This is what Muscat had said when claiming that he had asked his deputy leader to resign because of remarks about a magistrate
Published:
May 13, 2014 at 8:55am
But that was two months before the general election, when he needed an excuse to throw Anglu Farrugia overboard because he was embarrassing, and bring in Louis Grech instead to clinch the vote of the older tal-pepe switchers.
Now they are happily suggesting – led by Muscat himself – that Judge Mallia in the Court of Appeal has been a party to the political persecution of Cyrus Engerer, as was the Attorney General who appealed (under a Labour government) against the original judgement which acquitted Engerer.
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Double standards?
One thing is for sure, Joseph Muscat has been doing a great job at the gym since then. He has doubled in size in all directions, except the vertical.
This man is dangerous. He has absolutely no moral or ethical principles and is proving this on a daily basis. Where are the journalists? They should be having a field day but I’m sorry to say that they are a bunch of wimps.
Screw the journalists. Where is the Opposition?
During the previous legislature, the PL, then in opposition, knew exactly how to make its voice heard on each and every single issue and each and every single non-issue that it could dream of. It did not oppose, it militated daily, actively, relentlessly, with only one goal in mind. It was not only marginally successful in persuading voters but it managed to garner an absolute majority the like of which had never been seen before in Maltese politics.
Increasingly more frequently of late, I have heard callers on Radio 101 talk shows, bemoan the fact that all those who were so vociferously opposed to certain issues before March 2013 are now silent.
What they, and everyone else, including the PN fail to realise is that it was the PL and its efficient propaganda machine that raised the profile of all those issues that would bring about its success in the ensuing elections. The fact that individuals flocked to the PL was not a cause but simply an effect of this propaganda.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, the leader of the Opposition declared himself to be non-confrontational, and he insists that this will not change. And whereas I can respect a more mature way of doing politics in Malta, his very nature may prove to be his undoing.
The Maltese electorate thrives on confrontation and it is this confrontation that draws the crowds in and that wins over the electorate.
It is not necessary for the leader of the Opposition to indulge in the same schoolyard antics that our prime minister does. However, until the PN itself (and whatever is left of its propaganda machine) becomes as loud as possible each and every time the government puts a foot wrong, we can all brace ourselves for at least another 9 years of this government.
Whilst I agree in part with what you’re saying and sometimes feel the same way, at the same time I feel the Opposition is doing what it can under the circumstances and here I’m referring to its financial situation not to mention the difference in parliamentary seats.
Of course we can ask whose fault it is, but it is useless at this point asking that question because the problem is there and now the party has to resolve it somehow.
I firmly believe that until the PN solves its financial situation, it will not get on its feet again because unfortunately politics is no longer about ideals but about marketing strategies.
The Opposition learned this bitter lesson in the last election. It also had to cope with the media which were determined to see the Nationalist Party out of government out and so played a major part in making sure that happened.
The media gave the PN hell when in government and now Joseph Muscat is getting away scot-free with appalling behaviour.
The fact remains that we have a lot of armchair critics who expect others to do the work for them. The Nationalist Party is doing its best in the circumstances but so far the response is limited indeed.
Before criticising the NP please first ask yourself what are you doing to help this party move forward.
Carlos, I for one have done my fair share for the PN in my younger and not so younger days. Not once did I get so much as a thank you, but that is not why I was in it.
When, years later and under a new Prime Minister I spoke up about an issue that fell within some of my very relevant professional competencies, I was unceremniously asked by Dr. Gonzi to mind my own business, because the matters in question were of national importance and were being given all the necessary attention.
The issue in question would surface in 2012 as a scandal that rocked the govenrmment – you may be able to infer what I am referring to. The PN has not been doing its best in a while, and perheps not since we became members of the EU when it lost its political compass and simply wasted its ever decreasing majority over the PL.
Do stop whinging about hiw the PN doing its best under the present circumstances. There are always people ready to come forward and help, but to do so, the PN must show leadership and that it is not a spent force. And if according to you this is the best that the PN has to offer, please note that it is nowhere near good enough.
Finally, as for being an armchair critic (perhaps I am indeed less active in the party), do note that I voted for the PN in 2013, and in every previous election, and that gives me each and every right to critisise the party that I voted for.
Incidentally, who was the victim’s lawyer when the complaint was originally filed with the police?
[Daphne – Labour Party man Andy Ellul. Thanks for reminding me.]
Because it suits them to do so. Had Cyrus been found guilty in the first place but acquitted later on by Judge Mallia they would have been dancing to another melody.
Daphne has become the “in” thing for reporting, scoops and breaking news. More information is shed here than on Balzan`s paper and during his TV show.