The prime minister is restless
Back to that breakfast meeting, and what the prime minister said there. “Running the country is not just about keeping a steady hand on the tiller,” he said (miaooowwww). “That is the minimum that is required. Far from resting, this government’s approach is restless.”
Again, just as with ‘quick’ and ‘fast’ (see previous post), the devil of idiom is in the detail. The word Muscat and his speech-writer were looking for here is TIRELESS not restless.
‘Restless’ does not mean ‘without rest’ or ‘working hard and ceaselessly’. It means a person shifting about in a state of nervous anxiety.
Toddlers are restless when they are overtired. People tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, are restless. They suffer a restless night that is generally the result of that same nervous anxiety. Teenagers waiting for their examination results can’t settle down to anything and are restless. Adults fidgeting relentlessly while waiting for bad news are restless.
But when people are determined to achieve something, their efforts are TIRELESS. They work TIRELESSLY.
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“The young and the restless” prime minister of Malta works tirelessly.
Freudian slip much?
No. Simply absolute illiteracy when it comes to the use of English.
That’s exactly the first thing that came to mind.
Daphne,
You don’t give the clown Muscat a break, do ya?
lol
Bill Millam
Los Angeles
Trying to appear “tireless” but actually being “restless” is Muscat’s big problem.
“Running the country is not just about keeping a steady hand on the tiller,”
Of course it isn’t.
In his case it’s all about keeping a steady hand on the till.
“Bla mistrieh” = “restless”, thought some bright spark at OPM.
Heqq, “tireless” tfisser ma tghejjiex. Or even worse, driving fuq ir-rimmijiet.
They can throw any amount of Chinese money at it, but they’ll never solve their biggest problem: their illiteracy.
I think what he meant was bla kwiet.
“Working tirelessly” – “hidma sfiqa u bla heda” – typical language of the Labour political hamalli.
Maybe the people currently running the country really are just restless rather than working tirelessly.
He’s a fine one to talk. He doesn’t do much except say yes to selling off bits of Malta to communist dictatorships.
He must be very restless, I agree totally. It seems that all currents are against him and his members of parliament. Msieken – cannot find their feet yet.
Since the episodes involving Tyre Limited, Dalli John has been working tyrelessly as Special Consultant to Muscat Joseph on a philanthropic basis.
There is no hope for this government, or as they would put this government is hopeless
Daphne, are you sure the script-writer didn’t mean TILL (not tiller) as in “hands in the till?”
I agree that ‘restless’ was used in the wrong context, though a government that feels it is not really achieving (or getting) what it wants might also become restless, I guess.
He managed to mistakenly use a word which purveys a negative concept instead of the word which he should have used to presumably convey a positive attribute of the government. Tghid ma waslitluxx il-memo/e-mail biex isemmi l-affarijiet posittivi biss?
Ah, speech writer, speech writer kif hallejtni (ghallejtni)!
I would be restless too in his position.
Asinus asinorum in saecula saeculorum.
What on earth is everybody talking about ?
The PM is restless. He should be. He certainly is.
Do you blame him after having made a hash of things for the past sixteen months?
I don’t.
Maybe it’s the summer heat, but the prime minister looks tired. At most of his recent public appearances or speeches he has seemed utterly bored.
The post-electoral euphoria has faded away and the reality of running the country is beginning to sink in, despite recent victory at the EP elections.
The anger and spite flung at critics (probably a cover for an extremely frustrated government bereft of ideas) is also sputtering to a halt.
Platitudes such as ‘energija pozittiva’ and this latest gem are now being uttered only to convince himself and his party to stumble blindly on, in the full knowledge and with the dull resignation that the only way is to sell out to China and a bunch of crooks.
These mantras are even losing the effect of painting the Opposition in a negative light.
Yes, weariness sets in when the circling sharks are tirelessly pulling the strings of government tighter and the numerous ever-restless supporters are still gnashing at its ankles for the promised iced bun.
Our Prime Minister is a wicked man, and there’s no rest for the wicked. Hands on the tiller he says, isn’t that par idejn sodi?
I think they should be grateful to Daphne for giving them free lessons every day.
Well done indeed
He’s restless with John Dalli.
The Nationalists have very wisely got rid of the man of many scandals and who’s now there to defend him? Joey boy.
“Mr. Nair specializes in developing major infrastructure projects utilizing Chinese EXIM credit.”
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=145562659&privcapId=145526058