A base for China in the Med. Since Malta is neither in Nato nor in the Middle East or the North Africa coast, and neither, it seems, in the Western World, China could have its base in the Mediterranean without inconveniencing anyone of note.

All the better to keep an eye on everyone, to show off its military hardware to its major customers in North Africa and the Middle East, to make a show of force against Nato and Russian fleets, and to intervene under the guise of “humanitarian missions” in the world’s major trouble spots, thus duping everyone.

The Attorney General will obviously give the green light, because it wouldn’t break any rule in the Constitution now, would it?

My thoughts exactly.

Bravo!

Doubt it. He still needs €30m to balance the books this year. Kumbinazzjoni it’s the amount needed to reduce W&E bills this year (main electoral promise) and which amount was meant to have mystically been paid in advance by the winners of the power station charade.

Also, the 70% of €1.5bn figure he keeps quoting as going into a fund leaves 30% or €450m over 5 years unaccounted for. Conveniently that is roughly what the blessed power plant will cost the government (+ the €30m). So yes the Scheme is needed to fulfill an electoral promise, and it’s the big one.

Or how to read a road map, Gaetano.

He’s already done it with the push-back saga going as far as ordering the planes to take the immigrants back only to say it was only an attempt to be noticed.

Now he’s going to do the same so as to elicit favourable concessions from the EU towards his IIP programme.

If it fails the MLP propaganda machine will make it look like a victory, Partnership fashion, exactly like Mintoff did when ‘kecca l-Ingizi’ when all he did was beg them to stay on for a further five years.

Extracts from the British Parliament – HL Deb 25 January 1973 vol 338 cc250-2

EARL FERRERS: Mr. Mintoff asked for what he called a guarantee against devaluation. He was told that we should not be prepared to agree with this. We informed him in writing before the agreement was made, and he signed the agreement on March 26 fully knowing what the British position was.

LORD SHINWELL: My Lords, may I ask the noble Earl whether it is not about time to recognise that, although one knows the difficulties that confront the Maltese Government, or Mr. Mintoff himself, financial aid by the United Kingdom to Malta is now just an act of paternalism and has nothing whatever to do with strategy? It has just become a barracks, a very limited barracks, with no strategic value whatever; and that is the opinion of all the accredited military chiefs.

The above took place in 1973, a full six years before the British actually left, so much for ‘kecca l-Ingizi’ Joe Grima please note.

Unfortunately for Joseph, communications have come a long way since 1973 and Malta has considerably more than one state TV and radio station.

What is More, Malta is well connected to the EU, Europe and the world. Joseph well knows that an EU passport cannot ever be replaced by a Chinese one, he knows full well that leaving the EU is not an option and will have consequences.

Joseph Muscat realises that the minute Malta breaks away from the EU all those thousands of Maltese working in EU countries will have to leave and come back here.

The cost of that plus the cost of lost jobs as foreign companies who are here thanks to Malta being part of the EU leave will be more, considerably more, than the billion euro Joseph is hoping to obtain through the IIP scheme.

Joseph still has one card available. He can come to terms with reality and together with the PN come up with a decent plan that falls within EU legislation and he better do that fast before we start preparations to host what may become the most embarrassing EU Presidency ever.

“Just a Maltese passport, worth nothing at all”

Something tells me that, with his bullying and defiance, Muscat is certainly not bent on being kicked out of – he would say withdrawing from – the EU.

Why? Because, as you imply, the unsavoury characters now flocking, with their millions, at the gates of Henley and Something want cast-iron reassurance that their shiny new Maltese passport is going to remain an EU passport.

Please, oh please, do not call Joseph Cuschieri an idiot – because he is by far worse than that.

If, for extreme reasons, you really have to, make sure you apologise to real idiots for doing so.

To any foreigner it will seem out of question that Malta leaves the EU so they will lose nothing there.

In Malta, the continuous arrogance of our PM has sent a message, a message that he ‘has balls’. That message impresses the slow-witted who search for a “salvatur”.

Dr. Muscat, like Mintoff before him, is giving his slow-witted supporters a reason to feel rebellious. That is his strategy, losing nothing from outside, but gaining a lot of admiration from his core supporters.

Let us pray that he does not use this air of excitement to force his will like Mintoff did before him. Then Malta will be in deep sh*t, and with an arrogant PM like ours, you can’t tell where it will end.

What TALENT would a retired F1 driver have to offer us, even if he were to live here at all?

Maybe he’ll give our government some instruction in how to head straight for that wall.