Comments on: Star comment: “I am sick and tired of having my intelligence insulted by these ill-bred hamalli who have no sense of propriety and tact.”

By: Calculator

Calculator — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 13:49:00 +0000

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-04-01/news/coleiro-preca-presidency-to-facilitate-debate-on-social-issues-4464377856/

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-04-01/news/president-to-act-as-consultant-to-social-policy-minister-farrugia-4461690880/

So, the Presidency is now being reduced to an extension of the individual’s previous portfolio if s/he was a Minister and/or become the next Madre Theresa of Calcutta. Not that the latter isn’t a nice gesture and all, but that’s not the President’s job; the above post clearly shows why it should remain so.

By: Alexander Ball

Alexander Ball — Sun, 30 Mar 2014 00:07:47 +0000

If you boycott all these events and ignore the local media, it makes life much more pleasurable.

By: Charlemagne

Charlemagne — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 22:16:08 +0000

In reply to MoBi.

As a citizen of Malta who believes in a secular State, I strongly object to the so-called “tradition” whereby the President of Malta makes it a point (a) to visit the Pope as his first “state visit” or “official visit” and to (b) visit the Pope as his/her last official visit.

To me this smacks of medieval feudalism and I cannot think of any other country where such a “tradition” exists.

The first visit is reminiscent of the anointing of medieval kings by the Pope and the last of a sort of by-your-leave from the Pope to end one’s office. To me, this is subservience to the Holy See and unbecoming to a modern State.

I make it clear that I have no problem with state visits to the Holy See in the normal course of diplomacy but what I object to is the precise symbolic timing which to me stands for obeisance to a foreign State and a particular religion.

President Abela has followed this practice started, if I am not mistaken, sometime in the 1990s.

It remains to be seen whether the new President will continue this “tradition”, if a State born just fifty years ago can really have “traditions”.

By: Mary Anne

Mary Anne — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 21:47:24 +0000

Hear, hear. Very well said. I cringe at the thought of the President elect representing our nation in international circles where protocol counts.

By: Neil

Neil — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 21:46:44 +0000

We’ve all, well some of us, have been thinking along these exact same lines. Here it has been summarized accurately and succinctly.

And what about il-Guy? Muscat is treating the European Commissioner role like a presidency. Putting the aging, corrupt Labour old boy out to pasture, so to speak.

By: Grezz

Grezz — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 21:35:11 +0000

Hear, hear.

By: Ed

Ed — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 21:04:21 +0000

One of the issues that we seem to be missing is Jo’s sudden talk of having a second republic.

Is this some kind of excuse to give this arrogant upstart more power, or to feed his narcissistic vanity?

By: Gahan

Gahan — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 20:57:17 +0000

Labour presidents seem to want to outshine their predecessors.

I was yearning for Fenech Adami’s or Ugo Mifsud Bonnici’s normality but have to put up with Coleiro Preca trying to outshine Gorg Abela and Pope Bergoglio in one fell swoop.

By: mc

mc — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 20:54:08 +0000

The Queen’s coronation, a ceremony that hasn’t changed much in some 900 years, was about three hours duration. This ‘commoner’ is going for six hours.

By: Jozef

Jozef — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 20:49:35 +0000

Totalitarian leaders always proceeded to disguise their gradual rise to power as some benevolent dissolution of all civil instruments and constitutional checks and balances. This accompanied by a parallel obfuscation of all that exists outside state insititutions.

This reshuffle has removed anyone older and with far greater localised influence than Muscat, the inner circle exclusively his. Zammit Lewis, Mizzi, Bonnici belong to him.

We won’t have to actively participate in anything, we’ll be taken care of, anything else a spanner in the works.