Ramblings of an unclear mind: Watch Finance Minister Edward Scicluna make a fool of himself trying to defend the sale of Maltese citizenship in Brussels
Published:
December 5, 2013 at 5:52pm
Post by Roberta Metsola.
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“short of people of calibre”. Does this sound like the “Malti cuc”, which had been so much quoted by everyone on the Labour side. Does Eddy Privitera understand this and what is his reaction?
Good point. The Minister must apologise for that.
“short of people of calibre”
Indeed.
Should have added “in government”.
He probably meant there was a lack of people of calibre in the cabinet. With the IIP we could soon see high calibre individuals such as Silvio Berlusconi in the PL and eventually the cabinet.
It’s actually much worse than that. The “Malti cuc” remark (bad as it was), only referred to a particular sector. The “short of people of calibre” refers to the whole of Malta.
Well, given that his circle of associates is the LP and Tony Zahra, no wonder he finds people of calibre thin on the ground.
How embarrassing. A ship of incompetent fools.
And yet no resignations……..what a bunch of losers.
Interesting feats these last few hours by members of the Labour cabinet:-
Godfrey Farrugia battling with the ‘out of stock medicines’ windmills – pretty much like that famous you know who on his Rosinante and to the amazement of his assistant.
Chris Cardona playing ‘hide and seek’ in Bali – nowhere to be seen in the official photograph of the international meeting. Vying for pole-position, perhaps?
Manwel Mallia’s sophisms about his ‘not being informed that it is not so’ and, ergo, that ‘it is definitely so’.
Edward Scicluna mumbling about the IIP scheme with hardly knowing who is doing what.
A veritable tub of fools – led by a creature boasting about his non-success in the illegal migration issue.
My first comment was sent before hearing the minister: What he is saying is totally different from what was said in Malta. Is Labour told the truth in Malta the Minister is lying to the European Parliament. If the Minister told the truth to the EP, he lied or twisted facts in Malta. Somewhere truth is being witheld.
The PL is again in government. So what’s new.
Scicluna’s speech is reminiscent of that delivered by the late Spiru Sant when interviewed on Xandir Malta TV, by the same Edward Scicluna, in a BA electoral programme in the early 1980s – only Spiru Sant had done a better job when addressing Malta’s economic affairs.
He only got one message across – the Finance Minister has no clue on what is happening in his country.
Well Edward Scicluna was very clear at 4’25”:
“If I was an MEP here, and I hear that Malta was selling passports for two er thousand, I would say for goodness sake I wouldn’t expect that from Malta, and you would have been right.”
This is exactly what struck me; can you imagine Joseph Muscat’s reaction when he heard this?
We have not yet heard Muscat’s reaction to the learned professor Scicluna’s mumblings.
If I WERE an MP…
Agreed completely.
Is Scicluna implying that he as an MEP and he as a Minister are, by some stretch of the imagination, two separate persons that have conflicting opinions?
So why did he vote for the bill in parliament?
Truly the worst possible signal to every investor out there; this is a government which tends to decisions and their opposite.
It’s also a subtle criticism of Muscat’s tendency to spite at the expense of good judgement. Scicluna obviously felt safe pronouncing his dissent in that chamber. He doesn’t just criticise detail, but the whole concept with his words.
I think it was Lawrence Gonzi who pointed out that hindsight has nothing to do with government.
“Finance Minister Edward Scicluna this afternoon admitted in front of the European Parliament that the sale of Maltese citizenship was a mistake, particularly in the way it was marketed and said the government was working to rectify the situation.”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131205/local/finance-minister-admits-citizenship-programme-was-a-marketing-mistake.497733
Now who is going to shoulder the political responsibility?
This was painful. I couldn’t go beyond 5:42 as I felt my stomach heave.
A visitor from North America listening to it with me said that it was a lie to say that the US does the same.
A serious ‘investor’ in the US may get a ‘green card’ or a residence visa. Then after living in the country for the requisite number of years he/she would have the ‘right to apply’ for citizenship in the same way that others can, who may have obtained their resident visa through other means.
No country, except maybe some Caribbean islands sell citizenship for cash in a straight transaction. Prof. Scicluna would do well to stop embarrassing himself and Malta with such pathetic performances.
They are out of their league.
Actually I found it fun in a perverse sort of way. I just wish it could have been Mallia there eating humble-pie though.
Please, hawwadni iktar biex forsi nifmhek, Profs.
Is he on drugs?
Ever noticed his mouth movement? He’s permanently munching snus.
Miskin, qisu tifel jipprova jbellaha lit-teacher li l-kelb kielu l-homework
I have not heard this statement since I last read the Beano – good description.
Scicluna reminds me of a food processor, daqs kemm ihawwad. Maybe we should start referring to him as Edward Kenwood.
I thought I had heard the worst when he delivered the budget speech in Maltese. Then again, I was mistaken. Not one full sentence and lots of emms and ahhs.
For thirty years, I’ve been saying he’s not the genius he’s made out to be. But they said I was “jealous”.
You are so damn right, Baxxter.I had to stop half way, listening to him, because I was embarrassed.
The man is a fucken idiot.
Apart from the shameful passport subject, which Roberta Metsola has covered very well, our finance misnister mentions the report on the health system and the ‘horror stories’ that it uncovered but conveniently doesn’t mention who drew up that report, or that the author of that report was himself in charge of the health system before his adventure in Brussels. I’m sure they would have found it very amusing if he had.
X’misthija.
He insults us Maltese when he says that we lack people of calibre. I demand an apology.
I think what he meant was that his government and political party lack people of caliber. He’s the living proof of that.
He’s living proof of our lack of calibre.
Brings back bad memories for those of us who were unfortunate enough to be taught by Edward Scicluna at the University of Malta (he was totally outclassed by Josef Bonnici when the latter bothered to turn up).
Scicluna simply went on and on in circles for hours on end, without saying much. Which was fine for students who had a good background in economics, but for those who encountered the lovely and otherwise interesting subject for the first time, it was most unfortunate to see him skilfully kill the joy of learning by making so much ado about nothing and without imparting any of his precious knowledge.
Notwithstanding the passage of time, it seems like he has not changed one bit.
Dunno what lesson you attended, but the only thing I can remember from Bonnici’s lessons is that the Mintoffian policies of import substitution were good for Malta.
On the other hand, The only thing I can remember from Scicluna’s lessons is how boring they were, and what a great pair of legs one Claudine had. I had asked her out, but unfortunately she rejected me.
Oh, but he has changed – for the worse.
I used to refer to Edward Scicluna’s lectures as “The Cure for Insomnia”
Then he goes on a series of lies saying that this and that has already been removed. Nothing has been removed. The law is active signed by the president and the government can actually accept new citizens nameless and faceless as the law says.
Perhaps what he meant was he’d like to see this and that removed and given his views, consider it done.
Where’s Muscat?
When is the interpreter going to start ?
4.25 to 4.35 in the video clip is priceless.
Professor Edward Scicluna must have felt the same humiliation that he observed about Cyprus earlier this year.
He must have experienced first hand exactly what Joseph Muscat meant when Muscat told Lawrence Gonzi that Dr. Gonzi was not good because we were not like Cyprus.
Now Professor Edward Scicluna now knows exactly what it feels to be like Cyprus. I mean humiliated like Cyprus.
And so, according to Professor Scicluna we wanted “a development bank in Malta” (2.48 in the video) to invest in social housing for bums.
No wonder his credibility with the EU Commission is going South.
Just look at the facial contortions of the lady next to Scicluna.
She seems to be saying, What the hell is he saying? She looks at her watch and asks herself what am I doing here? She looks around to see if the others have the same feeling.
This is really a cuc Malti at his worst, trying to fool his listeners by doing what he does in Malta. Except that the audience is very different.
I believe Malta sits near the UK at the moment. Really, how embarrassing. Her awkward smiles say it all.
She’s Sharon Bowles, Chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/33570/SHARON_BOWLES_home.html;jsessionid=8A9978761C5C7D79CDF0F3B0D712EB5B.node2
What is he blabbering on about?
Imma ma tarawx kif qed taqghu ghac-cajt?
X’misthija.
Jesus tapdancing Christ. I’ve never seen so many Freudian slips crammed into just eight minutes.
He let the cat out of the bag big time with his “all the Chinese coming to Malta, just like that hum ah, ehe and going, you know, anywhere just like that hum ha”.
Veru tal-biki, man.
Dan irid ibellagħhielna li m’anticipawx din ir-rejazzjoni semplicement għax għamlu l-affarijiet bl-għaġġla? Jiġifieri dal-pajjiż immexxi minn nies daqshekk ċwieċ?!
Mela veru li jaħsbu li Malta hija l-Ewropa (jekk mhux id-dinja, ħa!) u l-Ewropa hija Malta.
Minn din ir-risposta jidher ċar kemm mhumiex “fit for purpose”.
Did I hear that well…in Malta we have no people of calibre? Shame on Scicluna.
A perfect case study for medical students. Something has gone really wrong with this guy. Dementia has really and truly got to him and I think he should have been appointed governor of Zammit Clapp Hospital for the Aged, along with Ritchie Matrenza, Edwin Grech and Chris Fearne’s mummy.
Tal-misthija. Will we hear this on PBS, the Times or MaltaToday, I very much doubt it.
Instead we get the Muscat & Cardona version, gvern li jisma u oppozizzjoni li qed tghejr ghall-idea brillanti ta dan il-gvern.
So now the Malta Football Association can easily solve the problem and we will be a world power in a few years’ time. Malta will be ready for the Qatar world cup finals. Rest of the world beware. And the team manager will be Edward Scicluna assisted by Manwel Mallia.
Tal-misthija. Will we hear this on PBS or MaltaToday, I very much doubt it.
Instead we get the Muscat & Cardona version, gvern li jisma u oppozizzjoni li qed tghejr ghall-idea brillanti ta dan il-gvern.
His inability to explain is so telling.
Joseph Muscat said that he plans to make Malta “The best in Europe”. A prime example – the best finance minister in Europe.
And he is acknowledged as one of the best ministers in Muscat’s cabinet. Pathetic.
Am I surprised? No way. Keep watching, the farce is far from over.
Observe also the body language and the nervous smiles/laughter.
I do not consider myself stupid but I must admit I did not understand any of that rambling at all. Forgive me Minister for I have sinned, as have the 27 poor souls + interpreters who had to endure that gruelling drivel.
You can fool the average Maltese Mintuffjan but it will take some show to fool those particular people around that table. You really looked like the token uneducated — bar the accent of course — islander sent to the slaughter unprepared.
And for the love of God, please stop playing the ‘we little Maltese are so cute’ card. It does not work; it just provokes embarrassed smirks. Luxembourg, Estonia and Cyprus do not do it, so why should Malta.
I am referring to the part where he says 3.2 billion is a lot for such a small, cute, furry, quaint little island. Give me strength. Do these people think they are at the Boy Scout’s jamboree where they share cute stories about their home towns with each other?
Dismally unconvincing indeed. Didn’t he know beforehand that he was going to be grilled by the MEPs? He could’ve at least jotted down his lines of argument – no matter how unconvincing they were going to be, and make at least an acceptable presentation.
He jumps from one thing to another, leaves chunks of sentences unfinished, and naive me thought that this guy is one of the brightest in the Labour camp.
The real problem is that Scicluna IS one of the brightest in the cabinet.
The lack of calibre comment demonstrates what Scicluna thinks of the Maltese.
He must think that the fact that more that 50% of the voting population were so gullible and voted for this shambles of a government sort of proves his point.
He was not so distressed and ‘off’ in front of the Maltese media and in the Maltese parliament, so lying and co-ordinating lies and body movements in front of the Maltese is no big deal for him.
BUT pulling off lying in front of THAT audience has not convinced any of the discerning lot. Others here in Malta are lauding his ‘abilities’ as proof of his greatness, so go figure.
Please do not attribute his dismal performance to his being ill prepared. There was no way he could present this issue and hoodwink those around him so the only option for him was to act the imbecile. We should ponder this point and its implications.
The lack of calibre comment denotes what every socialist deep down thinks of an electorate and what criteria a government should adopt to rule.
Ever heard some cashmere socialist spout what they really think of everyone else when they’ve had the extra drink?
Sickening, jaded and predictably boring. They’re either earnest, personal or ‘converted’. Labour, like all parties historically of the left, just cannot break the mould, the paradox in hogging the left and experimenting with extremes to spice things up is dragging every country down.
It’s not a coincidence EU bureacrats, Hollande, the PD in Italy, Obama and every other misplaced ‘hope’ falls far short of any promise.
When being socialist implies looking at cold facts through a fixed set of lenses, disasters will happen.
The high opinion I had of him has just dropped to nothing, especially when he says that Malta lacks people of high calibre. He is a living example.
Ara vera missejna l-qiegh.
“Malta being short of… certain people of calibre” – Isn’t the minister himself, together with his boss in Castille and the other clowns, the actual personification of that assertion, or rather Freudian slip.
SPEAK LIKE A MAN!
What is he on about?
Mela mhux ta b’ xejn waqt il- lectures tieghu qatt ma fimt xejn, ghax qas jispjega ma jaf
What an embarrassment and what a clown.
Couldn’t make heads or tails of his speech. However I did agree with him when he said the government acted in haste.
This matter should have been discussed at length before it was even put to the table, not just thrown out there and bugger the consequences. I am once again ashamed to be Maltese.
I would very annoyed to be in his position as probably the macho clique bypassed him and carried on with their stupid plan (although he needs to accept responsibility for joining Labour).
Profs, come again please?
Spare us. Profs has already come once and he’s made a huge mess of it.
How embarassing.
He made me cringe after only a few seconds and after 1 minute I had to stop listening.
That was totally incoherent and dishonest.
Basically Scicluna sounded like a guilty child caught in the act of doing something naughty and trying in vain to justify his actions.
Utterly cringeworthy.
Lack of people of calibre. What is he on?
Did these people live in Malta over the past decade or were they stuck in a time bubble some date around 1998 on the 4th floor LP Hamrun head quarters?
I only see him and his golden age klikka as persons of little calibre. A minister of a European country, making a mistake and now a sort of u-turn. With the excuse that they have only been in government for a few months, and they found such a terrible mess. Incredible
Not sure if I should laugh or cry or try both at the same time.
Thank you, Roberta and Daphne, for bringing this to our knowledge.
I survived up to 6.23. Totally incoherent.
I am morally convinced that Scicluna wrote Muscat’s thesis. Not the Ph.D. – that was somebody else – but the undergradutate thesis.
And to think that the Opposition tried its best to save the Government from embarrassment presenting endless amendments that were all arrogantly defeated.
Shame on them all those who voted for this law, and they include Edward Scicluna himself.
Scheme could attract human talent, such as footballers. Finally a golden opportunity to win the World Cup.
Cringe.
Seems to me that with all the back-pedalling this lot is doing, Konrad Mizzi would do well to hook them up to some giant hamster wheel and over-deliver on his election promises.
I am now not only ashamed of the Maltese government having fielded this crazy idea but also of having a Finance Minister who tries to twist the facts to give credibility to his explanation. I am sure that all those listening to him realised this.
He was obviously very uncomfortable making the story up as he went along, and if he thought the idea of stating that there two teams on the IIP project was any help, he was wrong as was his remark of the IIP not being linked to the budget.
The fact that the PM has been abroad more than once to sell provided all the evidence needed that the IIP as approved by Parliament was underwritten by his government while Minister Mallia put lie to the statement that the IIP was not linked to budgetary financing by stating that without the IIP taxes would have had to be raised
It should take little for the Finance Minister to recall that all the members on the government side, including himself, approved the bill without accepting any of the amendments proposed by the Opposition. The team responsible for the mess was one and the initiative to sell Maltese citizenship will haunt them for years to come.
That’s not his voice. An interpreter was trying to make sense of him in English.
[Daphne – You’re just asking for a hundred people to write in and contradict you, having taken you literally. When will you learn.]
Hmm, is he much better in Maltese?
Very funny though!
If they remove all competent people from the public sector to install the likes of Aaron Farrugia, Jason Micallef, etc., they are bound to believe that there are no “people of calibre”.
Many true Maltese “people of calibre” are actually trying to get away from this godforsaken country.
This cringeworthy speech should be referred to as the Belgian Waffle.
Ghandek ragun tghid hekk Alexander, ghax jien hekk hsibt ukoll peress li hu Professur u kien qisu jien meta nitkellem bl-Ingliz.
Now this is going to make a lot cringe on this blog, but i will dare say it just the same:
Scicluna was ‘almost’ right when he referred to a lack of high-level expertise over here.
1) Malta, like any country of its demographic size, cannot defy the laws of probabilities. How many experts in every field of knowledge can you hope to make out of a population of 400 000 individuals ?
2) There are too many doctors and lawyers (with all the respect due for these professions and those practicing them) at the expense of other specializations: geologists, philosophers, statisticians, interpreters, film makers, highway engineers, ladybird ranchers, etc…
So you really believe we will get the latter kind of persons with this IIP?
This scheme will not bring to the islands any technological, scientific, technical or artistic talent. It will bring people from developing countries who were/are close enough to corrupt regimes to steal enough money to afford to pay 650 000 euros.
Honest and talented citizens from those countries would never ever earn that amount money even if they lived seven lives like a cat.
So, Carpediem, doing politics by implementing trial and error laws and decisions is your way? U iva, issa narawh! Hux hekk?
A minor correction – there aren’t too many doctors. We’re probably somewhere around the EU average these days: http://ec.europa.eu/health/reports/docs/health_glance_en.pdf and EURSTAT
carpediem: Even if you were right (which you are not), you do not need to SELL Maltese citizenship to get high-level expertise. Non-Maltese can be engaged subject to a work permit. It happens all the time. There are thousands of non-Maltese working in Malta with a work permit.
In this specific post, I was not discussing the sale of citizenship scheme. I was only making a side remark on the true fact that with a small population you can not reasonably expect to have many talents in many fields.
As for the sale of citizenship saga, my position is clear: citizenship is DESERVED not sold for cash.
Malta short of people of calibre…I guess that explains why they’d give Gieh ir-Repubblika to an eleven-year-old singer.
And yet she has more calibre than the whole lot of them put together.
What a bunch of incompetent amateurs. This is the same person who had the audacity to call Tonio Fenech incompetent.
I want to remind the professor that Malta and Gozo always produced great people who made a name worldwide for themselves and for their country.
Notwithstanding being one of the the smallest nations, Malta always had its own doctors, lawyers, top civil servants, teachers, accountants, and all sorts of professionals. It is now that we are being governed by a particular group which lacks calibre.
This incompetent lot has not done one single thing right in the last eight months. Everything they tackled was a complete failure from the word go. Only God knows how low we still have to go by the end of this legislature.
Prosit, well said.
I managed to watch 3 minutes. Not one single sentence had an end to it, nothing made sense. Compare him to Tonio Borg being quizzed with questions flying at him from all directions.
The clip shows, among other things, the shocking shallowness of the Government’s ex-star candidate now star minister.
As a former MEP, Edward Scicluna should have realised that the sale of citizenships would have been brought up at the hearing. The least he could have done was to prepare a plausible defence of the scheme. His pathetic waffling was worse than silence.
The IIP scheme as enacted is indefensible. Scicluna himself illustrated that.
This is Labour’s Star Candidate, if you please – he is clearly not, and nor was he ever, ministerial material. And at his age? Why set yourself up for all the flak involved?
Doesn’t Reno Bugeja think that this has any news value?
Nothing on Malta Today. Is Balzan on holiday?
Alla jbierek, PBS never heard of Scicluna’s speech in today’s news bulletin.
What does switcher Silvio Loporto have to say about the latest about-turn? Not a word of criticism of Labour’s continuous faux pas.
[Daphne – He took offence and is currently sulking because I said that to have voted Labour last March (as at any other time since 1971), verges on the criminally irresponsible. Imagine if I had said what I really think, that it verges on the criminally insane.]
Bad public show. Now the question is, does he get fired, just like Anglu Farrugia was?
What for, Osservatore, so he can resurrect him later as (perhaps) Deputy Prime Minister? Anglu went through a similar (if not worse) ordeal, and see where he is today.
What does a company do with an incompetent employee? Promote him to a safe title-oriented position of no consequence.
Firing costs money, embarrassment and admitting failure by the appointer and the appointee.
Edward Scicluna didn’t tell the European Prliament that he defended the citizenship law in parliament as was proposed by government . He also voted in favour with the government and voted against the amendments of the opposition.
EU passports should only be given free of charge, Mr Xjiekluna. To as many thousands as you possibly can.
Otherwise, just stick to selling Mid Meds for a guinea a furlong.
We are victims of gross incompetence…on the part of those governing and thanks to those unable to discern on election day.
Blubbering fools…….
And the Labour groupies are all over the Times comments board and facebook praising Scicluna for admitting it was a mistake. Saying that it takes a wise man to do that.
I saw a lot more in Scicluna’s response that him just admitting that a mistake was made.
So let’s start:
Scicluna states:
“I can assure you this has nothing to do with the deficit nor financing – like that has anything with his permanent secretary being there…….
The budget can stand on its own.”
This contradicts what was said by Mario Farrugia Borg
http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/12/senior-official-at-the-office-of-the-prime-minister-admits-that-the-government-has-hinged-its-budget-on-selling-maltese-citizenship/
or is Mr Farrugia Borg someone who we should just ignore.
Scicluna keeps going on about it being about investment. He is entirely unconvincing. Just because you repeat the word a zillion times, doesn’t make it true. There is nothing about the scheme that involves an investment. If it is transformed into that, it is because the Opposition are making herculean efforts to try and help the Government clean the mess they created by their sheer arrogance. The Nationalists may have been accused of being arrogant. But these guys are both arrogant and stupid. A dangerous combination.
Scicluna blames Henley for the fiasco. He calls them “the marketing team”. Indeed Chris Kalin had told us they were given the concession to control how the scheme was marketed (it is not a scheme he said, that word does not have good connotations, but a programme). Indeed all the rest of us local professionals may only offer the service to their clients if they are permitted to do so by Henleys.
And boy did they handle the marketing dismally – what a spectacular failure. Dangling our very own Prime Minister in front of their audiences.
So Scicluna don’t just acknowledge the mistake. Do something about it. Instead of allowing Henleys to still try and control the process as announced by Michael Lucas in his letters to prospective intermediaries, fire them. They should be sued for the damage they caused Malta. But at the very minimum get rid of them. They have proved to be mercenaries. They have even offered fast track citizenship to those who pay them more. What more do you need to see they are not fit for purpose.
Scicluna says “It wasn’t like that.” He really is running round in circles here. Not only was it like that. It is still like that. The law that his party steamrolled through parliament is still law. As it stands anyone being granted citizenship can do so anonymously. They refused to entertain any form of discussion with the Opposition prior to passing the law. I recall Mallia arrogantly stating in Parliament that nothing was going to be changed from what they had put forward.
The only reason they are even discussing with the Opposition now is because of the international media tsunami that they got because of this ill thought of scheme.
The fact that they did not even anticipate the media onslaught, is extremely worrying. If the last election is anything to go by, they are supposed to be media savvy. But they didn’t even see this coming.
Scicluna says “The anonymity that was suggested by Henleys we have already refuted it.” What a lie. It was suggested by Henleys and accepted by the Government, steamrolled through Parliament and it is still part of the law. All they have done since is made a statement in the media that they will change it. In the meantime the provision still stands.
Moving on we see Scicluna making some commitments here which the Government to date has not mentioned:
A capping – not more than say 50 a year.
That the new citizens will come to Malta, will reside in Malta.
Have some property in Malta.
Is he authorised to say this? was he just trying to appease his audience?
In any event, it is not enough to acknowledge a mistake. I’m not entirely sure that he did do that because all along he kept trying to justify it and made it seem that it was just mishandled by Henleys. But let us say he acknowledged a mistake was done. Then he should move to have the law repealed immediately and go back to the drawing board to take the time it deserves to come up with a programme which is appropriate.
A Fantozzi type of performance.
Help. I need a new Cringeometer.
Short of people of calibre?
Imma dan bis-serjeta!
Isthi almenu minn dawk li vvutawlek!
Ara vera, halieni bla kliem u xxukjata.
So it’s not Simon and the Nationalist Party’s fault.
I would never have imagined that Minister Scicluna would find it so difficult to express himself in English. He seemed so lost and extremely uncomfortable.
[Daphne – It’s not his first language/mother tongue, and he’s obviously not blessed with clarity of thought either. If you have a clear and logical mind, you can overcome the immense problems in articulacy that come from thinking in one language and mentally translating what you mean to say before you say it. But if you are thinking in one language (Maltese) and translating to English, a completely different language, before you say anything, and your thoughts are not clear and organized to begin with, that is what happens: your sentences come out mashed, tangled and open-ended.]
It’s actually scary. The expression of Ms Bowles next to him shifts from disbelief to utter bewilderment at the trash spewing out of his mouth. Meet our finance minister, a person who even clarified that 3bn means 3,000 million…
That explanation may have been for any mathematically challenged colleague.
The clarification was purely for Manwel’s benefit.
“and he’s obviously not blessed with clarity of thought either. If you have a clear and logical mind” which he doesn’t.
That’s why he ended up a PL minister, and supposedly one of their best. Ha ha imagine what the rest of the Labour coterie are like.
It seems he’s one of the many who like to “come in Malta”, although when foreigners do that it’s invariably in the toilets of Paceville drinkeries, on the beach at St. George’s Bay, or in the private booths of the “Gentlemen’s” Clubs……if they don’t mind waiting in the queue while they’re occupied by a Labour minister or two.
Edward Scicluna is a non-starter.
He’s where he is because of certain things. A buon intenditor …
What an utterly bumbling performance by Edward Scicluna. He was vague, incoherent and self-defeating. This looked like a man who deep down does not have any faith in all in this ludicrous scheme.
[Daphne – And yet he voted for it.]
True, Daphne. And this probably applies to the majority of Labour MPs. No principles, just dancing to their master`s tune. Then we have the JPOs and Franco nitwits of this world who have lost their voices.
So we have it from the cabinet’s mouth, there are no persons of calibre in ready to work with the Labour Party in government.
Of course we need to have the definition of persons of calibre according to the Joepedia.
Saying there are no professional persons of high calibre in Malta is insulting , how the hell does the professor think Malta beat the odds these last twenty years, definitely not by taking his past advice to the PN government. Profs, just retire to a nice home for senile professors.
Daphne, please pin this post to the top of the site for at least a year. This testimony at the EP is gross and someone is/has been lying – either Minister Scicluna or PM Muscat.
If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
Albert Einstein
Or you are lying through your teeth. An embarrassment for Malta, dear minister.
…a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Macbeth Quote (Act V, Scene V).
Well said, and like with any erstwhile production I suggest the commissioning of a marble slab with the names of the players who took part in the comedy ‘The Sale of Maltese Citizenship’ to be cemented between the George Cross and Repubblika plaques so that these be remembered for all time.
Our Finance Minister embarrassed himself and our people in front of the European Parliament, but instead of calling it a day and stopping there, he managed to make it even worse by dropping this bombshell “Malta is (being) short of certain people of calibre”.
Well I am sure that now Europe will not have a shred of doubt in their mind that you were right, Professor Scicluna.
Yes we are short of certain people of calibre – this Cult of Labour is one of the prime causes. After all that nonsense about other European countries doing it, how else will we make money look at America they invade countries with oil and how PN is manipulating international media, now its a mistake?
Short of people of calibre? Well f*ck you too, Edward Scicluna, and speak for yourself. You sure as hell showed that you fall short of the calibre we expect of our ministers.
Che figuraccia. This is so sad.
Thank God that in Malta we’re “short of people of calibre”.
Otherwise Muscat would have to increase the number of recipients of Gieh ir-Repubblika much more!
He’s seated next to Sally Bowles.
Life IS a cabaret.
Minister Scicluna seems to be pinning the mishaps of this whole saga to marketing mistakes. To my eyes, the Prime Minister is at the centre of the marketing efforts. So, the Finance Minister is indirectly blaming Muscat.
He’s definitely pointing elsewhere. Washing his hands of a scheme which is very definitely financial.
They should send Manuel Mallia next session.
Definitely, HE is not a person of calibre. ” It was a mistake.” We said it before he did. We said it before it went to Parliament. We said it during. We said it afterwards. Repeal it. Punto e basta.
I can’t believe they don’t even have the guts to admit to the many points they insisted upon in order to get the IIP scam passed into law. Why the waffling on secrecy? They wanted it. They passed it. It’s not as though it’s the first time this has been brought up. It’s not as though there wasn’t an outcry before it got passed into law.
What a bumbling non-sensical speech. I can’t believe, yet again, that Malta’s finances are in his hands.
When did the 30 million now suddenly become 15 million? Was even that too much to admit to? Just imagine if they were left free rein.
The Malta Government blaming Henley? Don’t you think it’s a bit weak? So a non-Minister can retract a 25 million hospital contract but the Malta Government can’t retract Henley? What is this mess?
Should he not resign?And Manwel Mallia before him? And Joseph Muscat above all? What absolute losers. Big capital L. Including the President who approved it.
With a plan like this, God only knows what they have in store for the Presidency. What a joke.
I breathe in disbelief that Malta could have thought that this this bunch of idiots needed voting in. The measure of this branch of Maltese calibre, including the switchers.
I wish it would just flush itself where it belongs.
Major loss of face for Malta.
I believe that at one point he said that the 15 million euros was now eight. But then again maybe I misunderstood.
It was painful to try and follow what he was saying.
It seemed that he was making things up as he went along. It reminded me of the waffling that an unprepared student tries to get away with (invariably unsuccessfully) in a viva voce examination.
Minister Scicluna stated that the consultants of the IIP scheme were chosen through a public call. Is this true? As far as I know, stand to be corrected if I’m wrong, no such public calls were made.In that case Minister Scicluna had lied.
The man cannot even string a few sentences together to form some sort of an argument. What a poor show.
Is he on Earl Grey too ?
I think that Edward Scicluna should be drafting his resignation right now, proof read it and check that it is making sense in the morning and have it delivered by noon.
The redeeming feature is that, at this rate, it is well nigh impossible for the country to sink any deeper.
The only member of cabinet who has some functional neurons makes an utter fool of himself and behaves like a fumbling, incoherent, apologetic five-year-old.
We are all fucked.
What an idiot. How embarrassing for Malta.
He never even finished one sentence.
Sally Bowles’s expression tells it all though. I repeat, how embarrassing!
That’s how it came out? The anonymity was suggested? We’ve already refuted it?
Isn’t it law already. You didn’t refute it, you voted for it!
I still think that the President George Abela could have avoided this humilation by not signing this act. But I expected too much.
President Abela has no choice but to sign. Where he failed is in not exerting his presidential position to persuade government ministers.
In the infamous speech from the throne, which he refers to as a difficult event, he had two other choices – either threaten to resign or simply leave out the offending paragraph on the night. In the latter option, his move would have gone unnoticed and Muscat would have not dared to protest.
My kingdom for a pair of balls.
OMG and this is our great minister of finance.
He insults us all as we are not up to his and PL’s standard.
And he goes on trying to explain a law that his ministry dreamed up and failed at miserably.
He looks and sounds like a little panicked kid who didn’t do his homework. He could not even remember the name of the company they selected to run this mad and embarrassing scheme for him.
May the Good Lord have MERCY on all of us. This was sad to watch.
Maybe he was thinking of what he lost by leaving the MEP post and pay. He told us enough times, poor sod.
Just think, taking a plane in the direction of Brussels, to represent Malta and then utter absolute crap. What was he doing on the plane? Basking in his ego? What did he think was going to face him as a worst case scenario? Worse still, did he have a “team” around him? Is he meant to be superior to that team in “calibre?”
Even this trip was an utter waste of money. I dread to think how he represents Malta when he’s not being recorded.
Does moment to moment thinking escape them?
I hope he realises that he has devalued the efforts, career and study of thousands of Maltese on the international scene by his 9 minute disastrous representation.
Nine flat minutes of sabotage.
Perception is intangible, but – like goodwill – has a value.
This was negatively impacted in a major way. His head should roll.
I would say there are at least 132,426 adults of higher calibre in Malta.
If we rank people by calibre, Manuel Mallia is probably on top, closely followed by Joe Grima, Debbie tad-Divorzju and the Labour MEP whose name I forget.
Scicluna who is reportedly the best element in the Labour Government has gone through an eight minute confused saga trying to defend the indefensible.
Kif tista twaqqa r-reputazzjoni ta Malta ghan-nejk daqshekk sur Scicluna? Missek tmur tistahba.
Is this the same person who 4 weeks ago (4 November), while reading the budget speech, stated in Parliament that “Government is determined” to launch this scheme and that “despite the irresponsible disruption by some, Government is convinced this programme will be a success.” (Budget 2014 Speech English version, page 30)?
Not fit for purpose.
President Abela had to give his assent to the bill under the Constitution but even more importantly, he has not yet signed the legal notice and as Minister Scicluna remarked, the scheme cannot be implemented without these regulations.
Is he waiting for a consensus to emerge before he signs them off?
When one thinks that Labour’s credentials can’t sink any lower, someone invariably comes forth to prove one wrong.
This time it took the finance minister. Have they hit rock-bottom yet? Probably not, but it’s going to take some effort to outdo this.
I wonder whether Professor Scicluna’s performance at least generated a “watt di hekk’ moment for his leader?
Another most humiliating moment for Malta. Very sad. Extremely confused and confusing speech, a show of total failure on all aspects of this infamous law.
What a shame. We are really a Mickey Mouse country, now with ample proof and also at the top level too.
il-Fesu says
OMG can I pay and change my citizenship?
I just heard it again.
Did he actually say that ‘Henley and something Associates’ were chosen after a public call?
Isn’t that a blatant lie?
Edward Scicluna’s barely coherent mumblings reminded me of Anglu Farrugia’s responses on Xarabank when he was answering questions about the proposed energy tariffs.
He really made a fool of himself that day.
It was after this sorry event that he was booted out of the party deputy leadership. Something similar had happened way back in 1996 when Alfred Sant introduced CET to replace VAT; neither he nor his experts were able to explain how their new damned system would actually work.
Well Anglu got kicked out unceremoniously and sent quietly upstairs while Alfred Sant was humiliated by the electorate and might yet be sent to Brussels next year. As for Profs Scicluna I think we might just be stuck with him.
Truly a sad “spectacle”. As far the lack of people of calibre Scicluna refers to, he sure won’t be finding any in the Labour Party.
It’s 8am and Malta Today is the only independent news site which has not posted Minister Scicluna’s performance at the EP. What a coincidence.
‘What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving, how express and admirable in action, how like an angel in apprehension, how like a god – the beauty of the world; the paragon of animals; ….’ – Hamlet
I wonder what ‘his’ Permanent Secreatry, Alfred Camilleri, thinks about this performance. Tell us, Alfred, is your current boss better than Tonio Fenech?
L- aqwa li halliek PS il-Profs. Aren’t you at all ashamed?
In Malta we have no people of calibre? I cannot but agreed, starting from the Head of State, the PM and all government MPs who voted for this mess. So what is Scicluna saying here – that all of them to a man and woman made a mistake?
Idiots. Dangerous idiots.
Yes, we do know that there are not enough people of calibre in Malta. That’s why a bunch of clowns got into power on the strength of a 36,000 majority. People of calibre are in the minority.
I felt so embarrassed for him, and for Malta, that I stopped the clip. These people have no blood in their veins. They are mocking us to the limit.
Yes, this what the PN means by ‘thobb lil pajjizek’, not some fascistic bravado.
If I may, a passion for la cosa pubblica; defining and refining the instruments of a society to reflect its nature.
These plebs won’t even submit their work to public scrutiny, Marsaxlokk tender, this sham, land reclamtion, everything. They’re slowly disenchanting everyone from politics, putting a wedge between us and the state.
And that’s why they’re plebs, simply not up it, no responsibility, no sense of duty, no intellectual honesty, no dignity.
Never was an Opposition as essential. Thankfully, what happened to the PN was just the party’s successfully resisting the rot.
“short of people of calibre……..” with special and particular reference to Minister Manwel Mallia who has really worked hard for the title of “Calamity Manny”
Since he had such difficulty expressing himself in English, I think he meant to say that it is the Labour Party which has no people of calibre, rather than Malta, and he is a prime example of that.
In complete agreement. That is the one and only argument. There are no people of calibre in the MALTA LABOUR PARTY / MOVIMENT TAL-HADDIEMA. Otherwise, there are indeed people of calibre in Malta.
Henley & Something partners. Are these the new consultants?
Unless it was a deliberate lapsus – Henley should feel insulted that the Malta Minister of Finance cannot remember the correct name of their company, but then why should they care really, after all what they will be earning through this scheme is what counts for them.
In Malta there ARE people of calibre, however they have all been replaced by incompetent, unqualified fools by your party, dear Profs. Scicluna.
What a 24-carat plonker. What an embarrassment to himself (but no pity there) and to Malta.
It was a cringing experience and I could not bear to watch till the end. He was totally unprepared and it showed big time.
He must have believed his master when the latter said that the EU will not question the scheme. Fool.
Of course it is far from easy to defend the indefensible but a seasoned politician would have prepared a pack of lies, which he muttered anyway, and memorized them in a coherent speech.
As it turned out he was unable to string one full sentence together. There was no line of thought and he limped from one thing to another making no sense at all.
For this showing alone he should be awarded the ‘Trash The Republic Award’. He belittled Malta. He trashed the people of Malta including those who voted him in.
What an embarrassment he was. For the second time in my lifetime, once again under a labour regime, I feel ashamed for Malta.
He stated, almost with pride, that there are no Maltese people of calibre. For those who were there before and knew Lawrence Gonzi, Tonio fenech et al it must have been hysterical.
But Profs, you proved the point beyond any reasonable doubt. Let’s face it. If one had to squeeze dry the whole Labour parliamentary group one would not get a lemon’s worth.
Thank you Labour and thank you, all those scumbags who voted these clowns in, to once again make us feel ashamed to be Maltese.
Edward Scicluna should know that we never came this near under 25 years of Nationalist government.
Edward Scicluna thinks that if he is of not calibre than all the rest are like him.
Grovelling incomprehensibly throughout the explanation.
Half of it factually incorrect, the other half discredited by the Minister himself.
If it was not that important for the budget, why the fuss and hurry to enact the law?
What happened to the proposal of a development bank and what has this scheme got to do with it?
Can the Minister explain which conditions in the law ensure investment, high net worth, high calibre, or residence?
On lack of high calibre – he surely gave testimony to his statement.
Am I correct to believe that Malta Today have not reported this event? Seems to be everyone’s conversation topic this morning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HguhdvkvzM
I would say that Joe Debono Grech would have expressed himself better in English.
Minister Scicluna claimed that Malta has no people of calibre. He himself was giving the best example of what he was claiming.
What a mess he made of himself and of our country.
This from Labour’s so called “star” candidate! How embarrassing. I was squirming in my seat as I heard him try to string together one coherent sentence.
What a bunch of utterly useless, incompetent people we have running the country. 25 years in opposition and they’re still totally clueless.
These idiots must go! They have put Malta on the highest level of ridicule and embarrassment in less than a year.
What the heck. I speak Maltese-English
Ma nafx jien jekk nidhaqx jew nibkiex, ghax kif qal Simon Busuttil: ghal gol hajt. Huma laqwa li qehdin fil-gvern u x’jimpurthom.
Vicky Scicluna from Little Britain:
er yes, err no, yes, no, yes, it were’nt me, yes we lied but no, err yes I done it, but no, it were’nt me, but yes its shyte, but we’ll fix it, but no it don’t need to be fixed, but its all about Chinese footballers, and anyway, the budget’s fine without it, and see here, my permanent secretary agrees with me, and who ever said we need it to avoid taxation, that was Manny, but we found horror stories, yes, but no, our banking system was solid, but not really, shit man, we just don’t have any brains in Malta, and we really need some credibility, but not really, cause we have no information that we know what we are doing……thank you for listening.
My 25kg cat, whose sole purpose in life is to eat and sleep, has done more good to our country then these ’24-carat plonkers’.
I can’t get my head round the fact that a Minister actually said there aren’t enough people of calibre in his own country.
I hope Edward Scicluna bothered to take the time to watch his dismal, abysmal performance.
I still remember all that talk of cutting edge candidates. If this is cutting edge, it wouldn’t slice through softened butter.
We are short of people of calibre. Simon Busuttil has shown that he is by far ‘of calibre’ than all the PL MPs put together.He warned, pleaded, implored and explained clearly the consequences of the passport scheme but Roi Soleil would not listen.There isn’t one person of calibre in the whole PL who was able to oppose him .
If this was not tied with government financing as the Minister is saying, so why then Manuel Mallia said: “Jew din l-iskema jew nghollu it-taxxi!”
One would think that if Muscat was to use the same “measure” he used to fire Angle Farrugia following his poor performance in a debate with Simon Busuttil, Scicluna should be ostracised.
This inbecile used to teach me. No wonder I’m…
In Italy we say: “che figura di merda!” for him and for “our” island.
He doesn’t know how to explain concepts, if we assume he had something to say in the first place.
Luckily for Malta he is not leading an important ministry, just the Ministry of Finance in a moment not so critical for the global economy.
But sarcasm apart, I am glad that at least MuscatPL left in that ministry the pre-existing permanent secretary Mr. Alfred Camilleri, who I know is very professional and, hopefully, will be strong enough to keep the Minister of Finance with his feet on the ground.
“all the Chinese coming to Malta”. Profs….la lingua batte dove il dente duole.
Well spotted.
Malta Today has spoken at last:
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/Scicluna-s-golden-passport-gaffe-ruffles-feathers-inside-Labour-20131206
Only Malta Today could have come up with something like this:
“Government insiders who spoke to MaltaToday recognised that Scicluna had “given the Opposition a new soundbite to capitalise upon”, and that they were bracing themselves for more.”
He opens by saying this scheme has nothing to do with the deficit or the country’s finances.
Tell that to Manuel who put it squarely it’s either the scheme or new taxes.
It’s clear who’s in the driving seat, and it’s not Muscat.
What an insult to Malta, claiming we need people of calibre. And equally, what a lie, when the sole criterion in the law is that someone can cough up 650,000 euro. There’s no mention of calibre.
Actually, on further thought, that’s so typical of Labour to equate calibre with money. What a bunch of useless muppets.
Elezioni! Subito!
No one noticed Edward Scicluna’s Baldrick moment when he mentioned footballers as prospective candidates for the IIP scheme.
Imagine the following scenario: a famous non-EU footballer is wanted by an EU club which already has its quota of non-EU players.
Easy-peasy: pay his transfer fee, pay the 650,000 euros which will make him a Maltese citizen and hey presto, they have an EU member player.
If they want two, they get two etc, etc. Cunning, il-boy.
If the government plans it right then, who knows, we might have a chance to win the World Cup in 2018.
This is the year we’ve gone dalle stelle alle stalle.
See my comment of yesterday evening.
“short of people of calibre”.
Was he doing a self assessment?
Kemm kellu ragun Lawrence Gonzi meta qal li bil-Lejber fil-gvern tisthi tghid li int Malti. Kliem tad-deheb.
Ma nippretendix minn Edward Scicluna li jmur Brussell u jwaqqaghna daqshekk ghac-cajt.
Li kieku kien MP Ewropew kien jistmerr din il-mossa li l-PM Malti Dr. Muscat tant qed jiftahar biha. Mar Sri Lanka u Miami bhala promoter.
Issa daqshekk… Fejn hu Toni Zarb? Franco Debono? Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando? Musumeci? Mater John Dalli Dei?
Fejn huma l-unions Maltin? Il-GWU rieqda? Parlaw tant dawn l-ghorrief.
Iwa hadd minnhom ma lissen kelma wahda kontra? Jaqaw Joseph Muscat ghamlilhom xi sarima ma halqhom?
Il-PN biss huwa t-tarka taghna. Grazzi Simon Busuttil talli wrejt li mintix se ccedi c-cittadinanza taghna.
Dik inghatat lilna bi dritt meta twelidna Maltin u hadd u qatt ma ghandu jiksibha bi hlas.
When I heard Lawrence Gonzi say that I winced, thinking it was a little below the belt, or mildly insulting which really wasn’t his style. Muscat’s? Definitely, but not Gonzi’s.
Mind you, at the time my only experience of a Labour government was the ’96-98 debacle and I relied on people’s stories and rather tame documentaries to educate myself about the previous ones (having moved here during Eddie Fenech Adami’s first legislature).
But now after 9 months of this dreadful lot, I have to say that ex-PM Gonzi was RIGHT on the money when he made that statement. I never imagined they could ever, in 2013, be quite THIS bad!
He mentions it not being related to tax – as far as I can see that’s bollocks.
Remax have written an article boasting about the tax avoidance potential of this scheme and buying property in Malta. What’s more, they boast that there is “A further advantage of not needing to spend any particular time actually residing in Malta”. Cheeky buggers.
http://blog.remax-malta.com/malta-residency-or-citizenship/
The woman sitting next to the Prof is clearly *nervous*.
All you people lack calibre. No wonder you can’t understand the brilliant Edward Scicluna.
Remove the teleprompters and the written speeches, and what happens? The level of confusion and mediocrity hits the roof.
My god, that was so embarrassing.
Bazwar minn hawn u bazwar minn hemm, u lil Malta inwaqqawa ghan-nejk.
How did this fumbling, bumbling, confused man become a professor?
And by the way, honestly, did anyone expect any better from Labour?
I think he meant to say that the GOVERNMENT lacks people of a certain calibre, not Malta… you know it came out wrong, miskin.