This is what a Labour mentality looks like
Turn back, captain. Franco Mercieca has reached the edge of the quay.
The Times today runs a story about how Gozo-based (not Gozitan, for crying out loud) eye surgeon Franco Mercieca gets to Mater Dei hospital, where he works, an hour late because he is not permitted to go right to the head of the queue of traffic waiting to board.
He is demanding that he be allowed to queue-barge all waiting traffic because, hey, he’s an eye surgeon.
It doesn’t seem to bother him, or even occur to him, that all the people waiting to board the ferry at that time of day are doing so to get to work in Malta, too. And like our friend The Eye Surgeon Li Lahaq U Sar Ferm Importanti, they have to be on time.
The difference for them is that if they’re not on time, their bosses will give them a series of warnings and then sack them.
But if Franco Mercieca is not on time to perform his eye surgery, he won’t even get a slap on the wrist from the Health Department bosses, and the man actually has the nerve to blame it on the ferry (the dog ate his homework) and then get a reporter for The Times to write up his terrible plight.
The horrible government and nasty Gozo Channel aren’t impressed with the fact that he’s an eye surgeon and won’t let him queue-barge.
Now listen to this. Surgery is scheduled to start at 8.30am but he has to be in the hospital at 7.30am to prep. The commute from Gozo to Msida at that time of day takes around two hours: half an hour queuing for the ferry, half an hour on the ferry, half an hour driving to central Malta and half an hour stuck in heavy traffic to Msida.
But our hero rises from his bed at 5.30am in Gozo – when he has to be at Mater Dei hospital in Malta at 7.30am. So that he doesn’t have to bust his ass setting the alarm for 4.30am, he makes a scene in the national press so that Gozo Channel will succumb to pressure and let him spend an extra hour in bed then skip past all those who haven’t done so and who have risen and shone instead of lying in.
Worse than all this is his belief that he has the right to live in Gozo, a strenuous and ridiculous commute from his place of work, and that the transport company has an obligation to give him preferential treatment so that he can stick with his personal choices.
Imagine if he lived in Oxford but worked at, say, St Mary’s Paddington, and decided to get into a bitchfest with Transport London and British Rail because they won’t let him barge the queues by shouting ‘I’m an eye surgeon! Let me through!’.
Imagine, too, that any newspaper there would pick up his story as anything other than a curious crank with anti-social arrogance and a sense of entitlement.
Get a flat in Malta, Mr Mercieca. It won’t kill you, you know.
And where does the Labour bit come into it? That’s right. You won’t find it in The Times report. Franco Mercieca is a prospective Labour candidate for 2013.
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Daphne, I worship at your altar.
Well personally I would be cautious and keep at a safe distance. You can never tell what is next with Goddesses.
They have a great talent for survival, and from slender soft hands, draw claws at the most unexpected moment.
No wonder Labour fear her.
So? She’s hardly going to draw her claws to strike at me. We practically agree on everything.
Of course he has the right to live where he wants to but he has also the duty to be in the place of work on time.
Commuting is his own problem.
As far as I know the Gozotan civil servants start their job half an hour after the employees living in Malta.
And they can leave an hour early on Fridays biex imorru Ghawdijiiex ghall-weekiiijnd.
1) I am a civil servant and my work conditions are similar to everyone else’s.
2) “biex imorru Ghawdijiiex ghall-weekiiijnd”; I am not sure what accent you are trying to emulate but its definitely not Gozitan.
3) And not going “ghawdijiiex ghall-weekiijnd”, but going home.
His problems will be solved once we have the tunnel.
I expect they will impose a speed limit in the tunnel, which the doctor will be allowed to break on his way to Mater Dei.
How else can he ever arrive on time – surely no one expects him to wake up a little bit earlier?
This is another case of discrimination against a prospective Labour candidate.
I wonder what the European Court of Human Rights will have to say about it should he decide to sue.
Keep on fighting, doctor, you are right – and while you are at it, don’t hesitate to use the well-being of your patients to help you in your just cause of sleeping those extra minutes.
I totally agree with Daphne’s argument.
I commute to work in Malta from Gozo and back again every day, and I have never missed a ferry trip.
This is my advice to Mr Mercieca:
If you really want to catch the 6am ferry please do what EVERYONE ELSE does and wake up at 4.45 (instead of 5.30) to be at the harbour by not later than 5.15am.
With regards to “cat” and “H.P. Baxxter”, you simply have no idea what you are talking about. When you start working in Gozo and will have to commute daily to earn your living… only then will you be qualified to comment on this matter.
Thank you.
Yes, I am trying to emulate the Gozitan accent. I think it’s horrible. I myself grew up among the working class, complete with thick accents, and I bust my guts trying to get it out of my system.
If I can do it, any Gozitan can. After all, they boast about being more adaptable.
And yes, in some departments, Gozitans are allowed to leave an hour early on Fridays so they can catch the ferry to visit their family back in Gozo for the weekend, even if they are resident in Malta during the week.
Such nonsense. Several people who work here live in other countries and vice versa. I don’t see international air traffic being held up to suit them.
With reference to Mr. Charles Portelli’s comment, I fully agree that Gozitans are given the half an hour allowance everyday. Commuting between the two islands is not easy.
One should also consider the distance from Cirkewwa to the place of work which is mainly in central Malta.
From what I read in the article, Mr Mercieca is given one hour of allowance, even more than what the Gozitan civil servants get.
Gozitans deserve the admiration of us all. Commuting between the two islands to earn their living, students who leave their parents’ homes to study in Malta and not to mention the cost of the rent they pay ( u alla jbierek il-profs ma jindenjax ruhu jikri kamra f’Malta).
[Daphne – “Students who leave their parents’ homes to study in Malta”…..you’re joking, right? You’re being sarcastic, right? I hope you are.]
I’ve heard of students who move out of their parents’ home in Gozo when they are attending university.
Exactly… apart from this… How many retinal experts do you know who can replace him? Bring in Foreign ones? (already doing that, who request [and are given] different and bigger perks than what Mr Merieca is requesting.)
It is an additional perk yes… but there are hundreds of useless perks given to government employees and yet we don’t complain about it.
…and Mr Mercieca is one of the most dedicated consultants in Mater Dei.
[Daphne – Yes, indeed, so dedicated that he won’t get out of bed before 5.30am or rent a flat in Malta. Even students do that, but Franco Mercieca will not. Because he’s important u lahaq professur. What is the Maltese for surgeon, anyway?]
(I would prefer it if Mr Mercieca gets his priority pass rather than the prime minister/opposition leader being escorted by the police passing through red lights/pelican crossings at ridiculous speeds…)
@John Micallef
There are many other experts just as good in their chosen speciality. Should they get the same perks?
Surgeon is ‘kirurgu’ in Maltese. Maybe we should make it more Semitic sounding by copying the Arabic ‘tabiyb jarrah’.
I can only say two words: Tal-biki.
Franco Mercieca, as you rightly pointed out, will not get a slap on the wrist or anywhere else, if he arrives late for surgery.
Mr Mercieca’s bleats and groans are pathetic. If he can’t cope with his present gruelling schedule he should:
1.ask the hospital to re-schedule his theatre list for later on in the day;
2. adjust his attendence hours at his private clinics accordingly;
3. think twice before entering the political arena which will most certainly take up what is left of his free time , if any.
Good luck to him and his family.
He could hitch a lift with one of his patients.
Primus inter Pares – In other words, the fundamental fallacy of socialism.
I may be wrong, but guess what facilities will be listed in Labour’s electoral programme……
kemm int injoranta u bla sugu. Tista timmagina surgeon iqum 4.30 am u jirnexxielu jikkoncentra u jaghmel xogholu sew fuq il-pazjenti ? Hallina tridx ?
[Daphne – Some surgeons have to concentrate after a 24-hour shift, Dottore, and they still manage not to slit their patients open in the wrong place. And other surgeons work under conditions of incredible stress – with machine-gun fire and bombs, for instance, sleeping just two hours and then operating on the wounded with no anaesthetic, no supplies of blood, no proper instruments and no bandages. Like in Tripoli right now, for instance. If Mr Mercieca doesn’t want to turn in at 9.30pm to wake at 4.30am, then he should…..deep breath here….GET A FLAT IN MALTA.]
Is this some Maltese deficiency or something that I don’t know of?
Some of my relatives abroad wake up way earlier than 4:30 to go to work on time and those who don’t spend a lot of money to live in a tiny one-room flat in the centre, so GROW UP.
When the prime minister travels to Gozo to cut a ribbon or to deliver a speech, HE is given priority. This is GonziPN mentality. Mr. Mercieca’s special permit was withdrawn once it came known that he is a prospective Labour candidate for 2013. That is the whole point.
[Daphne – The prime minister of no country sits in a queue, Dottore, unless he wishes to make an especially ridiculous point like, say, Alfred Sant used to do by driving himself around (while Roberto Francalanza was paid to be his driver). When prime ministers insist on being ‘one of the people’ to a farcical degree, it backfires spectacularly – they end up looking really socialist and totalitarian and off-putting.]
“This is GonziPN mentality” – That bit really made me laugh.
Why do so many Labour supporters keep driving this GONZIPN slogan? It was a slogan used in the last election. What’s the big deal?
Seriously, I don’t get it.
A slogan created by GonziPN, and one of which Nationalist supporters were very proud and enthusiastic. It typified the entire PN campaign, supremely led by Lawrence GONZI.
Why on earth MLP/PL supporters keep spewing it out all over comment-boards as if it were now some kind of insult to the PN and its supporters baffles me too.
Are all Laburisti this retarded?
Dottore … remove the red glasses and rethink what you just said.
In other circumstances, you, as a PL supporter, would have asked whether his salary is being deducted because he’s arriving late BUT there’s always an exception to the rule especially when he/she is a PL candidate.
What would we do if Mr. Mercieca after priority boarding without queueing is stuck in traffic? Should we send the hospital helicopter to collect him so that His Highness gets to work on time?
Well done! I got severe heartburn this morning when I read this bit of tosh in The Times.
Get a hotel room for one night on Sunday, sir, and make sure you’re on time Monday morning.
If I read correctly, this is the only day he works at Mater Dei and he’s late most of the time. You didn’t have to state how the Labour bit comes in. The fact that he’s consistently late says it all.
‘Get a hotel room for one night on Sunday’.
He’s from Gozo, remember. No way is he going to spend money on a hotel room when he can sleep at home for free.
He can schedule operations in the afternoon on a Monday or no operations on Monday. The theatre slot can be easily exchanged with one of his colleagues.
As he said, on Monday morning the early ferries are busy, so don’t schedule operations at 8.30.
He can also leave his car in Cirkewwa and have a family member pick him up at Mgarr and take him back in the morning, as many used to do, or else use public transport.
When I used to commute every day Gozo Channel sometimes used to perform an extra trip on Monday mornings.
This is a backward country populated by unreasonable people.
In a civilised country, if he can’t make it on time because of the distance, he’d have to relocate or get a pied-a-terre … it’s done all the time.
But perhaps he thinks he’s something special surrounded, as he probably is, by relatively simple but genuine folk.
‘This is a backward country populated by unreasonable people.’
They’re unreasonable because they’re immature and emotionally undeveloped.
The spoiled and infantile psychology which underpins Franco Mercieca’s reasoning is responsible for many of Malta’s problems, from women who refuse to work because they expect their husband’s wage to support five people, to the large number of marriages which break down.
Seriously great post.
This reminds me of an episode when in the late seventies I was returning to Malta after a day’s work.
In those days the last ferry was at about 5pm and I was in the queue ready to board, when out of nowhere four cars arrived and skipped the queue.
In one of the cars there was Labour minister Agatha Barbara.
I was left stranded in Gozo together with some others, and of course it was useless complaining. I had to spend the night at the Duke of Edinburg hotel. So Mr. Mercieca wants to have priority boarding, when he is just a Labour candidate. Mur gibu ministru!
You are so right and this man is so very wrong.
Bet he’s on time for his private patients.
As if being punctual was ever the employee’s problem. To add insult to injury he adds, sarcastically, that the state hospital is sending patients to St. Anne’s Clinic. No wonder the delays.
WHAT? HE’S COMPLAINING THAT THE STATE HOSPITAL SENDS PATIENTS TO ST ANNE’S CLINIC?
The two-faced t**ser! He’s the one who DOES those operations at St Anne’s Clinic. On MONDAYS.
Trid tkun Labour, ha nghidlek.
X’wicc qieghed.
For your info, Mr. Mercieca does not operate at St Anne’s clinic. He only does consultations there.
How could any human being possibly contain such venom within. Don’t you have anything better to do with your pen Daphne?
[Daphne – Come closer and I’ll show you.]
The commets uploaded beneath the story are even more stupid when compared to the story itself.
I posted a comment and somebody posted another to tell me that I shoud respect the surgeon because he saves lives.
By operating on eyes.
So progressive.
Like many other Laburisti who think they have made the grade, he suffers from delusions of grandeur.
What are the chances that he’s the mimmi tal-ghajnejn il-mama.
This is typical ‘golden son’ behaviour.
Time for an ophthalmic clinic in Gozo?
Is Mr. Mercieca in any way associated with the notorious waiting lists?
If Mr. Mercieca is assigned to cataract operations, which have been outsourced to private hospitals, and which are performed in the afternoon, then possibly he would have no problem.
He could even set his alarm clock to a later hour and have a comfortable breakfast with his family.
There is an ophthalmic clinic in Gozo ran by Mr I. Vella. Everyone in Gozo is aware that the relationship between Mr. Mercieca and Mr. Vella (both Gozitans) is not an excellent one.
Mr. Vella was in the newspaper photograph showing the first cataract operation subcontracted to a private hospital (a subject that Leo Said has followed, given what he commented on this site).
Mr. Vella was born and raised in Gozo but prefers to live in Malta. Yet he works in Gozo and commutes there and back everyday. And he never complains about it.
And if it’s stormy they leave early biex jaqbdu l-uhhar vapaaaawr.
Good job is-Salvatur abolished all titles and eradicated the feudal privileges of nobility.
Just wait until these nut-jobs are running the asylum: Muscat makes kings and other dignitaries wait while he finishes his hamburger with Lil Din, Sun and Star; an eye surgeon pushes ordinary peasants to the back of the line and, if need be, throws the Gozo ferries off schedule.
Heck, why not give the guy a police escort so he can bypass the tailbacks on the coast road to Msida? Well, I suppose that’s one way to arrive well-rested for a day of surgery, or running a country.
Island time, indeed. Shades of Animal Farm.
http://www.onlylabourites.com
Seek help guys, seek help !
[Daphne – The link doesn’t connect.]
Why did The Times carry his story? It’s a non-starter, unless it’s their way of letting people make an ass of themselves.
They think it’s a story because that Labour tw*t Kurt Sansone has taken over the newsroom there – you know, the chap who spent years working for that ahdar Saviour Balzan at Malta Today, then deserted the crippled ship.
Ahseb u ara jekk ikunu fil-gvern dawn, eh….mhux il-kju jaqbez (same old story).
Mela. Anke LaRRRRRRRsOOOOOOOn Pisani ikollu ‘pess’, ha nghidlek.
Like it or not, and I don’t, this mentality of special treatment for the Gozitans was festered by the populist and calculating decision to appoint a minister for Gozo way back in the late 80s.
Not only does it multiply and duplicate the workload of other ministries and departments, but it gives rise, perceived or real, to a great temptation for patronage and corruption by whoever occupies the post.
Do buisiness with any Gozitan and he will tell you, with a twinkle in his eye that he is “close to Giovanna” almost in the same way a Libyan would tell you (pre rebellion of course) the he is close to the Gaddafi family.
I am no way accusing the minister of corruption, merely pointing out that having such an unnecessary ministry will always give the impression of sleaze and worse.
Now we’re totally f**ked because Gozo was declared a region so it could be eligible for extra EU funds.
There’s no way the ministry will be abolished.
Gozitans get loads of perks and preferential treatment and if any civil servant raises the merest hint of an eyebrow, he’ll be met with horrified indignation. Sacred cow is an understatement.
Oh shucks! Life’s a bitch, isn’t it, Mr. Mercieca? What a twerp.
Yes, that’s right – another Maltese mummy’s boy.
Is it a quay or a mall?
At least he is not suggesting that the eye surgery department moves to Gozo – for now.
What an ass.
I don’t drive so I have to take the bus to work everyday. I have to be at work at half-past nine sharp, and before that I have to get two children to daycare and another one to nanna. So using this man’s reasoning, I can ask Arriva to give me a special pass to get to the head of the queue because I’m a working mother who will lose her job if she is late in. Wake up earlier, Mr Mercieca.
So Labour got a full page in today’s The Times.
Franco Mercieca, Cyrus Engerer and Martin Debono. All on page 3.
Both stories do not warrant space on a national newspaper.
If this is the best Labour can offer….*shudder*
But of course it is the silly season.
How the hell do you manage to get to know all these facts? Congrats – journalism at its best.
I am Gozitan but I live in Malta during the week. On Mondays, I wake up at 5am to make sure that I catch the 6.30am ferry, since it’s a very busy one.
Patients are only allowed to skip the queue at Cirkewwa if they have a special form from hospital, and if they have just been discharged following major surgery, eg. heart surgery. Mr Mercieca misrepresents the situation in his words to The Times, and The Times reporter didn’t even bother to double-check with the Health Department, taking him instead at his word.
Only the president, the prime ministers and the bishops are allowed to go to the head of the queue.
If Mr Mercieca wants to be at his most efficient and not put his career in jeopardy, he should buy or rent a flat to use between Monday and Friday, then go to Gozo at the weekend, like I and so many others have done. You can’t have your cake and eat it.
The bishops should join the good doctor in the queue.
You’re wrong on one point. It is definitely also other “privileged” people (if you consider directors of certain government bodies, Gozo Channel, etc to be “privileged”) who get to skip the queues, however long – even the infamous “Santa Marija” ones..
It may not be their right, but even if it were, one should only make use of such “right” in cases of necessity or extreme urgency. Availing oneself of the opportunity solely for capricious reasons just goes to show where one is coming from, and shows a severe lack of respect.to all others.
Skuzi l-espressjoni, imma wiccu u sormu l-istess dan?
So that’s why he was on Albert Marshal’s show, ‘Lenti’ – to make himself known with the electorate.
Exactly how is he going to find time to campaign and then, if he is successful, to attend parliamentary sittings and read all those documents, when he can’t even get to the ferry in time?
He sounds like a freeloader to me.
He should be investigated by the Medical Council for breaching its code of ethics through publicity-seeking behaviour.
Imagine how much more publicity he will soon be seeking, given that he wishes to be elected to parliament ma’ Joseph il-Mexxej Kbir tal-ingravata hadra ghal Gaddafi.
When I read the article quickly in the bank I had assumed he was from Gozo. I didn’t realise he CHOSE to live on the other island.
[Daphne – Errrr, SC, whether he’s from Gozo or not is irrelevant. He’s over 18 and has a job, so where he lives is his choice. He’s a grown-up. He’s in Gozo because that’s where he wants to be.]
As you said he should get a place in Msida like many other Gozo doctors. He used the sob story that he is on call for emergency cases then he should live on the same island. Well done, Gozo ferries!
They work extra break hours for leaving early every Friday. I used to work earlier in the morning and finish later so that I could leave early on Friday.
Veru qatta’ injoranti
Yes, strange, isn’t it. He’s able to qualify as an eye surgeon while still reasoning through his butt.
I am more astonished and annoyed at the Times for publishing his story in the first place.
Is this what they regard as serious journalism?
I was working in Gozo for two years way back in the early 80s and never expected nor got any preferential treatment from Gozo Channel, and I always got very angry seeing members of parlament skipping the queue, incidentally a practice still unjustly in place today.
The first one to set the fashion of whining and bawling male politicians was JPO. The latest is Mr Mercieca.
What a booooooore.
Daphne, way back in the 1980s my father was very ill, so with all the confusion at that time, I decided to have another opinion and I wanted to take my father to Harley Street in London. I went through hell with the doctors who worked at St Luke’s Hospital at that time. Some of them are still alive.and they think they are gods, shame on them.
Was Mr Mercieca so very fussy about travelling to work at Josie Muscat’s private clinic ……………….in TRIPOLI ?
Has any disciplinary action being taken against him for arriving late for work?
No, because being a true Laburist, he’s taking advantage of the fact that his employers need him far more than he needs them.
Vote Labour so that Franco Mercieca can carry on throwing his weight around. I don’t think so.
There clearly is a problem and it should be solved.
The problem isn’t whether anyone has a pass or not – clearly no one should have one. The problem as I see it is that there are not enough trips scheduled at a reasonable time on a Monday morning to cope with the people going to work in Malta.
It’s not rocket science. Many people who live in Gozo return to Malta on Monday morning, so carry out a study and change the Monday morning trips to cope with the volume.
If necessary get two or three vessels to leave at the same time or within a few minutes of each other. That way no one will be late and no one will need a special pass.
For f’s sake, Dr Mercieca! I once worked at an office some 2km from my home, and was habitually late – not much – just 5 or 10 minutes daily, which I more than made up for throughout the day.
It never ceased to embarass me, however, to find that – rain or shine – my Gozitan colleague had arrived before me, despite having had to catch a ferry and drive across Malta to to get to work.
Just look at the comment board at timesofmalta.com, people are actually defending this guy. Ara vera sheltered ahna.
The peasants really love King Franco Mercieca
The pompous doctor takes after his late father. Loves attention, full of pride and false humility.
One of those rare posts where I agree with everything!
The stars must be aligned or something.
P.S: Regarding his possible candidacy: well spotted. One more “hard working” chap I know I definitely won’t be voting for.
PS. Mur ara kemm se jigi ghas-seduti parlamentari mela.
Well, imagine insulting a surgeon and the last thing before the anasthetic hits, you see him peering down at you..
[Daphne – Why, are surgeons in the habit of breaking the law to exact revenge?]
Mr Mercieca does have a flat in Malta – in Sliema if I’m not mistaken…
Sorry, it’s not in SLiema. It’s in (drum rolls please) Portomaso.
Mela vera qziez dan ir-ragel.
After reading the literary masterpiece (not) and the more than obvious attempts to discredit an honest to decent person (just because he is a Labour candidate does not mean he is scum as quite a few sheep are treating him) makes me shudder quite embarrassed to call myself Maltese!!! I wonder what this page would look like if he was waving the blue flag instead of the red. Oh by the way – why does the Hon. Chris Said get Priority boarding in the morning? Is it some emergency parliamentary sitting?????