That’s leadership for you: the prime minister is going to wait and let the inquiry chief take the decision for him
The big thing about true leaders is their willingness and ability to take decisions, to stand by them, and to take full responsibility for them.
The big thing about Joseph Muscat is that I have never seen him take a decision about anything that is difficult or for which he is required to take responsibility.
He is a pass-the-buck/it-wasn’t-me-mummy expert.
His first act as prime minister was to make sure he has no portfolio, a first in post-war Maltese political history. Even ‘implementation of the electoral programme’, which is his proper overall purpose as prime minister, was named and categorised then parcelled out to Louis Grech (the man least likely to).
By this process of constant, deliberate distancing, Joseph Muscat has so far succeeded in keeping blame and tainting at bay by allowing his ministers to be the fall-guys in any given situation: Chris Cardona, Joe Mizzi, Konrad Mizzi, Manuel Mallia. He stays out of it and doesn’t enter the equation – and in this weak democracy, the press and the Opposition have generally failed to remind him that those are his men, his choices, he is the prime minister and he is the one who is ultimately accountable.
He got away with it until yesterday. He even got away with the disaster in which the power station promised for March 2015 in a ‘concrete and costed roadmap’ shows no sign of becoming reality three months away from deadline. He let his energy minister stand out there alone, taking the flak and the blame, when Konrad Mizzi was in no way responsible for the plans made with Electrogas before the last general election.
He is only responsible for his reckless stupidity in believing his boss and thinking all was in order and he could roll with it. Now Konrad Mizzi is also responsible for something else: not standing up for himself as the prime minister forces him out of the trench alone to take the grenades while he himself sits in his cowardly hide.
For that is the root cause of the prime minister’s problem. He is a coward. Like all spoiled only children who have been petted and admired in a false reality that keeps them from direct experience of any form of physical, financial or emotional hardship and harsh facts, he wants to deal only with what is convenient to him.
There is a reason why the British used to say that their leaders were forged on the playing-fields of Eton. It wasn’t the privilege they were talking about, but the hardship, the discipline and the absolute abhorrence of any form of weakness or self-pity. Privilege played its ancillary part only in the drummed-in understanding that those born to privilege have greater responsibilities and must be leaders by example.
Nothing in Joseph Muscat’s upbringing and formative years, and nothing that has happened since, has shaped his character in this positive way. If he were the captain of a sinking ship, he would be among the first in the lifeboats. If he were an army officer in battle, he would not risk his life to save a colleague as he is obliged to do. He would find some way out of it. And if were taken prisoner he would ally himself to his captors.
That is the sort of personality we are dealing with here.
Yesterday, the Opposition forced the prime minister to face the fact publicly that he is directly responsible for Manuel Mallia, his police and army minister. The minister’s driver shot three times at a private citizen – who now turns out to be a British investor in Malta – and the prime minister could no longer get away with distancing himself and letting the press and the public consider it to be Manuel Mallia’s ministerial business.
He tried to, at first, but the Opposition leader called a press conference and instead of demanding the police minister’s resignation, demanded that the prime minister sack him. That framed the situation in the proper context and the prime minister could no longer pretend that he is in charge of nothing and nobody even though he is the prime minister.
His lack of leadership and unwillingness to take responsibility in difficult situations have been thrown into sharp relief. It is clear to all but the most morally challenged people in this country that Manuel Mallia has to go, but this morning the prime minister, like the weak man and bad leader he is, the sheltered child who never passed the true, character-forming tests of life, has passed the buck once more.
He will wait for the outcome of the magisterial inquiry and then act accordingly. In other words, the magistrate is going to take this decision for him, so that he does not have to be a leader and decide for himself.
We require no magisterial inquiry to tell us that a man who drives his minister around should not be shooting at people in whatever circumstances. The magisterial inquiry is there to decide on matters of law and order for the purposes of criminal prosecution and disciplinary measures against the police officer. A magisterial inquiry is not there to decide matters that are the proper realm of political responsibility.
What we are dealing with here is not even weak leadership. It is the complete absence of leadership.
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If Muscat were anywhere near a private organisation, he’d be called to the CEO’s office and literally escorted out.
I’ve seen it happen a couple of times, their desk landing on mine.
The country doesn’t need him.
Escorted out? Butt-kicked out of the window would be more proper.
Malta deserves better but the majority of the Maltese electorate voted for this, so no I don’t pity the country.
He’s a Schiettino true and true
Lil Anglu Farrugia gieghlu jirrezenja minhabba kumment li qal qabel l-elezzjoni. Lil Leli baqa jiddefendieh wara froga ohra li dahal fiha.
https://www.facebook.com/119437001401591/photos/a.404004709611484.104764.119437001401591/926304884048128/?type=1&theater
I am sorry to have to say this in Italian, but it is a famous description of a priest by Alessandro Manzoni in I Promessi Sposi: “Il suo sistema consisteva principalmente nello scansar tutti i contrasti…..e nel cedere in quelli che non poteva scansare”. Just like Joseph…our Don Abbondio.
So that’s why Helena Dalli also isn’t responsible, because she wasn’t at her property sifting cement and laying down tiles in person.
I just listened to the noon news bulletin on Radju Malta. It reported Minister Mallia as saying that Mr Morrison Smith was found to have an alcoholic level three times the normal level, and that he refused the police breathalyser test but later took the test on order of the magistrate as part of the formal inquiry.
TVM could only have got that information from the police, the very same police who refuse to tell the independent press whether Mr Morrison Smith is in their custody.
Even if Mr. Morrison Smith had been drinking, it does not in any way justify Mallia’s driver’s actions or any form of shooting.
The driver needs to be arrested and charged in court. Bail should be refused.
Minister Mallia should resign right away or be sacked.
The prime minister only takes the limelight when something positive happens thanks to the work and effort of others.
Remember the liberation of a Maltese citizen from Libya?
It’s very clear that he has a narcissistic personality disorder. This is no joke. He should never have reached the position he is in, it is way too dangerous because of his impaired judgement.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3811090/
It’s even worse if he is receiving instruction on how to accentuate this “professionally.”
I don’t think Muscat is ever going to sack Mallia, whatever the Leader of the Opposition, AD, the media, or anyone else says.
And this for exactly the same reasons that Mallia stands by his own men: because distancing himself from them would highlight his own shortcomings (incompetence being only the least of them) in surrounding himself with such filth.
So Muscat now has to stand by Mallia for exactly the same reason.
That and perhaps the votes that Mallia brought with him to the table, although Muscat must now be trying to calculate whether Mallia’s votes can actually balance out the votes he’s losing the party.
On an unrelated matter – Here’s Quinton Scerri – Manwel Mallia’s private secretary complaining about the cost of fuel in 2012
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3328084555481&set=a.1572691951763.2082857.1069454179&type=1&theater
Most probably this the reason why Joseph Muscat is given the cold shoulder by world leaders. He wants to dictate what others should do and should not but he becomes inept and indecisive when it concerns him.
Before ready this blog post, I posted this comment on the Malta Today website. I know some will say that I was repeating what is being said here.
“What a coward. Muscat attempts to shift responsibility on the inquiry. This is a political decision and it is up to him to take it or not.
Unlike Konrad Mizzi (miskin ieħor, dak), Muscat cannot take the flak.
The rumour going round must be true: for all his bluff Muscat cannot control Mallia.”
The problem is that the government through Mallia and the Department of Information issued, at worst, lies to cover up the story, and at best, an incorrect version of events whilst the shooting victim is languishing in a cell somewhere in Floriana.
The victim has no voice, but the Minister and Department of Information have already tried to feed their side to the media.
This has killed any credibility the minister (and by extension, the government), the Department of Information and the police have.
And this is the reason Mallia must go.
Because how can we ever again believe the police, the police minister or the DOI when it issues information about how an immigrant died in detention?
How can we ever believe that someone wasn’t beaten up after a roadblock?
How can we ever believe any explanation on anything, including the Elton Taliana case?
This totally undermined the public’s trust in the police, and to restore trust, we need someone who has a correct character. Because the way things stand – and let’s remember that the shooter is a free man – public trust in the police force will be at an all time low.
If this is what it means to be “liberal and progressive” then I am a very happy conservative indeed.
The way he is spreading out, his lack of courage, his bitchiness when faced with an opposing voice, his infatuation with powerful men…..
Have we got a eunuch for a Prime Minister?
[Daphne – Castration doesn’t affect levels of courage and bravery, Vanni.]
“Nothing in Joseph Muscat’s upbringing and formative years, and nothing that has happened since, has shaped his character in this positive way.”
Indeed. The incident which shaped him, and he still recounts proudly, was when he was sent home by one of the brothers of St. Aloysius’ College to put on an undervest, and instead, he found refuge at the house of one of his friends who lived close to the college, where he borrowed an undervest.
Instead of punishing Muscat, the brother at the college applauded his deceitful behaviour and even cancelled the punishment.
We are still suffering from the outcome of that incident.
According to Christian Peregin, a former journalist of The Times, those memories were amusing and inspirational to other students. Il-Bambin iharisna.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130418/local/Muscat-s-school-memories-amuse-and-inspire-students.466084
Joseph Muscat is now saying that there was no cover-up. They stopped lying because of the photographs of bullet holes in the car. These people nearly got away with murder.
He should really start learning the theory behind leadership: Lesson 1 – Look up the meaning of candor and moral courage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXRTyRNCDJI
Meanwhile in the UK an MP quits over a snobby tweet:
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/labour-mp-resigns-over-rochester-tweet-222941182.html?vp=1#xTrK09I
What a clown – or as one would say in Maltese: purcinell
The British High Commission should demand the immediate arrest of Mallia’s driver, a charge of first degree of attempted murder and the immediate release of the British citizen.
The ex-Super One journalist is afraid of his ex-colleagues whom he left waiting for hours on end . There were no biscuits from Kurt this time.
If the Prime Minister had any sense of shame he should resign himself if he hasn’t the guts to dismiss his inefficient and embarrassing appointees.
This attitude is tragically found in all sectors of society. Many men want power, but few will take responsibility for the role and any decisions that come with it.
Even fewer understand the responsibility that comes with power and high positions.
The meaning of political responsibility for our Prime Minister applies only to ministers of the former government.
Is anyone asking anyone why Mr. Smith is apparently still under arrest and whether Mr. Sheehan was ever/ is under arrest? Or have the police decided who is the criminal and who is the victim here.
We do realize don’t we that we have not heard a peep from Mr. Smith, let alone his version of the story. Where is Mr. Sheehan’s lawyer countering what is being said, in official press releases and conferences, about what went on? If it were not for witnesses calling the press and this site, Mr. Smith would be locked up and none would be the wiser.
Perhaps the PM would like us to ask Amnesty International to step in. Or would he like to wait and ask someone’s opinion or better still ask someone else to decide if we should or shouldn’t?
The Prime Minister believes that to survive he has to be a reflection of the values and behaviour of most members of society.
If most of society’s members believe that something which is “wrong” is “right” then the Prime Minister has to be a parrot and state what most members of society are expressing.
This works in the case of issues which take long to develop. The Prime Minister can play for time to ensure that what he will eventually say is something which broadly reflects society’s position.
However, such a strategy fails catastrophically when sudden issues crop up and require real leaders. With an attitude of “wait-and-see-what-society’s-reaction-is”, the Prime Minister shows that he has no compass of his own.
Leaders are there to lead and not to be led by public opinion. If Moses was like Joseph Muscat the Israelites would still be roaming about the Negeb desert worshipping golden calves.
If Joseph Muscat was Prime Minister instead of Lawrence Gonzi during the Libyan crisis, he would have been paralysed by his “decision”-making “strategy”.
I would have expected the Prime Minister to speak live to camera with the now-familiar forehead furrow to give his reaction to this very serious incident. Having his “reaction” (which lost the meaning of a reaction due to it being delayed by 22 hours) printed out in a Department of Information statement is just not on.
The Auberge de Castille is not Buckingham Palace. The Prime Minister is not Queen Elizabeth.
Skuzi l-espressjoni, imma verament prim ministru bla bajd.
As someone on this site said: Apparently it’s illegal to use a mobile and drive, but it’s ok to use a gun while driving.
It’s baffling how Sheehan was not arrested at any time.
Although from my own limited knowledge, at the very least, Sheehan should have been arrested for using a gun for trivial purposes, using a gun off duty, for reckless driving, and for actually aiming to kill (a bullet hole in the car’s ceiling mean that he was aiming for the head).
L-iktar gvern mahmug fl-istorja ta’ Malta mill-1987 il-quddiem. Best in Europe indeed.
L-aghar gvern mill-Indipendenza ‘l hawn.
U l-kbir ghadu gej. We are back to the 70s and early 80s when we always waited for the next froga of the Socialist government of that time.
Now we do not have socialists in government but socialites…parties, fashion parades, make-up artists, hairdressers, stage-managed reactions.
Lots of outward appearances and no substance at all.
However, he will be the first up in front to announce a couple of cents decrease on fuel.
Well… what do expect from a PM who refused to discuss an impeachment motion before the judge in question retired?
Daphne, please allow me to shout:
“SCHETTINO, MUSCHETTINO, SALGA ABBORDO!”
“Lei, Muschettino, vada a bordo, cazzo. E’ un ordine.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymQ2LchKpIQ
“Commandante, e’ buio, devo andara a casa…”
Busuttil is finally coming out of his shell. Those sort of speeches in yesterday’s press conference are what the people want to hear, definitely increasing his ratings with the electorate.
On the other hand, Muscat is finally being exposed to what he really is, a Maltese Schettino.
I find it funny how Joseph Muscat’s very words while he was in Opposition are actually true today.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120720/local/pm-in-office-but-not-in-power-labour-leader.429373
”Asked whether he would be taking action against his minister, the Prime Minister said that the minister would shoulder political responsibility if the inquiry found that he was involved in a cover up.
He said he did not agree that Dr Mallia’s position was not tenable because of the situation.” TOM
How can Muscat say that Mallia’s position is tenable if he does not yet have the results of the inquiry? Muscat does realize that he is making a contradictory statement or doesn’t he?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20141121/local/shooting-incident-no-action-against-minister-until-magisterial-inquiry-is-concluded-prime-minister.545054
Lill-gurnalisti qallhom, li l-ewwel stqarrija harget ghax ‘kienet ix-xewqa tal-Dipartiment tal-Komunikazzjoni tal-Gvern, li johrog kemm jista jkun hu l-informazzjoni’
Jigifieri issa qed jiskolpa lill-Manuel Mallia, li ma kienx hu li hareg l-istqarrija imma, fuq xewqa tad-‘Dipartiment tal-Komunikazzjoni tal-Gvern’.
Kulhadd jaf illi, d-Dipartiment tal-Komunikazzjoni tal-Gvern, jaqa’ taht ir-responsabilita tal-Prim Ministru stess. Dan id-dipartiment hu mmexxi minn Kurt Farrugia, li huwa parti mis-Segretarjat tal-Prim Ministru, bl-Ufficcju f’Kastilja.
Allura, jekk l-informazzjoni misleading, harget mid-Dipartiment tal-Komunikazzjoni tal-Gvern, li tieghu hu responsabbli direttament il-Prim Ministru, min ghandu jerfgha r-responsabilita tat-tentattiv ovju tal-habi ta’ dak li verament gara ?
Ghal liema raguni Kurt Farrugia, li jmexxi dan id-Dipartiment, kien parti mill-konferenza tal-ahbarijiet li ta l-bierah il-Ministru Mallia ?
Skont il-gazzetta, the Times, nhar l-Erbgha filghaxija waqt li sehh il-kaz, l-informazzjoni bdiet tinghata lilhom minn ‘the Ministry’s spokeperson’, allura ghalfejn Muscat qed jitfa l-htija fuq d-Dipartiment tal-Komunikazzjoni li hu jmexxi biex jiskolpa lill-Mallia ?
X’jaf Mallia fuq Muscat ?
Minn xhiex qed jibza Muscat, biex jiddefendi daqsekk lill-Manuel Mallia ?
It is a fact that Joseph Muscat cannot control Mallia! Do we have another Lorry Sant in the cabinet without us knowing? Or is it that Mallia might have another set of photos ready to be tabled in parliament?
Muscat cannot control anyone, not just Mallia.
He lacks leadership. He was only capable of sacking Godfrey Farrugia because for whatever reason (I don’t know Dr. Farrugia) it was probably easy for him.
An example of true leadership was when former Prime Minister Dr. Gonzi took a stand with regards to Colonel Gaddafi.
I know Godfrey Farrugia well, and he is a gentleman, though somewhat naive.
He and Marlene Farrugia were taken in by Muscat’s sweet talk and what they thought was a real change for a better Malta. I had totally disagreed with Godfrey at the time, because it was obvious to me that Muscat’s only interest was to grab power and then grab as much as possible.
For that end, he wanted as many names on his bandwagon as he could get, but he wasn’t interested in them as people, or in what they could do to help make Malta better. He just wanted to use them to gain power.
Once he obtained what he wanted, Joseph Muscat was under extreme pressure from Marlene Farrugia’s estranged husband (he was not yet her ex husband, remember) Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who wanted Muscat to be the means by which he, Pullicino Orlando, would exact revenge on both.
Muscat had to give in to Pullicino Orlando because of what he owed him and maybe still owes him, and so began systematically to undermine Godfrey Farrugia and humiliate him in public.
Godfrey took action and sent him flying instead of giving him the chance to place him in an even worse situation as the Minister of Social Services.
Excellent piece. Superb and so true.
While I was reading this, I kept relating to my mentor at work who is a very strong and respected leader. He had told me that he formed his excellent life skills during his years at a boarding school, far away from his home and parents.
Daphne, keep up your very professional work, as you are one of the very few sources who have the courage to speak the truth.
May God give you all the strength to carry on. Thanks once again.
Douglas Adams has something to say about how the old Labour Party diehards chose Joseph Muscat to be their dear leader. From ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’:
“The President in particular is very much a figurehead – he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it.
[…]
Very very few people realize that the President and the Government have virtually no power at all, and of these very few people only six know whence ultimate political power is wielded. Most of the others secretly believe that the ultimate decision-making process is handled by a computer. They couldn’t be more wrong.”
My God! Alfred Sant was a gentleman compared to this wanker – and I never thought I’d write ‘Alfred Sant’ and ‘gentleman’ in the same sentence.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s only face-saving option is to take the bull by the horns and sack Minister Mallia.
If he does not want to or can’t sack the Minister for whatever reason then he should resign himself and let somebody capable do it for him.
if he is pro business he protects investors and show that it is safe in Malta
Not shoots with gun at them.
The Prime Minister says it is not a cover-up because the press was there to report it.
I would hate to think what would have become of this case had the press not been there, had there been no witnesses.
Biex tajjar lil Anglu Farrugia ma qaghadx jistenna inkjesta magisterjali imma.
Excellent article
How marvellously spot on!
The Courts will look at the legal side of things but here we have a political and moral responsibility that goes beyond the letter of the law.
That is why we elect politicians, to take the tough decisions. Joseph Muscat has risen to the top without rising through the ranks.
Those who rise through the ranks learn that the higher you go the more difficult the problems that come through your mobile phone, inbox and office door become.
The easy ones are normally dealt with the competent team you build around you.
Joseph Muscat was not and was never meant to be the leader.
He was chosen to fill that role by the real leaders. And he was chosen for that role because he was the weakest and most gullible chap around.
He is just a marionette.
‘In or out, there is never a doubt
Just who’s pulling the strings
I’m all tied up in you
But where’s it leading me to?’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXVGbFSP4Ps
Can the PM request the removal of a Minister as a result of having lied, when he himself did not resign when he LIED?
Kemm kien jitlob rizenji minn kull ministru meta kien fl-oppozizzjoni kos
The boy-king propped up by the real ‘leaders’……
This leader’s main preoccupation is now which public role to appoint Paul Sheehan to next.
“The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”
Dante Alighieri
It’s a Catch-22 for Joseph Muscat in many respects.
“The Oxford English Dictionary defines Catch-22 as “a set of circumstances in which one requirement, etc., is dependent upon another, which is in turn dependent upon the first.” ”
The difference between Joseph Muscat’s case and Manwel Mallia’s, is that
(i)
Joseph Muscat’s promise to resign was made by him to the nation, and constitutes the fulcrum of his electoral mandate.
This electoral mandate had already been misrepresented when the Passport scam surfaced.
That mandate results in having been a sham one on these two counts already.
(ii)
The need for Manwel Mallia to be sacked by Joseph Muscat, as head of the sham government still in position, is couched on the basis of the ethical functioning of an ethical Government, which again it isn’t.
It is however the flagrant abuse of position of a subordinate for which Manwel Mallia is directly responsible in an official capacity, whatever connection he may have to the victim in his supposedly inofficial capacity.
The fact that his chauffeur was carrying the arm from which the bullets were fired is one aspect.
The fact that his chauffeur discharged the bullets is another.
The fact that the chauffeur has not been held in custody, yet another.
These aspects are not as negatively weighted, comparatively, as the fact that Minister Mallia lied about the make-up and sequence of events, changed his version of events another and again changed his perspective to read “angry and disgusted, ” when it wasn’t previously, later on in the day.
The fact that the Department of Information colluded in this lie, is yet another aspect.
The facts that the basic rights of a Foreign National have been trampled on, and abused, by the very person who, in his official capacity, was meant to have guaranteed them, another.
Catch-22 would apply to the barefaced lie aspect, and to any other hold Mallia has on Muscat, and though one lie doesn’t outdo or cancel the other, the immediate focus demands only one immediate action by Joseph Muscat: in that he sacks Manwel Mallia for negligence and abuse of his position.
I don’t get the impression that Muscat could sack Mallia, whether he wanted to or not.