The swearing in of the new president: it’s going to be another Mintoff funeral circus marathon
Our only consolation is that Mary Spiteri won’t be singing some dirge, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca won’t be exposed in an open coffin, and Jo won’t be kissing it as it circles between town and country followed by throngs of hamalli.
I’ve decided to start using that word because really, it’s the only way to describe what’s happening to Malta: the rise and rise of hamallagni and the complete take-over of this country by the values and standards of total hamalli.
And then they are surprised because there’s a swathe of people who feel alienated and as though they are living in some kind of foreign land though it’s our own and we grew up here. This is not about Labour vs Nationalist. It’s about hamalli vs non-hamalli, wherever they are and however they vote.
In the normal scheme of things, hamalli aspire to be something else. Now, we have a situation where those who are something else aspire to be hamalli, or at least try hard to share and appreciate and even tolerate or admire hamalli’s standards and values.
They see it as being democratic rather than just plain stupid and dangerous – there are sound and valid reasons why the standards and values of the more civilised members of society, who are by definition more highly evolved in practically every way, are taken as the gold standard for that society.
Though they get the basics fundamentally wrong by thinking that it’s mainly about money and ‘things’, even the Muscats understand this and are madly aspirational, with all of Mrs Muscat’s talk about ‘climbing the ladder’. We know that she means up and not down.
But most hamalli are now not even bothering with that. They’re not interested in following their Hamalla Queen Mrs Muscat up her ladder. They want to remain hamalli, ghax ahna proud. They’re proud to be hamalli. They just want more things, and they’re not the things non-hamalli want, either.
What provoked me into this, the final straw?
Look at the itinerary for the president’s swearing-in, which is like something scripted by Eva Peron’s aides in a 1950s South American dictatorship to wow the hamalli of Argentina.
There’s going to be a six-hour ceremony, starting at Hal Luqa with a big show of Mrs Coleiro Preca “bidding farewell to her constituents”.
Then there’s going to be mass for a thousand guests under a tent at Dar il-Providenza, to show how much she cares about those who her supporters think of and describe as ‘immankati’, who will be brought out and paraded to make the new president look good and caring: the Xarabank/Peppi Azzopardi in L-Istrina approach to public life, Peppi Azzopardi being the king of hamalli.
Shamelessly, the prime minister’s office, which for some reason is the one organising this charade when it is the president’s office that should be doing it (distinction between government and head of state), says that this is “to promote the President’s visibility among the most vulnerable”. Read that again. To promote the president’s visibility among the most vulnerable – and not to promote the visibility of the vulnerable.
When the mass is over, representatives of the political parties will go up to the new president and “present her with a Maltese flag”.
For crying out loud.
Then Mrs Coleiro Preca will go to Hal Qormi for yet another bout of bidding farewell to her constituents, in case they get jealous of the ones in Hal Luqa.
That bit of hamallagni over, she will go to Valletta, the only place she should be, and do the only thing formality requires, which is proceed down Republic Street to the Palace. Except that she is going to proceed on foot, followed by a throng of hamalli in their hamalli outfits. And she herself will be dressed like a butch lesbian headmistress from 1981.
Just in case we missed her visibility among the vulnerable under a tent for a thousand at Dar Il-Providenza earlier in the day, she’s going to use them again to promote herself and her caring nature, by installing a crowd of “disabled and other vulnerable people” in the palace courtyard to watch her being sworn in, via a large screen.
They will then “get the opportunity to meet the President in person” – which is code for a massive photo-opportunity of Mrs Coleiro Preca the new caring president surrounded by what, again, her supporters call ‘msieken’, ‘immankati’ and ‘jahasra dak u dik’.
Then she will go up on the balcony and wave at us, flanked by Jo and Simon Busuttil, again mixing the roles of the executive and the head of state. Though this bit is just about tolerable, it clearly lacks the required hamallagni element, so they are going to add it in.
The national anthem, which is normally trotted out straight by the army band, is going to be “accompanied by a number of singers and all those present will be encouraged to sing along.”
As though the Xarabank element were not enough, we are now going to have the Catholic Institute Christmas pantomime element too. And maybe we are going to have Mary Spiteri after all – because she is now a vulnerable person rejected by Gensna and still hankering after Tema 79.
The new president will then lay a wreath at the foot of the war monument. Jo can give her lessons in that. He does this really well.
From there she will go to San Anton Palace and have formal meetings with the prime minister and the Opposition leader, which is exactly where she should be meeting them and why they shouldn’t be on the balcony with her or taking part in that charade with the flag.
And then, to round off a day of Xarabank hamallagni, President Coleiro Preca is going to be the star guest on a live broadcast of Xarabank itself, hosted by the king and hero of hamalli.
And the following day, the president goes to Gozo for “a day of activities” and more hamallagni. At this rate, those people left in Malta who aren’t hamalli and who don’t want to be hamalli or to admire and ‘respect’ the values of hamalli, are going to have to wall themselves up in the citadel and form a counter-culture.
Mrs Coleiro Preca, overstepping the bounds of protocol once more, has appointed Gordon Refalo, the parish priest of Hal Luqa, as “spiritual director to the presidency” before she is even president.
She doesn’t need the super-tal-pepe Fr Refalo, my old friend and Sliema neighbourhood contemporary, who in terms of background perfectly symbolises everything her supporters were taught to detest, despise, insult and spit at, as spiritual director. She needs him as ADC.
Go for it, Gordon. Malta needs you to remind the president that this country is not one large Xarabank studio full of screaming, shouting, jumping hamalli who think they are the new gold standard.
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You missed her last appointment for the day.
Xarabank shared a link.
16 hours ago
Il-President il-Ġdid ta’ Malta – Mary Louise Coleiro Preca … Nhar il-Ġimgħa LIVE F’XARABANK
I ‘ve heard from reliable sources that she will be visiting the new Lidl supermarket – you know cause that’s where the poor go to buy their needs and just to be seen there with the normal people.
Is Minister Manuel Mallia poor? He was seen shopping there as well.
You’d be surprised that in the UK even some well-off people (most of whom are footballers’ wives type of nouveaux-riches) shop at Lidl and Aldi
Even Philip Rizzo’s wife shops there… and he received an iced bun.
Philip Rizzo is separated so who are you referring to?
[Daphne – Philip Rizzo is not ‘separated’. He left his first wife, the mother of that daughter he goes on about (clearly, he had no compunction about leaving her along with her mother, so much for that) and has lived for many years with Moira Ferry, who he may or may not have married since. In any case, she is his de facto or de jure wife.]
Good thing you mentioned Philip Rizzo. Will he be there when Marilweez addresses the persons with disability, to remind them of Jo’s promise to build a home where they can live when their parents have departed?
Anybody who has had dealings with Philip Rizzo would know very well what a lowlife backstabber he is and I know this from direct experience of close family.
I am not surprised at his having no compunctions whatsoever about taking advantage of his daughter’s disability for his own material gain.
I am not at liberty to give any details so Daphne, do feel free to delete this comment if you deem it necessary.
The first thing the new president should do, is to apologize to the nation for the favours she did during the last twelve months at the expense of honest citizens.
An apology of being part of the 81-87 hideous and undemocratic government is still due before that.
For someone who claims li ma tiddilettax bic-cerimonji, the six-hour marathon must be hugely trying.
Coleiro Preca has appointed Fr Gordon Refalo as spiritual director to the presidency, even though she is not officially the president. Fr Refalo is too polite and well-bred to overstep the mark and point out to the not-yet-president that her behaviour is not befitting of nor relevant to the presidency. I hope that someone in the office of the president will take her aside and explain the constitutional role to her.
You seriuosly think taking her aside and explaining her role will change anything. These are people who preach socialism to the masses and then live the high life of greed and superiority amongst themselves..
At this rate she is going to need a mobile toilet.
Waste of time, money and populism seems to be the trade mark of this government.
Meanwhile, the true leaders of the country and the economy must be starting to feel their motivation waning.
So the new president is going to make a point of starting out with a Roman Catholic mass for a thousand under a tent. Then her first non-ceremonial act as president will be to sign a law abhorrent to the Catholic Church: marriage between two people of the same gender.
Separation of church and state should be complete. If she doesn’t believe in imposing her religious beliefs on her state function, then she shouldn’t start off with a Catholic mass.
It’s either one or the other.
A Roman Catholic mass for a thousand people.
An official spiritual director.
The signing of what is effectively a gay marriage bill.
An official separation of church and state.
Acrobatic feats of logic are in order.
What a circus.
She’s only following in the footsteps of her predecessor. The one who lamented in front of the pope about what a disgrace that thing about separation of church and state is, madoff.
Daphne, you got this completely wrong, “Now, we have a situation where those who are something else aspire to be hamalli, ” this lot are pure hamalli, they were never something else.
[Daphne – I don’t think you understood that sentence. It means: now, those who are not hamalli aspire to be hamalli. And that is exactly what is happening. People who are not hamalli feel they have to be hamalli so as to be accepted by hamalli. They actually want to be accepted by hamalli, when the situation was always the other way round, and it was hamalli who sought acceptance by others. This is because hamalli culture is now the dominant culture and other people are feeling left out and marginalised. So they try to be hamalli as well. They mix with hamalli, they have hamalli friends, they socialise with hamalli, and they end up with a hamallu lifestyle without even knowing what happened. Because we’re democratic, you know.]
Simon Busuttil should watch out. He’s already sliding into the trap.
The PN is in a veritable fix. It’s either ‘turn hamallu’ and appeal to 60% of the population, or keep your dignity and never get to govern again.
Yes, why has Simon Busuttil signed up for this freak show?
Had he disagreed to take part, he would have been singled out as a non-team player and quite possibly lost a few votes but at least he would have kept his dignity and shown that not all Malta subscribes to the ħamallaġni way of thinking.
Because he is pusillanimous. Either that or he actually thinks it’s the right thing to do.
There is a way out.
It requires some very sharp instruments, which we have.
Key indicators of a Maltese Hamallu lifestyle: spending time uploading pics of your breakfast, lunch and dinner on Facebook, and then commenting, liking and sharing the posts of others.
Jo had said that “Coleiro Preca mhux se tkun President taċ-ċerimonji.”, for crying out loud!
And then “On April 5, the new President will head on to Gozo” probably for a honeymoon in that newly acquired and refurbished San Lawrenz farmhouse.
Peppi Azzopardi is the king of hamalli.
I can die happy now, because someone has finally said it.
Xarabank is just a bus-ful of hamalli.
For one not interested in ceremony, it seems that six hours of tacky theatre are just what she needed.
Karmenu Vella as EU Commissioner? This must be the strongest sign to date that our Prime Minister does not give a damn about the Commission.
Mrs Coleiro Preca’s brother is the new administrator at Dar tal-Providenza. Thus I guess it is another stunt in the name of Malta Taghna Lkoll.
Xi dwejjaq ta’ pajjiz.
Is she also related to San Gorg Preca?
No, Mother Theresa.
Consistency seems to be very lacking. Considering that the first thing the president will be doing will be the signing of the civil union bill, I cannot really figure the role of two priests pictured in the above photo. Will they be trying to dissuade Her Excellency from doing this?
It will be fun watching Karmenu Vella being grilled by the Commission before his appointment.
My problem with the Abela presidency and the soon-to-be Coleiro Preca presidency is that they seem to think the role is theirs to modify and adapt as they please.
The Constitution clearly defines what the role of the President is and how this should be executed. Abela and Coleiro Preca seems to ignore this completely. This disregard of protocol just unmasks the ignorance of the office holders.
The Presidency has always been relevant – despite what Muscat may suggest. His complete disregard for protocol clouds his judgment. His understanding of the Constitution is frightening.
The six-hour long ceremony is tacky and naff and deeply insulting. If the President-Elect wanted to thank her constituents, she should have done so on another day – in a separate non-official event. In this case, the line between party politics and the office of head of state will be blurred.
Her “displays of national unity” seem fascist and insincere. Her decision to have her inauguration mass “among the most vulnerable” is very condescending and patronising. It is a shame that the carers and staff at the Dar tal-Providenza didn’t point this out to her.
With regards to the latter comment, I am speaking as a person who had a close relative who was disabled. It is insulting to have vulnerable people take part in some kind of freak show for Laburisti to boost her own ego.
I am sick and tired of having my intelligence insulted by these ill-bred hamalli who have no sense of propriety and tact.
Tat-tined qed jaghmel erba’ soldi mhux hazin.
Konrad Mizzi as Minister for Energy and Health: an admission that this government’s energy policy is bad for your health.
I like it when things are called by their name.
Hamalli, ergo plebej, dawk li mhumiex maqtughin ghal ebda tmexxija. Semmai ghandhom bzonn xi hadd jiggwidhom.
Hamalli, dawk li kull ma jaghmlu jaghmluh ghax jithajru minn haddiehor jew b’pika. M’ghandhom l-ebda hsieb, vokazzjoni jew volonta’ hierga minn qalbhom.
Hamalli, dawk li dejjem iffissati f’haddiehor, x’inhu jaghmel, xi xtara, fejn siefer, x’inhu liebes. L-unka raguni ghal hajja hi li jkunu bhal, fil-kaz tal-Labour, ghax flok haddiehor.
Hamalli, dawk li grew kemm felhu wara l-flus, ghamluhom u jibqghu nieqsa, mdejqin ghax jaghmlu x’jaghmlu, ghandhom kemm ghandhom, jibqghu ihhossuhom anqas mis-‘sinjur’.
Hamalli, dawk li ma jafux kif joholqu xejn jekk mhux permezz ta’ storbju shih, f’kull ma jaghmlu, jahlu, ikkabbru bla bzonn, jeqirdu biex ikollhom il-gdid. Il-konservazzjoni mhix taghhom, is-sabih ta’ haddiehor u ta’ qabilhom ma jistax jezisti ghax jitfihom.
Hamalli, dawk li m’huma kurjuzi ghal xejn, jisimghu kelma u minghalihom jistghu jew imeruha jew izebilhu. Ghidli kif jistghu qatt dan-nies jofru xi jaga fuq livell politiku jew socjali.
Hamalli, dawk li jghalluk.
While she is opting to have the said mass as a statement in favour if the poor and vulnerable, in reality she is exploiting and patronizing them.
If she really wants to make a statement she should refrain from spending around 15,000 euro on a makeshift tent and instead donate the money to Dar Il-Providenza.
An excellent appraisal, Daph. Bottom line is they are a huge bunch of hamalli who don’t even realise what protocol is or what it is for, and who think they are creating something “new and progressive”.
These are the most dangerous hamalli we have had in a hundred years, since they set about burning flour mills and looting Valletta, because now they are in power.
Gordon Refalo Caze de Caumont, spiritual director to the Queen of Hamalli.
Now I have truly seen it all. Yes, you are right. He should be her ADC and protocol adviser, not her spiritual director.
I hope he will be giving some advice in that department, because it is sorely needed.
Robert that was the best comment I have read so far!
Considering that this president will be just another glorified government minister (as if we do not have enough!), catering for her political supporters, promoting Labour at every opportunity while playing at ‘uniting the nation’, it is perfectly in place to have a ‘hamalliginita’ as never seen before in Malta.
If I were Simon Busuttil, I would report sick on that day and send a bunch of flowers, now that he has already said he will be a part of this mess.
The 6th district is made of Luqa, Qormi and Siggiewi. Why is she going to bode farewell to the constituents of Luqa and Qormi only? Maybe she won’t have that sort of welcome in Siggiewi?
[Daphne – She’s going to Dar il-Providenza, the ‘Siggiewi home’.]
Spot-f*cking-on, Daphne.
I think we all need to go and live in Mdina, turning it into a San Marino independent state.
Marvelous idea! I CANNOT take more of this.
Our new president should seek enlightenment from her spiritual director, Fr Gordon Refalo, before signing the civil union bill.
You guys are so bored with your life that you need to go and get a life. Grow up D, not worth writing your name as you give people nightmares just reading your hatered for your fellow patriots. You call yourself a patriot to this country? Hate does not solve anything, expect hate! If you have nothing worthwhile to write then don’t write it, free speech is for everyone, you on the other hand should be a grand Master of the KKK, which by the way you can look it up if you still have any brains cells left!