Turkey’s government is elected and has broad support from the population.

Because Turkish buses represent excellent value for money. They are reasonably priced and very modern.

This was never anything to do with Mizzi, it was a purely commercial decision taken by a privately owned company which felt that this was the most appropriate bus for Malta’s needs.

In any case, how does this differ from Arriva’s 2011 order of King Long buses? Without doubt the largest RHD order they’ve had also, King Long is not (still yet) successful in RHD markets and has got absolutely nowhere in the British bus market having only sold a handful of buses there, Arriva also had no prior experience with King Long and has not placed any further orders with them since (which I think tells you everything you need to know about what Arriva thought of those buses) and clearly ordered them out of necessity (the fact that a shareholder at the time was the sole importer of King Long clearly skewed the decision making process).

The Otokars are level above the King Longs in terms of product quality as if you’ve actually travelled on one by now, you’ll have realised. So, one could say that PN are as much responsible for the purchase of King Longs as Labour are for the Otokars. I’m not a Labour supporter (I’m not Maltese therefore unable to vote here and thus politically agnostic) but separate politics from commercial decisions please.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20141220/local/update-3-new-public-transport-provider-to-take-over-bus-service-on-january-8.548966

“The company is expected to bring over 142 new buses by summer but will initially hire a number of buses to run the service”.

Can you imagine Austin Gatt giving these kind of target dates:”by summer 2015” and “before the end of 2015”?

Sometimes I feel like being at the bottom scale of the political-economic food chain: working hard while everyone is trying to eat me alive, from the government to the plasterer.

Seems my share of the GDP is very meaty, and good and nourishing meat at that.

Joe Mizzi is at the top region of this food chain and he has bitten me hard to feed himself and the Spanish Lion he has befriended.

Ouch.

Because they have certain affinity with dictators and oppressors.