It was Muscat, not Konrad Mizzi, who gave his word that he would resign

Published: October 13, 2014 at 3:54pm

And what’s more, he reiterated that pledge only a few months ago. From TVM’s interview show Dissett of 6 March this year:-

Reno Bugeja: Ghadek konvint li l-progett tal-power station tal-gass f’Delimara se jsir fit-time frames li stabbilixxa l-gvern qabel l-elezzjoni?

Joseph Muscat: Iva, konvintissmu.

Reno Bugeja: U jekk ma jsirx hekk ghadek marbut li tirrizenja?

Joseph Muscat: Iva, jien inzomm il-kelma tieghi.

You’d best watch it on the video clip, though. The best description I can come up with for his attitude and communication style is in Maltese, not English: tad-daqqiet ta’ harta.Truly insufferable u l-veru antipatiku, miskin.




54 Comments Comment

  1. canon says:

    Liar! He said that because he was then two months away from the European Parliament elections. He knew already that the deadline would not be met.

  2. Phili B says:

    Why isn’t the video clip run every 30 min on Net Tv, and a couple of PN political ads on TVM? PN wake up, will you!

    • anthony says:

      What’s PN?

      • carlos says:

        Always the PN Do you respond when the PN call you or are one of those who like others to do the job for them. There too many of these sitting pretty people.

      • H.P. Baxxter says:

        Jesus, Carlos. WE want others to do the job for us?

        Do we have a seat in parliament? Are we salaried employees of the Nationalist Party? How dare you accuse us of sitting pretty?

        They are PAID to do that job. It is they who should do it.

        P.S. On a very personal level, I’ve screamed myself hoarse trying to knock some sense into this backward people. Perhaps you think I should be licking stamps at Stamperija instead.

    • rjc says:

      It was run, together with many others, during David Thake’s excellent radio show yesterday (Sunday) morning and is all over FaceBook and YouTube.

      Now Joseph Muscat is saying that it was the reduction of utility bills that he was talking about. The liar simply spins from one statement to another and manages keeps a straight face.

    • GiovDeMartino says:

      PN?

    • shevchenco says:

      Ax inezistenti. Titfa head of news meta dan mohhu fis-sensazzjoni bhal ma kien f’Xarabank!!. Ahna ahna jew mahniex!!

      Wake up Sur PN!! Mur gib kieku kienet ahbar ghal tan-naha l-ohra tal- One News. X’kienu jaghmlu

  3. Francis Saliba MD says:

    ” Iva, jien inzomm il-kelma tieghi.” (Joseph Muscat about resigning if the power station is not operational within two years).

    Famous last words that will for ever haunt Muscat and his Labour Party.

    • Zunzana Blu says:

      I wouldn’t count on it; I’m sure they don’t give a toss.

      • Cikku says:

        Hekku! X’jimpurtah mill-wegħda li għamel. Mela dak qatt xi darba mpurtah minn Malta. Dak ried jirbaħ l-elezzjoni akkost ta’ kollox, bil-gideb, bil-wegħdiet foloz ma’ min irid… basta tgħaddi tiegħu. Qed ifakkarni f’xena mill-film Gone with the Wind, fejn l-artista tgħid ” I am going to live through this and when it’s all over, if I had to lie, steal, cheat or kill, as God is my witness I will never be hungry again.”

        U nibqa’ ninsisti li l-iswitchers li riedu l-bidla tawh palata sew. Dawn is-sentejn kienu kkaratterizzati bil-gideb, u l-ħabi u l-vendikazzjonijiet. Tgħid dawn l-istess switchers qed jibku l-iżball li għamlu li minkejja l-wegħdiet fiergħa tiegħu se jibqa’ ggranfat mas-siġġu tal-poter anke jekk lill-poplu daħaq bih?

        U PN qum qawma fuq tiegħek għax se nerġgħu nibqgħu nittewbu!

  4. Interested Bystander says:

    Why is everyone making such a song and dance about when the blessed electricity generator is up and running? That a government capital project is delayed is not exactly out of the ordinary, that politicians get ahead of themselves and promise everything to everyone is par for the course, not the opposite.

    How many government capital projects have ever been delivered on time and on budget? Not many, I venture to guess.

    The PM already put his “get out of jail card” on the table when they announced that the electricity rates will be lowered before the new electricity generating plant is built. That was rather obvious when the announcement came.

    Politicians lie. Duh……

    • ciccio says:

      Maybe you have not noticed that the gas power station is not a government capital project, but a private one.

      And it is in here that Muscat is failing terribly. He should be holding the private investor to account, or else he carries the political responsibility.

    • Jozef says:

      Yes OK, tutto un magna magna.

  5. Antoine Vella says:

    After letting us know – without actually telling us – that the rash promise of a power station in two years will not be kept, Muscat quickly makes yet another rash promise: it will be delayed only by a few months.

    Does he never learn?

    He IS going to miss the deadline and nothing can change that; whether by four months or one year, his promise is not going to be kept.

    At this point, instead of desperately trying to speed things up, he’d better concentrate on doing the job properly. No more corners should be cut, no studies left undone and no safety precautions skipped.

    Incidentally, even the much-trumpeted 25% tariff reduction has not been carried out as promised. Neither I nor anyone I have spoken to has had their bill reduced by a quarter. After the elections we found out that reductions may be up to 25% but not necessarily 25% for everyone.

  6. Someone says:

    LOL @ SHAME ON YOU if you really expect Muscat to do the honourable thing and resign.

    He would never give up the power and its trappings which he and that pushy, controlling, acquisitive wife love so much.

    What’s tragic is that he is now in the perfect position to “find” enough money to run another hogwash campaign that will again convince the so-easily-scammed people of Malta to vote for him.

  7. george grech says:

    Min gibdu dan ir-ritratt haqqu prosit. Kull ma gab jidher minn slogan shih POZI.

  8. Pete Ross says:

    Joseph’s power station will never be built. All indications point that way and even Joseph Muscat is not saying anything about it.

    Only he is playing around with fancy words, promising to reduce the commercial tariffs as he had previously promised, but not a word about the power station itself.

    Current economics based on the price of cruse fuels exclude the construction of an LNG-fed power station.

    It could also be the case that no marine insurer would be found to underwrite the LNG bomb inside Delimara, so close to habitation and the power stations themselves.

    • Tabatha White says:

      “It could also be the case that no marine insurer would be found to underwrite the LNG bomb inside Delimara, so close to habitation and the power stations themselves.”

      This is a hugely important factor.

      If there was no factoring in of that essential element, the project was half dead to begin with.

      Was it just half-dead – as the NP in Government explained time and time again – or was it a hung corpse to begin with?

      Considering the tallying and precision of the figures stated by LP prior to the elections and the awarding of the tender for that same figure later, there are two parties to this electoral fraud, but only one holding the moral and ethical responsibility to base its electoral mandate and promises on sound calculations.

      Such a factor – and accompanying guarantee in writing -would have been crucial at the outset for the lobbying party but more so for the LP in Opposition who lead the population a merry dance on the back of it.

      Following that, the promise by Joseph Muscat to resign if the project was not completed cannot be renegotiated with the electorate.

      It was made into a crucial part of his mandate.

      If it is this particular factor that is to blame, then it would be down to negligence, in addition to the evident misrepresentation.

      I won’t go into the fraudulent aspect of sham tender.

  9. Gahan says:

    Can anyone ask “Where’s Everybody” for a copy of the leaders’ debate January 2013(?) between Muscat. Brigulio and Gonzi with Peppi Azzopardi as the chairman/moderator?

    I can’t find it on You tube.

  10. A Montebello says:

    The truth of something you said some months ago resonates deeply in my despair for my country:
    We hold the PL and the PN to totally different standards.

    Compare, if you will, the outrage and relentless media attention over a €500 euro clock, and the infamous Arriva fiasco (because, you know, we were all using public transport then) to whats happening today.

    And weep.

  11. xejn b' xejn says:

    Can someone upload the recording for all of us to share on Facebook? We’ll have to do what the PN is not doing. Propaganda against the regime of liars.

  12. Mr Meritocracy says:

    The PN need to get ahold of that clip and repeat it ad nauseam to the public.

    Maybe then Muscat will stop taking the mickey out of all of us!

  13. math says:

    He will tender his resignation but it won’t be accepted by the PL.

    They will plead with him to stay and he will obviously reconsider before even putting down the pen.

    • Rumplestiltskin says:

      Resign? You must be joking. Michelle would never let him.

    • The Mole says:

      No he won’t. He would never dare the risk of being ousted from power.

    • Madoff says:

      The political situation is such that should Muscat resign but seek another mandate at the polls, he would be re-elected perhaps with a strong margin too.

      The chances of the Nationalist Party has never been so bad.

      [Daphne – When the prime minister resigns, he is succeeded by another member of his cabinet. Fresh elections are held when the government resigns, and not when the prime minister resigns.]

  14. vic says:

    … will for ever haunt …
    No, they will not. Labour supporters are used to lying. They may even commend JoJo on how he hoodwinked the switchers.

  15. Louis Barbara says:

    Tuh cans miskin

  16. Zorro says:

    Can’t believe all this is really happening and little or no reaction from PN.

    Just imagine if all this was the other way round how we would all have been brainwashed from morning till evening.

    Do you remember how strong and forceful they were about the infamous clock? And now we just get silence.

  17. Hmm says:

    I wonder whether the real reason for the power station delay is that the Chinese have lost interest, having found more fertile ground in Italy.

    http://www.repubblica.it/economia/affari-e-finanza/2014/10/13/news/telecom_enel_saipem_e_i_media_litalia_un_mercato_low_cost_la_cina_pronta_al_nuovo_shopping-97966234/

  18. Christopher says:

    U ir reazzjoni tal partit nazzjonalista ghal ahbar bhal din?….Din?….clip ta 30 secs is sur Busittil jikkundanna ( Malta Independant )……. Din l oppozizzjoni li ghandna?? Bis serjeta?, din il hegga li ghandkom bhala mexxejja ta partit?….Din l ahbar kien haqqa konferenza ta l ahbarijiet , bil grupp parlamentari tieghak kollu warajk !! Kieku din l istorja grat vice versa ahlef li tas super 1 ilhom ikkampjati quddiem il power station 6 xhur u jiehdu video ta kull zrara li tohrog jew tidhol hemm gew, e jekk ma tiftahx ir radio u hlief skandli u korruzjoni ma tismax…..u fuq arlogg,biljett/vjagg ta loghba football,dawra fuq yacht nqala panigierku tal blieh fuq il medja ,jistennew fuq il moll,l airport,bil microphone go wicc saliba u tonio borg….nsejtu??……possibli insejtu ??…..u bicca xoghol bhal din..li hafna nies mhux jirrelizzaw,li il boghod mill partiggjanizmu kollhu ha taffetwana inkredibilment fil futur meta nigu dipendenti minn kumpaniji/pajjizi barranin ghall uzu ta l energija…….il kap ta l oppozizzjoni johrog clip ta 30 seconda jikkundanna x gara?…qisu kien qed jiekol u waqaf f nofs id dezerta ? Hekk ibqaw sejrin….nixtieq nkun naf min jtik il pariri…ghax qed tghix f dinja ohra jekk minghalikom li ha toqghodu tilghabuwa safe u tilghabuwa ta miss goody two shoes u in nies jkunu warajkom….mela ahna tigieg jew?? … in nies timxi wara min jispira….u int u il partit bhalissa,trust me …you are inspiring as a miss world contestant saying that she wants to save the dolphins….thats right,thats how shallow you look at the moment with the lack of real opposition in front of situations handed to you on a silver platter that you should be taking full advantage of ! …….old school and gentlemanly tactics wont work in this modern age where everything is analyzed and dissected and action taken within seconds of bieng said and done,……so,or step up your game,or be damned to eternal opposition……….

    • Gahan says:

      Fejn noqgħod jien kieku ngħid lil-Simon biex ma jieqafx jaqlagħlu l-ħara lil Muscat.

      Imma Simon huwa bniedem “nice” u mhux l-istil tiegħu li jaqla’ l-ħara lil xi ħadd.

      Simon irid jara x’jagħmel u jitgħallem li għal kull daqqa jagħti mija u fejn iweġġa’ l-aktar, inkella nibqgħu l-art.

  19. canon says:

    Can you imagine Michelle Muscat’s reaction if her husband were to tell her that he has to resign?

  20. Sparky says:

    Muscat said earlier that the “roadmap twetqet” to a question by a reporter from Net, I believe. A roadmap has a start and end. Are we to conclude that the proposed power station will never be built? What exactly is in store? PN, get a grip!

  21. observer says:

    Frankly, I was expecting the Opposition to come out with all guns blazing against Muscat and his cronies immediately today’s sitting in the House commenced.

    Nothing of the sort happened – I would not consider the motion calling for an urgent debate on the power station anything like a broadside attack of that sort.

    I happened to tune in to the Parliament’s radio channel around 7p.m. anticipating an all out bombardment by the leader of the Opposition, accusing Konrad and Joseph of outright lying and cavorting with the bare facts as we know them now.

    All I heard at that particular instance was Mario Demarco talking about his recent visit to a Zejtun band club – exalting the social and civic values of things of the sort.

    What a poor show. Why on earth was he delivering such poor and measly fare when circumstances demand far more – and very much far more – than that rubbish?

  22. Be-witched says:

    The problem was that there was a huge PN majority who believed him and all his spin enough to go vote for his party.

    Now the next question is will the ‘switchers’ be honest enough with themselves to admit their mistake …they didn’t do so much in the EP elections did they… As Hamlet would put it: that is the real question isn’t it?

  23. charlie says:

    Bil-Malti ngħidu li qattusa għaġġelija frieħ għomja tagħmel. Ħafna minnkom li qed tikkummentaw tidhru li m’għandkomx esperjenza politika u għaġġiltu żżejjed. Fil-politika trid tistenna l-ħin propizju u mbagħad titkellem.

    X’ġara bil-pressjoni kollha li bdiet issir, inkluż minn Mario de Marco, biex il-Gvern jgħid jekk il-power station il-ġdida hix se tkun lesta sa’ Marzu 2015?

    Joseph Muscat irnexxielu jdaħħal lil kulħadd fin-ngħassa għaliex ingħata ċ-ċans isib skuża minn issa għaliex din mhix se titlesta fix-xahar imwiegħed minnu stess.

    Irnexxielu jdawwar telfa f’rebħa għax ħafna minn dawk li ivvutawlu qed jirripetu dak li qal hu f’dawn il-jumejn u qed jiġu jaqgħu u jqumu mill-wiegħda tar-riżenja.
    Muscat kien jissallab biss kieku baqa’ ma jintqal xejn u tħalla jsostni li għadu ‘on target’ sa ma tasal id-data li fiha kellha titlesta u jkun għadu ma sar xejn.

    • Gahan says:

      U int għalik ,Muscat skappa n-nassa?

    • Jozef says:

      charlie, nahseb anke Muscat stess nduna li f’hames xhur ma’ kellux cans ilesti. Jekk Muscat ghandu xi haga, hija li jxomm kif jizloq.

      Il-possibilitajiet huma tnejn, jekk behsiebu jaghmilha, ghadu lanqas biss beda’, qatt ma’ kienet; jien pero’ ghandi dubji kbar kemm din il-weghda qatt kienet tezisti.

      Anke ghax dak li kienu pprezentaw kien bluha u teknikament bla sens. Malta m’ghandiex domanda interna biex infrastruttura kapitali minn dik l-ghamla taghmel sens kummercjali.

      Spicca ntrabat li jibniha meta seta’ tkellem mod iehor fuq il-kontijiet. Beza’ li n-Nazzjonalisti kellhom informazzjoni ahjar u fettillu jiskappricca progett biex jevita il-gideb tieghu stess.

      Li tuza kwart ta’ kemm jiflah jaghti l-interconnector u tgiddeb xjenzati fuq il-BWSC konsegwenzi tas-sahna tal-mument. U x’ala biebu.

      Il-fatt li l-gideb jiehdu mal-kafe’ flok iz-zokkor pero’ ghandha tkun il-punt kardinali tal-opposizzjoni.

      Anke ghax tehles dawk li vvutawlu.

  24. Amy says:

    The honourable way forward is for Joseph to submit his resignation. Then the President will not accept given his sterling job so far.

    Konrad will feel guilty for the embarrassment and offer his resignation. Joseph will not accept his resignation, of course given Konrad’s sterling job.

    And the people will be happy.

    My take is that the project will be finished some time in 2017. It will be very useful for PL to ramp their campaign for the 2018 election – even if they can deliver it before, now that the promise is broken, nothing in it for them to deliver it earlier.

    And by then everyone will have forgotten of the 2-year promise.

    And the people will be happy.

  25. Osservatore says:

    At this rate, it is but a matter of time before the few Nationalist supporters who are not totally upset at the party’s lack of presence and action will start referring to its flag as “it-tapit” rather than “il-maduma”!

  26. Paul B says:

    Why not start a petition asking for Joseph Muscat’s resignation?

    [Daphne – Oh, please.]

Leave a Comment