UPDATED WITH VIDEO: Muscat inaugurates office building of company made successful because people didn’t vote for his party in 1998, 2003 and 2008
The prime minister took time out to inaugurate the new offices of the software company 6pm. Times of Malta reports:
Dr Muscat said that this company personified the raison d’être of Maltese entrepreneurship and it had evolved in such a way as not only to penetrate the local and European market but also the global market. This was totally in line with the philosophy of the current government of looking to Europe and beyond.
I think it pertinent to point out that 6pm’s founder and owner, Ivan Bartolo, was a keynote speaker along with Joseph F X Zahra (former Bank of Valletta chairman) at a Nationalist Party campaign meeting on 8 January this year. The gist of his message is that Malta was doing really well despite of and in the fact of world recession, and this was not by chance but specifically because of Nationalist government policies, strategy and efforts. Don’t take all this for granted, he said, because it is not chance or luck which makes the economy strong or successful.
Watch from 1.58:
16 Comments Comment
Daphne,
You are correct, owner of this company was very involved during Nationalist political activities, do you agree that such companies later invite leaders from another political party to such events?
[Daphne – It’s a free country, but I wouldn’t have done it.]
I think it’s particularly stupid, and betrays the Maltese mendicant mentality, which makes it all the more ridiculous when it’s super-duper successful entrepreneurs who are doing it.
I tend to agree
Taking credit for someone else’s work to attract investment. Will he be able to attract investment – that is the question.
He can only attract flies and others of his own ilk.
Someone please find a youtube recording of Ivan Bartolo taht it-tinda, going on about how disastrous Labour would be for Malta.
Sufa, I suggest you look for it yourself and publish the link… in a hundred years you will not find it.
Interested Reader and Sufa, this is the link:
http://youtu.be/uamKR31TDyw
The Independent in their article about this mentioned at the end which would explain why the PM was asked to open the building:
One of the directors of 6pm is construction magnate and former Nationalist Party mayor Zaren Vassallo.
Questioned why the government had given a direct order to another company to provide it with a software for Mater Dei Hospital, when 6pm was providing services of this sort to the UK, and whether it is due to the fact that Mr Vassallo is one of the company’s directors, Dr Muscat said: “This is why we are here today, to discuss.”
Dr Muscat did not confirm whether the government had issued a direct order to another company.
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-10-28/news/pm-visits-6pm-offices-3018850304/
This PM went to discuss what exactly? How to hit below the belt? Are journalists so stupid as to refrain from asking the second question to the PM?
The directors of 6pm made Muscat eat humble pie, praising the company for the success achieved. Besides the management’s business expertise, being an EU member must have given this firm good push. Had it been for Joe Muscat, this firm would have to work its way from a Svizzera fil-Mediterranan.
Had it been for Joseph Muscat, the firm would not have been there at all.
Helen, the link you gave is not the “taht it -Tinda” one. I remember that very well and Ivan Bartolo had said precisely what Sufa said amongst other things such as the high level of IT education in Malta. This event took place ages ago, before the previous election
Amg, yes sorry you are right. However this was a business breakfast, held just 3 months before the election, during which the opening speech was given by Mr. Bartolo.
During yesterday’s inauguration, many missed the shocking admission by the Prime Minister that he intended to discuss direct orders directly with companies, rather than issuing a public tender
http://markanthonysammut.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-prime-minister-who-discusses-direct.html
6pm group CEO was the person who kept talking about Doomsday if Labour were elected…he’s partly right. But eight months later we’re all smiles with a full Labour delegation hoping for some new business deal with the government. Where are his business values?