The government’s PR tactic backfires, and the PM goes ballistic in parliament, projecting the blame onto others
The government thought it was being really clever by leaking to The Sunday Times, either directly or through Henley & Partners, the information that among those seeking Maltese passports there are a Formula One driver, a pop-singer and a Chinese billionaire who’d flown in over the weekend for that purpose.
It should have occurred to them that while identifying a Formula One driver or an anonymous pop singer would be difficult, the Chinese billionaire would be easy as pie.
A billionaire, especially a Chinese one, does not take chartered flights but travels in a private jet (the prime minister’s personal consultant, John Dalli, knows quite a bit about that).
The billionaire in question was in Malta right now – the government itself was kind enough to say that in its leak to The Sunday Times.
Malta only has one airport. Is there a private jet parked there? Why, yes, there is, Watson. How many people are likely to have flown in by private jet over the weekend? More Chinese billionaires, perhaps? Hmmmm, tough one, Sherlock.
A couple of journalists managed to discover that the jet would be leaving this afternoon, so they turned up at the airport with cameras and recorders. It’s their job, Mr Prime Minister, and their right and duty in a democracy.
When Mr Big arrived in a convoy of limos, the journalists were insulted and sworn at by his shabby Italian minder, who first threatened them to stop filming, then tried to bribe them instead (“I will buy your film”). Then he summoned the police.
These are people who haven’t even bought their passports yet, and they’re already throwing their weight about and trying to push real Maltese citizens around, summoning the police to deal with press scrutiny as though they were still in China. How dare they.
The government has now demanded an investigation at Malta International Airport of how those journalists found out when the jet was leaving.
Has nobody realised how abusive this is? The government does not own or manage Malta International Airport’s operations. They were privatised some years ago (John Dalli knows quite a bit about that, too). Nor is the government the injured party, and by taking on the representation and role of the supposedly injured party, the Chinese billionaire, it puts its relationship with him in a completely different light. He’s somebody who came here to buy a passport.
It’s not the government’s business or role to defend him, protect what he believes to be his interests, or bully Malta International Airport on his behalf.
The prime minister screamed in parliament that he does not “go down on his knees before foreigners but approaches them like a partner” (this in reference to the European Commission/Union, of course). Yet here he is now, prostrating himself in obsequious abesience before a Chinese billionaire, and defending him from the depredations and attakki fahxija u moqzieza of Maltese journalists.
“He came here to invest and you are trying to scare him off,” he yelled in parliament. Invest what? Eur650,000 in an EU passport? Wow, impressive. I don’t know whether they’ve already noticed by now, but juxtaposing ‘billionaire’ with ‘Eur650,000 passport’ is a really bad idea, because it makes it ruddy obvious that those passports they’re selling are tagged at way below the market price.
If they were going to sell their passports come what may, they could at least have had the good sense to sell fewer at a much higher price and make their blessed billion off the backs of a much smaller number of brand-new Maltese citizens.
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“I don’t know whether they’ve already noticed by now, but juxtaposing ‘billionaire’ with ‘Eur650,000 passport’ is a really bad idea,”
Here is an interesting observation. If Malta’s citizenship scheme is the same as others around the EU, like Austria for example, why did this Chinese billionaire wait till Malta introduced it?
Please don’t tell me it’s because Malta’s is cheaper. This is a billionaire we’re talking about. They don’t carry money because it’s vulgar to do so. They don’t even see their money. And they sure don’t even look at price tags either.
So, obviously, the Maltese scheme is not like the others in the EU because otherwise he would have gone there to get it ages ago.
He waited for the Maltese one to be implemented precisely because it is nothing like the others, and there must be some sort of loophole or difference that makes this one safer for him. I wonder why?
You have summed up the attractiveness of the PL’s citizenship scam perfectly.
Chinese often enough want to protect their capital. Chinese don’t want to over pay. They look for the best asset for the price they are willing to pay. Chinese invest they do not buy Prime properties, they always opt for core ones, alike use Malta as stepping stone investing in mainland Europe. You tube portrays a lot about China government and their own passports being the worst in the world. Are we going to be ridiculed over our own passports?
It’s likely the secrecy clause that is currently active in the law, which is probably why he flew in early to benefit from this before it is removed.
well said
Li gass down ghal go l-hajt kont nemmen imma li daqshekk malajr u bis-sahha hekk qatt ma bsart.
What a disastrous situation. How arrogant the PM is, unbelievably so.
I used to think there was no worse embarrassment than Alfred Sant ‘freezing’ our EU application. I was wrong.
This is so low, going against the EU from within, eroding the very purpose it stands for, all ethics gone with the wind. I am so ashamed of showing my passport. Back to the hellish past we came from.
Muscat is seriously out of control. This is very scary stuff. Incompetents (had an other term in mind) do not like to be cornered. Even though they knowingly put themselves there.
“Incompetents do not like to be cornered”.
Neither do rats.
I wonder what the Italian connection is.
Just join the dots.
Which part of southern Italy is famous for importing Chinese slave labour and an expert at producing counterfeit goods and handbags?
The twats can’t even spell “dependent” correctly in the application form, and yet, they are running the country (albeit into the ground).
http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lp&itemid=25885&l=1
Dependant is correct.
My dictionary seems to think that both are correct as it gives exactly the same meaning.
Wow. what shocks is how naive the form provided for this purpose is. – Even more reason not to trust Muscat and his cronies.
Wrong start for the due diligence, I would say. A Chinese person who says he is the founder of one of China’s largest brokerage firms but who is afraid to show his face in public, accompanied by a rude Italian guy who makes obscene gestures and uses foul language, does not look very reassuring.
Was the Italian guy describing the Chinese man’s “talents” with his hand gestures?
Can the journalists find out who the Chinese man is, by checking with the hotels, perhaps?
“Andante a rubare le galline’ the Italian guy says, around 1.53 into the clip. Very courteous and respectful – they really hold the Maltese in high regard. That must be why they want a Maltese passport so much.
“Andate a rubare le galline.” If I were Francock Debono, I would be worried.
This country is sliding back into a thinly-veiled dictatorship at breakneck speed – at a time when Government censure of journalistic rights and duties was the order of the day.
It’s quite obvious that the PM is getting very hot under the collar indeed, and a temper often leads to poor and irrational decision making – in our case it would exacerbate a problem that’s already present.
Isn’t it an offence to swear in public?
Daphne, the F1 champion should be an easy guess. The following are the only champions alive without an EU passport. After retiring all have done business ventures mostly in motorsport. The most successful ones were Villeneuve and Piquet. Villeneuve was mostly involved in managment of motorsport teams but Piquet has lots of various businesses in Brazil, not just in motorsport but he tries to make money out of anything – most probably to get back the money spent on his kid after he failed an F1 career.
The interesting part is that his son was so weak as a driver that for a particular race he deliberately crashed so that his team mate can win, and his father then tried to blackmail the team after his son lost his F1 seat. Going back to his business ventures, I guess Piquet would pay for a passport to facilitate his travelling and perhaps business transactions from Brasil.
It should be Piquet, but I believe this is just a blatant stupid lie from Joseph and his Henley friends. He should have said a World Cup winner and that wouldn’t have been so easy to guess.
F1 champions / Age / Nationality
Jacques Villeneuve (42) Canadian
Nelson Piquet (61) Brazilian
Alan Jones (67) Australian
Jody Scheckter (63) South African
Emerson Fittipaldi (67) Brazilian
Jack Brabham (87) Australian
Yes, lots more F1 champions than I could remember.
Still, not much of a list to go through, I doubt Alan Jones, Scheckter or Brabham would be interested.
That leaves Villenueve, Piquet and Fittipaldi.
Another clue would be, which one of these drivers will make financial gains when he has a European passport?
So we are going to have
1) a Formula One driver – to teach bus drivers how to drive;
2) a singer – for the new edition of Warda Kanta;
3) a Chinese billionaire – who wants to move his money out of China before the Chinese economy collapses.
And our prime minister sounds like he is on the verge of a nervous breakdown because he can’t stand the pressure.
I think I agree with you about the last line. The prime minister looked particularly tired at the Mellieha band club today.
Maltese singers should be worried. They will probably send the singer to Eurovision instead of a real Maltese singer. Maybe there will be a Chinese “Maltese” representing us in 2015.
Daphne noticed his “xaqq” between the eyebrows. I noticed the F1 red colour his cheeks turn to when pressure starts building up in the face of his adversity, Joseph that is.
If “MIA to probe leaked departure of Chinese billionaire” as quoted by Malta Today, MIA should also probe, and more importantly, how and why the Chinese billionaire and his delegation passed through the “Crew Gate” which – as the name implies – is the gate from where ONLY crew members are normally allowed to pass through.
I’ve noticed that THREE of the posts on your website all mention how angry the prime minister was.
It has only been 1 year and I am already fed up of his tantrums. How are we going to survive another 4 years, at least?
If Bruce Lee was still alive Joseph would have told us that he is on the waiting list.
The Government is creating a new-tier privileged Maltese citizenship for the super rich who think that they can walk roughshod over the rest of us with their mountains of money. Malta will no longer be Taghna Lkoll, if it ever was under this Labour government of double standards. The responsibility of the free press to bring these shameful abuses to public attention has never been graver.
Anzi m’arrestawx lil xi haddiem ta’ l-airport, hadulu l-mobile u akkuzawh li kien hu li cempel lill-medjalink biex jghidilhom li gie Ciniz biex jixtri l-passaport. Imma nahseb li affarijiet bhal dawn ic-Cina biss isiru mhux Malta.
The prospective Maltese citizen has invested big time in Malta. He already financed his first movie at the MIA.
On October 09, 2013 – Joseph Muscat speaks about 30 million per year income from the IIP scheme.
How did this become 1 Billion?
How come no reporter has questioned this?
How is this man allowed to lie so blatantly to the people especially when his stubbornness is leading us to lose face with all the world – and all this for a mere 30 million.
At 30 million per year it’s going to take Joseph Muscat 33 years to reach his billion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-9bW_Dtx8s