The part-time eternal flame – why are we surprised at Muscat’s decision?
Stopping the eternal flame to save money to pay William Mangion, seen here with the Muscat twins in a photograph he uploaded on Facebook with crawling praise.
Let’s put things into context, shall we. This was entirely foreseeable had we but read the signs (I read them, but was told I am “prejudiced” against poor little Joseph).
The 90th anniversary of Armistice Day, in November 2008, was marked the world over. Political leaders in every country in Europe, in the United States, and throughout the Commonwealth, attended dignified state ceremonies and were filmed doing so by the international news networks.
Labour leader Joseph Muscat didn’t bother turning up to the ceremony at our own cenotaph – the very one where he has put out the lights to save money to pay himself for leasing his own car, and to pay William Mangion to look for a warehouse – because it was his day off and he wanted to relax at home.
Instead, he sent Joe Debono Grech to deputise for him – not even the party deputy leader – on the basis that Debono Grech is a ‘veteran’ of the Labour Party and this was an event for ‘veterani’ (I am not joking; that actually was the reason given).
Then, fully rested, he turned up to march at the head of the Labour Party’s “Marc ta’ Kuragg”, wearing a poppy and with absolutely no sense of irony that he had just dissed the real and proper courage of those who fought in two world wars, while promoting the idea that courage was somehow required to live under a Nationalist government.
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Courage, in the Labour worldview, was required to face water and electricity bills – those pieces of paper that blast you out of the sky, turn you into a fireball, rip your limbs off, or send you to a watery death.
That’s what the Marc ta’ kurragg was about. They’d called themselves “warriors of courage”
http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2008/11/a-national-disgrace-on-remembrance-sunday-instead-of-commemorating-the-courage-of-those-who-died-in-battle-labour-demonstrates-for-courage-in-paying-electricity-bills/
http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2008/11/courageous-warriors-on-rembrance-sunday/
http://toniomallia.com/gallery/gallery_1/99
He was on last month at St.James.
Tiger sobered up. Horrifying.
Under Joseph Muscat we need more than courage to survive.
Infinite patience, a deep sense of the ridiculous, extensive tolerance of the absurd, and the hope that defies experience.
I would say we need an outright miracle – like the one that helped Malta sort of survive between June 1971 and May 1987.
True, you need an empty brain and then repeat the mantra: Naghtu cans lil Joseph.
Driving towards Valletta today – all the street lights in St Anne’s Street, Floriana were still on blazing away and trying to fight the bright 11am sunlight. In the meantime, an eternal flame is out.
How’s that for cutting expenses?
Glad you mentioned the poppy, because they made a hash out of that as well. People were on Facebook grumbling about the ‘price’ and why not wear a real one, plentiful in Malta.
Not kidding.
I was in London that week, the grounds of Westminster Abbey were deafening.
How about raising the money ourselves?
No surprise at all. It’s the eternal Labour obsession with the ‘barrani’.
The first thing Joseph’s hero, Mintoff, did, immediately after being sworn into office in 1971, was to kick the two barrani, Sir Maurice Dorman and Admiral Birindelli, off the Island.
The first thing Joseph does is to quench the eternal flame lit in memory of the valiant who fell, not in defence of liberty, note, but in defence of the barrani.
Perhaps I should clarify the term ‘barrani’, as I understand there are some readers who are relatively new to the Maltese scene.
‘Barrani’ refers to the decent European or NATO type of individual or organisation, such as the EU. Think Mintoff, KMB, Alfred Sant and Joseph. I don’t remember if it was actually the first thing Sant did, but he certainly knobbled our application to join the EU.
‘Barrani’ does not refer to types like Gadaafi and the North Korean leadership. No sir, these are not ‘barranin’. These are our blood brothers and cherished allies.
Eternal flame. A sign of respect to our war dead. Shame on who ever took this decision.
There is something very creepy about this guy. Why post a photo with someone else’s children? Maybe they do not want to be associated with him publicly. On his Facebook he has a photo of himself aiming a revolver.
I hope he sought the consent of the parents before splashing this photo on the internet.
So what are we expected to call it or refer to it now ?
You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
We should not be surprised at Muscat’s action – he is doing it out of spite and nothing else. The cost cutting could have been done by not inflating the public service with so many of his supporters as thanks for their vote.
The Labour dictionary:
meritocracy: rewarding people who featured onPL billboard or under Labour tent, praising Joseph
veteran: an elderly person like Joe Debono Grech
lapel poppy: just another corsage
aesthetically pleasing: a market beneath a Piano masterpiece
The little money saved by turning the flame off during the day, will probably costs us much much more due to the engagement of a man to go twice daily on the spot to turn off and then turn on again the flame – Mintoffianomics at its best.
Part-time or eternal?
Eternal flame: An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns continuously for an indefinite period.
Labour’s interpretation includes an ON-OFF switch activated every 12 hours! It matches perfectly with their policies which seem to be on one day and reversed the next.
I suspect that Joseph Muscat has an axe to grind with this part-time eternal flame shame.
Some sort of physiological angst that has not been fulfilled and is taken out on this sacrificial and manly symbology (to be politically incorrect) of serving, honour, sacrifice, pain and death.
Plus I suspiciously suspect that Joseph Muscat’s idea of nationhood is of the new world order variety, where it does not exist anymore and is down played and degraded at all opportunities.
I doubt that even in Dom Mintoff’s heyday that this ridiculous and shameful stunt would be attempted as back in the 1950s 60s and 70s, as people were not one generation removed from the experience of the horrors of war regardless of political stripe.
There are some things in life that have to be done regardless of expense and trouble, and we have all been through that in our lives, especially if you have married and raised a family.
And honouring our war dead is definitely one of those things.
No price too high for that, because it’s the least we can do.
Malta is facing an Excessive Deficit Procedure from Brussels.
Can’t you see the logic behind snuffing out the eternal flame during daytime? It is the only way for Malta to cope with the EDP and the boost to the economy!
In any case we will soon be lighting candles at home to save on the even cheaper electricity bills….so get used to lighting fires at night, watch the flame and meditate on EDP.
From failure to brown noser.