Instead of focussing on the Justice Minister and what he says, Franco Debono tries to get attention for himself
One of the fundamental problems with Franco Debono is that he is so ill bred and ill mannered. Lots of people who are ill bred reach a point in their adult lives when they realise that good manners are an asset and that those among whom they seek to move do not behave as they do.
So they watch and learn what they were never taught while growing up.
Not so Franco Debono. In this he is not exceptional, because Malta is the land that good manners forgot. Ill-mannered Maltese people do not feel clunky and out of place; they do not feel different or that they are doing anything wrong. Many are literally incapable of picking up the subtle clues that their behaviour is out of order.
Yet even though Debono is not exceptional in his lack of manners and his inability to understand how coarse he is, he is exceptionally coarse for somebody in his position.
It’s bad enough that the Attorney-General didn’t think to switch his phone to silent mode. Isn’t this the most typical Maltese scenario? The Justice Minister is trying to make himself heard and focus on what he has to say, while on either side of him, the Law Commissioner shifts and smirks and tries to catch the eye of reporters and the Attorney General fidgets with his ringing phone.
The Justice Minister himself is also typically Maltese in his inability to handle the situation correctly. When the Attorney General’s phone began ringing, the Justice Minister should have stopped talking until the noise was over, and made some pleasant remark that smoothed over the situation. He should not have persisted in talking through the loud ringing, which only served to make the situation even worse as people struggled to hear him.
If these are the manners of the highest in the land – the Justice Minister, the Law Commissioner and the Attorney-General – no wonder your average Joe and Mary are so rough and uncivilised. The example they are set by their supposed betters is terrible.
15 Comments Comment
Leave a Comment
I love it here in Malta.
I can behave like a total c*nt and still appear civilised.
That’s because you have an oasis of civilisation to retreat to. We Maltese don’t.
London mayor Boris Johnson excels at this too. He is useless yet is is a potential future PM.
Boris Johnson a c*nt?
He’s the c*nt’s c*nt.
Qed nispiċċaw aħna li nafu kif imorru l-affarijiet, nagħmlu kif iridu huma għax għandhom is-saħħa… u la l-president jew il-prim ministru jew xi “do you know who I am” iridu hekk, ikollna nagħmlu li jridu huma. U addio protokoll, addio manjieri, addio sens komun. U mhux xorta… l-aqwa li saret iċ-ċerimonja anke jekk l-president jew il-prim ministru jaslu xi kwarta tard. Kollox jibqa’ għaddej qisu ma ġara xejn. Prosit tassew li min wikkiena b’ċorma injuranti.
An Englishman would have cracked a joke and had everyone in stitches. They are the best at telling jokes and laugh at themselves yet conduct serious business.
The Minister should have asked the AG in a loud, clear, voice: “Dak hallejtu mixghul, Sur Avukat Generali, jew tieghek ukoll “anke mitfi jdoqq?”
Excellent ciccio I remember this one.
Tajba din. Għoġbitni.
Shame Dr. Joseph Muscat was not there. He’s the one with the good old humour.
The Attorney General’s mobile phone should be carried by his PA.
That IS the done thing. This is basic good manners in the circumstances.
What sort of AG do we have?
Tal-biki man.
Mediocrity is the word.
Boy Scouts (with apologies).
[Daphne – In Malta, important persons don’t have their PA carry their phone. They carry their own phone so that they can call their PA and their PA can call them. We haven’t yet reached that stage of development where the truly important persons are the ones without phones because somebody else is dealing with all that.]
There is too much wheeling and dealing in Malta to trust a PA with your phone.
It’s interesting to know why Muscat is still kowtowing to Franco while he ditched Godfrey and Marlene Farrugia.
[Daphne – I am tempted to say ‘duh’, but won’t. He ditched Godfrey Farrugia and Marlene Farrugia (not Godfrey and Marlene Farrugia, as they are not married to each other and Marlene was born Farrugia just as Godfrey was) because he is kowtowing to Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando for exactly the same reasons he is kowtowing to Franco Debono. Godfrey Farrugia and Marlene Farrugia are not the prime minister’s personal targets; they are Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s.]
My family and I moved to Malta almost 2 years ago and it was the dumbest thing we’ve ever done. It is only when living here you find out how ignorant, agressive and greedy the (bulk of the) Maltese people really are. No honour or pride. Just blind greed at the expense of everything and everybody else. We’re moving back to civilization (UK) in November to recover from this horrific experience. Malta….never again!