied from Simon’s hard work.
Now the hot potato is in Joseph’s hand, he has to make it happen without the people Simon was surrounded with and whom Joseph kicked out of office.