Comments on: On Bloomberg today: ‘Malta has entered a race to sell the right to reside in Europe, offering the cheapest path, because it is damaged by the euro crisis’ https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/10/bloomberg-malta-has-entered-a-race-to-sell-the-right-to-reside-in-europe-offering-the-cheapest-path-because-it-is-damaged-by-the-euro-crisis/ Daphne Caruana Galizia is a journalist working in Malta. Tue, 22 Oct 2013 22:58:52 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: ciccio https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/10/bloomberg-malta-has-entered-a-race-to-sell-the-right-to-reside-in-europe-offering-the-cheapest-path-because-it-is-damaged-by-the-euro-crisis/#comment-1326621 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 22:58:52 +0000 http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=39154#comment-1326621 “Yes, the figure of 260,000 euros seems to have come out of nowhere…”

I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Maybe Bloomberg knows something more than we do about this “exciting” citizenship scheme.

]]> By: kjd https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/10/bloomberg-malta-has-entered-a-race-to-sell-the-right-to-reside-in-europe-offering-the-cheapest-path-because-it-is-damaged-by-the-euro-crisis/#comment-1326496 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 21:08:06 +0000 http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=39154#comment-1326496 If you act like a prostitute selling your wares do not be offended if you are called a whore- and a cheap one at that. Dr Muscat, can you smell the coffee!

]]> By: Josette https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/10/bloomberg-malta-has-entered-a-race-to-sell-the-right-to-reside-in-europe-offering-the-cheapest-path-because-it-is-damaged-by-the-euro-crisis/#comment-1326452 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 20:31:33 +0000 http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=39154#comment-1326452 Dalle stelle alle stalle. Thank you, Joseph Muscat and those who decided to give you a chance.

Any bets that we’ll soon be treated to a repeat of Alfred Sant’s ħofra myth? And the problem is that, given the importance of perception to the performance of an economy, these negative perceptions will soon become reality.

]]> By: Evarist Saliba https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/10/bloomberg-malta-has-entered-a-race-to-sell-the-right-to-reside-in-europe-offering-the-cheapest-path-because-it-is-damaged-by-the-euro-crisis/#comment-1326219 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 15:43:00 +0000 http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=39154#comment-1326219 Journalists must not be taken as infallible reporters, and the reference to Malta being hit by the €uro crisis is obviously false. This is not the first time that Malta has been grouped with other southern European Mediterranean countries in a negative way.

However, such reactions do not just happen. A hidden negative bias may lie dormant, waiting for a news item to re-ignite this bias. Malta, a small former colony, has contributed to such a bias. One advice that I gave to the ambassadors and diplomats when I was Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (after 1987) was to tread carefully in dealing with foreign ministries, the same as if they were walking through a minefield. At any moment they could step on foreign diplomats who had formed a very negative opinion about Malta during Mintoff’s and KMB’s regimes. The same applies to journalists.

The selling of Maltese passports, especially under the established procedures , has been one such “landmine”. The engagement of consultants blacklisted by the World Bank is another. So are the blatant political appointments in the armed forces and the police. I would not be surprised if more are to come.

]]> By: Gordon https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/10/bloomberg-malta-has-entered-a-race-to-sell-the-right-to-reside-in-europe-offering-the-cheapest-path-because-it-is-damaged-by-the-euro-crisis/#comment-1326200 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 15:23:06 +0000 http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=39154#comment-1326200 Even cheaper than the price of a two-bedroom flat. This is the level of people we are attracting.

]]> By: Haw' tal-Passaporti! Shan u Tajbin! https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/10/bloomberg-malta-has-entered-a-race-to-sell-the-right-to-reside-in-europe-offering-the-cheapest-path-because-it-is-damaged-by-the-euro-crisis/#comment-1326123 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 14:08:47 +0000 http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=39154#comment-1326123 Speaking of the sale of passports, I called last week the Ministry for Home Affairs (and whatever else it stands for) to book a place for the Sale of Passports seminar which was to be addressed by Henley & Partners.

The person at the other end of the line replied “Just turn up early at the hotel where the seminar will take place so that you can get in”.

I asked “But can’t I book to reserve a place?” (as happens in all other seminars that target professionals).

The next answer was “The information that we have is that you go early to be able to get in”.

I asked again and the answer I got was the same robotic one. Of course I did not bother to go to the seminar. It seems that other people were put off by this attitude towards professionals.

If professionals are going to be treated as if we are queuing for tad-Dejma jobs, then this country can forget about the continuing development of real and proper financial services.

]]> By: Emmett Brown https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/10/bloomberg-malta-has-entered-a-race-to-sell-the-right-to-reside-in-europe-offering-the-cheapest-path-because-it-is-damaged-by-the-euro-crisis/#comment-1326117 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 14:06:18 +0000 http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=39154#comment-1326117 And this is the result:

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-10-22/news/100-st-workers-on-forced-leave-2957967362/

Let us see Hamburger Joe and Chris Shultz Cardona, beat Gonzi and Fenech in keeping this important manufacturing plant in Malta.

]]> By: Lomax https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/10/bloomberg-malta-has-entered-a-race-to-sell-the-right-to-reside-in-europe-offering-the-cheapest-path-because-it-is-damaged-by-the-euro-crisis/#comment-1326018 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 12:52:30 +0000 http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=39154#comment-1326018 I knew this would happen when I heard about the scheme. I knew it would be interpreted as though we were damaged by the crisis. However, seeing it printed in black on white causes untold sadness, at least to me.

As anthony said above, it took 25 years to pull Malta out of the mucky reputation it had acquired over the years. Just 12 hours on a random Saturday ruined everything.

]]> By: Calculator https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/10/bloomberg-malta-has-entered-a-race-to-sell-the-right-to-reside-in-europe-offering-the-cheapest-path-because-it-is-damaged-by-the-euro-crisis/#comment-1326004 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 12:44:33 +0000 http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=39154#comment-1326004 Just as predicted. The move has made us seem desperate. Now as our reputation in international finance continues to sink lower, it’s only a matter of time before proper investors will start getting away from Malta as soon as possible.

]]> By: john https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/10/bloomberg-malta-has-entered-a-race-to-sell-the-right-to-reside-in-europe-offering-the-cheapest-path-because-it-is-damaged-by-the-euro-crisis/#comment-1325960 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 11:59:41 +0000 http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=39154#comment-1325960 In reply to anthony.

My failing eyesight first read it as ” . . the sodomisation of a huge majority of its citizens . . .”

I suppose one could call it that, as well.

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