A ‘gaffe’ is an unintentional act or remark which causes embarrassment. It is not a deliberate, planned act of crooked behaviour.

‘Gaffe’ used in this context is Maltese (very bad) English and worse, it downplays the seriousness of what is happening.

And I’m afraid you are completely wrong. Muscat could never have been a rival to Fenech Adami and Gonzi, and that much was apparent to all sane and intelligent people before March 2013. Muscat did not come out of nowhere, though those who drift through life in Malta appear to believe that he did. He has been in the Labour Party, working for years as a Super One reporter and apparatchik, since he was 18. And he was the lead campaigner against EU membership.

All that pipe dream was blown away by the constant gaffes and scandals wafting through these blessed islands for the last 3 years.

It collects Facebook comments of people who believe that the articles from satire newspaper ‘The Onion’ and other sites are true.

Because Bonello put forward a well-reasoned argument in proper English, in an attempt to explain that Daphne didn’t literally mean that Keith Schembri should actually be shot, he is branded full of himself (rasek kbira). A good segment of the population see the ability to reason clearly and to make judgements based on knowledge and information, as something negative. And this is largely a symptom of the generalised ignorance in the country, were being a backward hick is promoted, while being analytical, cultured, well-informed and European is discouraged.

This is one of the main reasons why these types of people don’t like Daphne, and why they vote Labour.