His ‘n’ hers state-funded cars and chauffeurs
Published:
December 4, 2014 at 5:45pm
Michelle Muscat, Spouse of the Prime Minister, arrived separately to her husband at the funeral service for a prominent businessman yesterday.
She was driven by her personal state-funded chauffeur in her personal state-funded Chevrolet, and he waited outside (see picture) to drive her away again – ma jmurx tikser idha issuq fil-perception, miskina.
Because you know how it is – somebody who grew up in a world of chauffeurs and being driven around by the servants can’t be expected to give up that way of life just because her husband is now prime minister.
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Jahasra x’tisbita se jiehdu la jitqacctu minn hemm!
Aren’t there any rules on who is entitled to a chauffer-driven car. My understanding was that it is only the cabinet.
I think, this is the first time ever that a prime minister’s wife has a full-time chauffer-driven car. By the same token, the wives/partners of the other ministers can ask for one as well.
Ah well, at least she didn’t rent her car to the government before using it, like her mejjet bil-guh husband did.
Mrs Muscat, unlike Mr Muscat, was at least honest and has kept her word. She is on record declaring after March 2013 that she intended to make the most of her time as the wife of the Prime Minister.
And by golly, hasn’t she been true to her word! She has given the expression “Money No Problem” a completely new meaning. It is other people’s money she is spending and it is THEIR problem.
And it’s leased (QZ), at what cost?
Yes of course and living on Beverly Hills one cannot expect otherwise. Gone are the days of playing in the narrowest streets during winter and vacationing in a garage during summer. Nothing wrong with that if one doesn’t forget from where we started.
This sort thing has become insignificant the grand scheme of things. An extra chauffeur driven car is like a cold when Maltese democracy is suffering a cardiac arrest.
Is it normal practice for the wife of the PM to have a chauffeur or is this a ‘first time for everything’ kind of deal?
U le, miskina. Maybe she just doesn’t know her way around Hal Qormi.
Thank God no side mirrors were damaged and no shots were fired in an attempted murder. Things are looking up.
I expect nothing less for the first family.
We have a very wise Maltese saying for which I cannot find an apt English version: “min qatt ma libes glekk, malli libsu hammeg fih”.
Mhux ta b’xejn qed jonqos il-qaghad u d-dejn qed jizdied.
Are you sure it is state funded? What would be the justification, or rather excuse, for that?
If so shouldn’t the Opposition ask about it in parliament?
[Daphne – Yes, it’s definitely state-funded. And even if we didn’t know that for a fact, you’d have to ask why the Muscats are throwing their own money away on a leased car (Z plate) and a chauffeur.]
They have just hacked Times of Malta’s online poll again a few minutes ago. Thousands of votes have just been added to the Yes answer to the question about the delay to the new power station. Welcome to North Korea.
Same car and driver that drives the children to school everyday. Sometimes unaccompanied by Mrs. Muscat.
Don’t they realise that the extent to which they’re ridiculed and not admired for it?
It’s not even envy, it’s disgust.
This morning the driver was accompanied by her Ladyship. While the children crawled unaided, and on the driver’s side also unsupervised, out of the back, Michelle ma belle Muscat sported a North Face track suit, looking ever so sportive.
And I’d still sack the driver for not opening the doors.
Hallas poplu la ridt hekk.
They’re at it again playing with Times of Malta’s online poll. Yesterday the poll stood at about 4600 votes, split 73% No and 24% Yes.
Today it has 23,258 votes, split 77% yes, 21% no, 0% don’t know (incidentally, a total of 98% – pretty shoddy programming, there are simple ways to make up for rounding and ensuring your polls add up to 100%).
By some miracle, within 24 hours, the same poll received nearly 20,000 more votes that appear to have almost all been “yes”. Same old Labour – lying, cheating and stealing.
Exhibit A: http://imgur.com/qM6Chdx
It’s interesting that these surges in “pro-Labour” votes happen just before polls change.
xxx
Tlett snin ohra u jmurilha dan-nejk.
Ara x’tattika ta. Hadlu s-segretarja personali tieghu lil Alfred Sant biex ikun jaf x’hemm hemm gew u jsir leader hu.
Segretarja bejn tnejn… bejn tlieta..
At this time she should be making her presence felt amongst the financial services practitioners in Malta. I wonder what kind of conversation she could make in that crowd……tea parties and fashion shows are not topics for conversation there.
Is it such a big deal for someone from the Opposition to table a PQ asking why this diva needs to be driven around at the taxpayers’ expense? Min iz-zigg tahseb li hi?
They won’t. Honour among thieves. – they’ll want to be doing it themselves.
X’ala biebna mill-bubun. Hallsu, hallsu t-taxxi hfrief virgni. (issa la giet ghall-hjut …. might as well )
Non ce il due senza tre. Hopefully a third car was not used to pick up the girls from school. Maybe the Prime Minister and Mrs Muscat are setting an example by making use of school transport.
[Daphne – No. The girls are taken to school by state-funded chauffeur in a state-funded car, the same one used by their mother.]
Do we need to be grateful to the Muscats for not leasing another car and not hiring another chauffer, just to drive the girls around?
Is it not against the law / theft of public finds for the spouse of the PM to be provided with a state funded car and driver ?
Michelle is following Chris Fearne’s advice: erdah kemm tista.
A PQ by Robert Arrigo this evening seemed to suggest that the spouse of the Prime Minister may soon be able to throw a high-society event at Selmun Palace.
Where is Mr. Hymen today? Does he plan to apologize to all women in Malta?
What happened to Mr. Traffic today? Is he back in Spain?
Hamalla bloodsucking the nation’s coffers.
Typical Africa, Central Asia and Middle East, where the wife of the prime minister / president regards the vault of the central banks as her personal bank account for the shopping trips in Paris, London, and New York.
The former first lady of Tunisia stopped by the central bank before fleeing the country.
Re car parked in helipad: the registration number mentioned in Times of Malta today is LCF606. This is a private registration.
I was under the impression that cars hired or leased out should only be K or QZ plates.
Labour, what a world of extremes.
From a generation of leaders who drove their own cars to a leader who travels with a convoy of cars, drivers, bodyguards, personal assistants and their personal assistant, gym instructors, teleprompters and make-up artists.
L-aktar gvern hali li qatt kellha Malta. Kollox il-kontra ta’ li wieghed.
What is it with these people? Why do they give up their freedom and privacy so easily?
I would never enjoy being driven around. I would much prefer driving my own car and going wherever I want without having another person know where I’m going all the time.
The same goes with having private security following you around. X’nervi u x’sikkatura. As our Prime Minister would say: Ma tistax izzeggeg kif trid.
The children are taken to school in that chauffeur-driven car every day.
Is her number plate personalized?
G – Gej
Q – Qabda
Z – Zuffjett
G – Gejja
Q – Qisha
Z – Zigg
It’s one of her husband’s favourite terms, after all.
She is the wife of the PM so she deserves a separate car, after her husband leased their family car. And while at it she would say: make hay while the sun shines….and the sun is really shining, miskina.
Our very own Gucci Grace aka Grace Mugabe, wife of the Tyrant of Zimbabwe and president-designate.
and then they made a fuss about a bloody clock