Citizens have a right to vote.

[Daphne – That right is qualified. In Malta you must have a vested interest in the country, for instance, if you only live her sporadically, and in Britain, you lose the right to vote if you haven’t made your home there for some years. But then, in Britain the vote isn’t linked to citizenship but to living in Britain.]

It is also about artificially making other persons citizens of Malta and of the EU, in return for money. Selling our family name and our soul. And putting them both at risk. Exposing our reputation as a nation to unknown persons.

Besides, since Joseph Muscat is not only selling a Maltese citizenship, but an EU citizenship which permits establishment in 27 countries of the EU, he is selling this ‘multiple’ citizenship on the cheap.

Joseph Muscat and his party compelled us to a vote in a referendum, and then in an election, in order for us to acquire EU citizenship for us and for our children.
Now he cannot simply make others join by selling passports and using the money to pay for his government’s follies.

I do agree that he does not have a political mandate from the electorate to sell Maltese and EU citizenship, and this can be a matter for a referendum.

And by the way. It turns out that the ‘Partnership’ was not the best choice (remember Il-Partnerxipp – l-Ahjar Ghazla?). Full membership is the best choice. If we had a partnership agreement with the EU, Joseph Muscat would not be in a position to sell EU citizenship.

Nadia, I probably am not a globetrotter like I presume you are. I had this experience in Cairo (2 hrs wait),another time in Mexico(45 minutes) , another time in El Salvador (even though I was transferred in Orlando).

In the US with the biometric passport as soon as you put your finger on the reader and look at the camera your name pops up on the screen…but with the Saudi, Russian and Vietnam visas stamped on your passport you are still grilled at Frankfurt and at your arrival in the States.

The last thing you would need is someone suspecting that you BOUGHT that passport which has several country visas stamped on it.

On entering the US ,the question which normally pops up is whether our language is Arabic. I conveniently answer that it is Semitic peppered with Italian and English words. “What’s Semitic?” “It’s like Jewish” I reply.

Another question I am always asked is which Korea I visited, I once mistakenly answered “North”.

Try to enter Saudi Arabia or Kaliningrad with your biometric passport.

Story teller…maybe I’m getting old.

Exactly, how Labour manage to ignore what the rest of the planet’s been doing is beyond words.

But that’s what happens when policy is something you cobble together on the raba’ sular.

This little piggy wants to sell passports, this little piggy wants to pour concrete and this one, well, he’s in it for free.

What was it Muscat said he had, a degree in marketing research? I really don’t think so.

“Have you ever experienced a long wait in some passport control section of an airport around the world after a long-haul flight, where the passport control officer would not know where or what MALTA is?”

No to the first part and yes to the second. You obviously don’t travel much. Has a passport control officer not known where Malta is? Yes, happens entering the US all the time and many other countries (funnily enough the last one this week was a Caribbean island).

After a much repeated conversation about where Malta is (usually with great interest and amusement), and while the officer checks that Malta is in the EU, my biometric passport and me are allowed on our happy way. Your story….well, that’s it, it’s a nice story.

Gahan, you need to read the Times of Malta every day to hear what Joseph Muscat has said.

Then you need to read this website every day to hear what Joseph Muscat has not said.

What if the Nationalists declared right away that they will revoke all citizenships purchased under this scheme when in power?Would that be legal? It would put a nice dent in Joseph’s master plan, though there’s also a risk it might also earn him some extra funding for the next election.

I wish I could say that it’s unbelievable but this is Labour we’re talking about so nothing really is.