It’s hard not to admit that the foresight they show is incredible. Too bad some people will only realise this in hindsight.

Mario Vella or Joseph Muscat?

“In the manner of philosophy, which, in the words of Hegel, like the owl of Minerva takes flight at dusk, at the end of a civilisation’s highest moment, this study begins with an investigation of a phenomenon that emerges, globally and historically, at the end of Fordist epoch of capitalism, or, at least, at a time of Fordism in crisis.”

http://www.scribd.com/doc/127035781/Joseph-Muscat-PhD-Thesis
The biographical note (PDF p. 161, section 4.3.1) references Mario Vella, and flatteringly references Anthony Giddens’ introduction to a book in which one of Vella’s essays appears.

Muscat’s biljun has just been halved.

Now that MLP is in government by the people’s choice, I am wondering what the people who voted for Labour are thinking seeing the economy going down the toilet. Long time ago I learned a recession is when my neighbour loses his job and a depression is when I lose my job.

Muscat has been at the helm for the last eleven months and nothing good has come out for Malta. Yes, Labour’s inner circles are doing superbly well, but that is not the rest of the people.

Now we have it. It consists of a ‘wajs’ sale of 1,800 passports to Chinese, Azeri and other non-European main applicants, with their families in tow, for a total sum of at least “one thousand million” euros, while another 200 million euros are pocketed by Henley & Something in the form of commissions, due diligence fees, fast tracking extras, application costs and so on.

Which explains Joseph Muscat’s view of economic growth: increased government spending.

Nothing less than a central command economy. The economics of communism.

Why is it that I see Mario Vella’s hand behind this brand of economics?

But it is also an excellent example of Mintoffianomics: making money off the back of others, and then spend it in return for votes. Muscat has picked up exactly where Mintoff has left off.

But what did we expect from a prime minister whose grandmother introduced him to politics at Mintoff’s mass rallies? The same man who never denied rumours about the exact role played by Mario Vella in his PhD thesis.

Expect a government of handouts, subsidies, social benefits, free this and free that. And the return of “Dear Philip” letters to obtain one’s basic needs. Increased corruption.

But this is not the way to drive initiative, ideas, innovation. It is precisely the way to kill all that. Another blow to private initiative.

Soon we will have the government resorting to the fabbriki tal-kappar, korpi tad-dejma, Izra w Rabbi, Bahhar u Sewwi, in order to give the impression that unemployment is under check.