Yes, he really does need a good whipping
Robert Arrigo, Jeffrey the Poison Dwarf, and Jesmond 'Evil Blogger of Wardija' Mugliett. Tie yourselves down, ladies.
The most offensive bit of Jeffrey Pullicino (Orlando Smith)’s off-the-wall interview in The Sunday Times yesterday was when he said that if the prime minister or the party whip had asked him how he planned to vote on June 18, he “would probably have told them but they never asked”.
You would never believe that this man has been a member of parliament for 16 years. It is not MPs who tell their party leader or party whip how they plan to vote.
It is the party leader who instructs the whip and the whip who instructs MPs. That is what a whip is for. When government/opposition MPs are instructed by the whip, they are expected to toe the line.
If there is no whip, there is a free vote. There is nothing inbetween, called ‘MPs doing what they like and behaving like free agents’. MPs do what they like only if they have no party ticket and are independent. The MPs in our parliament are not independent. Like it or lump it, they have got to vote with the whip.
If it is a matter of conscience, like abortion for instance, and there is no free vote, then their only choice is to leave the party, before voting against the whip, retaining their seat as an independent, in which case they have betrayed their constituents who voted for X party and not specifically for them, or they resign their seat altogether and make way for another MP of the same party, who is prepared to vote with the whip.
If an MP does not toe the line, and votes against the whip as Jeffrey Pullicino (Orlando Smith) did, the usual discipline, depending on how serious the transgression is deemed to be, is the withdrawal of the whip.
This is very serious – it effectively means that that the MP who has transgressed loses the party ticket.
This will not happen to Pullicino (Orlando Smith) for the obvious reason that if the government loses even one MP in this situation, then it ceases to be the government.
Pullicino (Orlando Smith) was instead condemned by his party for voting against the whip, because his party could not withdraw the whip/expel him.
He has pooh-poohed this, saying that MPs vote against the whip “all the time in Italy and Britain”. I wouldn’t cite the Italian parliament as a paragon if I were him, because it is an absolute disaster. But I know he is very keen on all things British (despite having the mentality and moral code of somebody from a Sicilian mountain village) so might I suggest that he checks up a little more on what happens to British government MPs who ignore or defy the whip.
Pullicino (Orlando Smith) has said that he will not vote in this election and will not be a candidate either (he would have been deselected anyway), but he will be back on the Nationalist ticket next time round.
You can see his reasoning here: Lawrence Gonzi is going to lose the election, with his help, there will be a new party leader, and the new party leader will welcome Pullicino (Orlando Smith) with open arms.
He really has been sucked down the rabbit-hole.
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‘rabbit hole’, Daphne? May I suggest ‘rat hole’?
[Daphne – That’s from Alice in Wonderland, Harry – he first chapter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland ]
Yes, Daphne, thought about that. He does have an ‘Alice’ air about him. However, the ‘Queen’ could be more fitting.
Read the onlookers “Dawn xiz-*** qed jghamlu hawn kollom ggiget, irirduhwa tal-Men in Black jaqaw”.
This Orlando Furioso Smith is sufferring from PTSD following the shameful debacle he was involved in around the time of the last general election. Mistragate.
He is lucky to have survived the resulting onslaught.
Nothing short of harakiri was in order in those circumstances.
JPOS is a second Andreotti in the world of politics.
Il tappo di sughero galleggiante.
These things only happen in Malta and in Italy.
Anywhere else Orlando would have been decimated.
I really don’t see why you had to include Robert Arrigo in the photo.
[Daphne – I didn’t include him, Silvio. He included himself.]
Are you trying to imply that he is one of the of the renegade M.P.s.?
I think it was very unfair unless of course it is his turn to be targeted.
Mr. Arrigo is nothing but an asset to the party, and I can assure you that he will be the one to make me break my promise not to vote in the next election.
Hanina, Silvio.
Taf kemm ilek mghawweg ganc fuq dan i-blog, ma jmurx xi hadd imisslek lil Arrigo?
You are perfectly right.
By the way next time make it Hanini, or maybe you happen to be one of those?
As a student I used to rent a room in an apartment belonging to a couple of ‘those’.
They spoilt me rotten. Is that bad?
I’m not surpaised, they usually go out of their way to be nice to young students.
Whether, as you ask, it is bad or not, I can’t be the judge of that, after all we all have different tastes and likings. As long as as you say, you were happy, good luck to you.