This government becomes more insufferably arrogant and autocratic by the day
The latest government statement – earlier tonight – declares that the Opposition leader is “held hostage by an extremist faction in his own party” and that his behaviour “is not in the national interest”.
I feel a bit of compassion (not much, though) for those people who actually believed that this government would be truly progressive and liberal. Some of them, with no great political education or insight into human nature, can be forgiven for buying the false bumph they were sold up to last March. Others, not so much.
Even the most slow-witted can’t have failed to notice by now that the government is not only behaving in a totalitarian manner (if you have to look up the definition, you don’t deserve the vote and we don’t deserve to have to live with your choices), but is also using the language of autocracy (ditto).
The prime minister should never speak of the Opposition leader in that manner. The reverse does not hold true. It is the person with power who must not round on the person without power, and not the other way round.
When the government sets upon somebody or something, it does so with the full force, power, authority and influence of the government. It is an unequal game and that is why it comes across as bullying arrogance. When individuals, private citizens, Opposition politicians and journalists savage the government, that’s democratic. When the government savages individuals, private citizens, Opposition politicians and journalists, that’s a threat to democracy.
The government tore into the Opposition leader for not taking cognizance of the fact that “the social partners” – right, which social partners, exactly? – told the prime minister that they are “looking forward to the start of the (IIP) scheme”.
For heaven’s sake, of course they said that to him, and for two reasons: 1. they’re worried about contradicting him because he comes across increasingly as vengeful and malicious, and they have the banana-republic-like mentality which has them see him as being in power over them, when the reverse is true because their organisations are permanent and he comes up for election in four years; and 2. their representatives find it opportune to tell him what he wants to hear as they might cream some personal advantage from this.
The reality is that they all think that the bad rap for Malta has been a total disaster and that it will take us years to recover from it, and that there are better ways to make money. The gist of what they think is what most of us think, that we really didn’t need all this hassle, and that if selling citizenship and using the money is Labour’s big plan, then Malta is roasted.
But the social partners are not going to say that to the prime minister’s face, are they, not given the sort of people their representatives are, which means most certainly not the sort you would put in the front line if they were soldiers – definitely not leaders of men, so to speak. They go down like skittles before Muscat’s bowling ball, then crawl off to complain about him behind his back.
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I do not think he needs mine, but I have to express words of solidarity with the Leader of the Opposition.
Besides “insufferable,” “autocratic” and “totalitarian,” I think the government’s behaviour is worrying and cause for serious concern.
The government needs to be reminded that a modern democracy is not just the rule by the majority as determined in free general elections – even though I am not sure how free the last general elections have been without knowing the precise involvement of Henley & Something, and now that Anglu Farrugia is no longer in a position to go to the Police Head Quarters with a list of corrupt practices, it is going to be hard to know this.
A modern democracy respects the freedom of speech of all, and arguments are countered with arguments.
The more I see the government, with all its consultants, advisors, experts, special envoys – some of them holding two, three or four such positions, and paid accordingly – resorting to insults, intimidation, harassment, attempts to shut up any opposition, the more I am convinced that it has no arguments left and that it is loosing reason.
The government lot are looking more and more like cornered rats. And the true colours of the rats are coming out. And they are turning out to be more than 50 shades of grey.
What do you mean by ‘no arguments left’? They never had any in the first place.
Yes, they would be terrified that he would stamp his feet. Apparently he used to do that all the time as a kid until he got what he wanted. Looks like age hasn’t changed anything.
My husband and I met Joseph Muscat a year before he became prime minister. We were not impressed with his behaviour then and told anyone who cared to listen to us that he was not the statesman Malta deserved.
I was so appalled at his behaviour during that meeting that on returning home I sent him an email giving vent to my feelings, in which I called him a liar.
I also remember from that meeting his minions and hangers-on scuttling after him like whipped dogs, the look of fear and alarm in their faces. And these were grown men.
If only more people would open their eyes and minds to see this man for what he is, but I think for a lot of them it would be like asking them to change their religion.
History will judge Joseph Muscat and I just hope I don’t have to say again “I told you so!”. It would be nice to be proved wrong.
Love him or hate him, I liked the way Eddie Fenech Adami did politics.
It was first always a question of principles with him. Sale of passports is wrong and should have been emphasized from the very beginning.
The very important fact that this scheme (which we now know is the cornerstone of Labour’s roadmap) was not included in their electoral programme, should also have been the second main objection.
Look what happened now. All of a sudden the EU is good and has given its blessing, according to Labour.
Rather than disappointed, I feel angry at the many gullible people who are also inevitably selfish. On one hand you have a prospective Labour MEP candidate fanning the flames against a one-size-fits-all EU (Alfred Sant) and on the other hand you have the likes of Owen Bonnici parading EU blessings for the citizenship scheme.
X’cuc hu Macchiavelli. kemm ghad irridu nibku.
Had the statement come from the Labour Party it would just about be admissible. The DOI has become as aggressive in tone as it was in the days of Toni Pellegrini and his successors.
This government requires a radical change in the way of doing opposition. The PL is just implement a crude and pragmatic way of doing politics, where even values and ethics are used for one or multiple purposes: to confuse and insensibilize the public opinion, to put the opposition out of place, to do propaganda, to divide, etc.
Remember history, Roman philosophers considered Christianity as a phenomenon associated with the uneducated and lower class. And look what happened.
That discrimination bind them together and made them stronger, even if that didn’t change anything for the majority it was very useful for their leaders.
Populist governments do the same (South America offers some good examples).
The PN has to consider an strategy to reach and involve all kinds of people, the cost of being and elite is that you are always a minority. If people feels divided and discriminated they will identify themselves with Labour, even if they do not get anything from them.
Information is the key and even in this circumstances the democratic system provides ways of controlling abuses that have to be implemented before is too late.
Christianity swept through the provinces, reaching the higher echelons via the diplomatic core with links to the senate.
The first thing it did was appropriate the Roman Pax symbol, blurring the difference between state and religion. It was soon understood monotheism carried huge benefits in the east where resistance and commercial interests were greatest.
The only pagan cult that remained, Mithras, limited to the military elite, closed in on itself gradually until it actually went underground.
Li kieku minflok PL fil-gvern kien hemm PN u qed jaghmlu dawn il-praspar kolla, x’tahsbu li kieku hawn f’dan il-pajjiz, bhalissa?
Jien nahseb li kieku xi strajk sar u xi protesta saret ukoll, apparti affarijiet ohra.
Allura nghid jien, il-poplu Malti sar daqshekk passiv, jew minghand il-Labour jaccetta kollox u jghid ‘hey, it’s not as bad as it could be’?
What are they best at, being incompetent or arrogant?