Ara b’xiex se nitwekkew, hbieb
Please God spare us from this level of idiocy.
The Maltese business magazine The Executive interviewed the man who tells us that he’d make a much better prime minister than Gonzi, and asked him about hedge funds and the financial services market (which is one of successive Nationalist governments’ major success stories).
You will not believe his reply. Or sadly, you will – but you will not believe that this klutz is going to be made, through the combined joint effort of other klutzes, priume minister of Malta.
THE EXECUTIVE: Hedge funds have a vital role to play in developing the jurisdiction. How would an alternative Labour government be committed to growing the financial services sector in the future?
JOSEPH MUSCAT: Well, hedge funds are a new addition in relative terms to the country. We need to attract more people who take more decisions over here, improve the connectivity and accessibility of the country. This is where the role of Air Malta is crucial not only to tourism but also towards increasing Malta’s role as a hub for financial services and related market segments. We are not planning a revolution or propose the opposite of what is being done – our aim is continuity.
Down below you’ll find two links which will allow you to compare Joseph Muscat’s PATHETIC reply to the prime minister’s when interviewed by Bloomberg on the same topic.
I’d give a lot for the chance to see Muscat interviewed live and unaided by Bloomberg on the matter of financial services.
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If his aim is continuity, then why didn’t he answer the question directly?
More to the point, if he’s not offering anything different and better, what’s the point of electing him?
“What’s the point of electing him?”
Biex ikun l-izghar Prim Ministru u Lady “Peron” ikollha isimha imnaqqax fl-istorja ta’ Malta.
Did he just say Air Malta’s connectivity is crucial for hedge funds?
Fasten your seat belts and adopt the foetal position.
The crash landing is going to be painful.
We know that some of you are frequent travellers, but we ask you to listen to these instructions all the same. There are two sets of emergency doors on this plane. But in case of Labour’s election to government, break the window and use that.
L-aqwa li hemm il-hostess Nuxellina.
Seriously now: The Executive always send written questions for interviews with senior politicians. This is a case of idiotic shadow writer, and even more idiotic boss.
So I am asked to vote for someone to continue the work conceived, launched and developed by others against the wishes of that someone.
I suppose that’s how he plans to get more hedges.
Yes, Jozef, Air Malta’s connectivity is crucial. How do you think hedgehogs are imported?
And he calls himself an economist?
Had this been an examination question, Joseph Muscat would have been marked down as out of point/failed.
What on earth does the national airline have to do with hedge funds connectivity? God help us indeed.
I think that Professor Scicluna and Karmenu Vella il-Guy had not yet lectured him on the subject.
But as long as he can use words such as “improve the connectivity and accessibility of the country” it is OK with the klutzes. Everything goes with the klutzes.
Why Klutz? Better Shmuck.
Both words are of Yiddish origin.
The thing is that he couldn’t be bothered. He has successfully brought together all those who had been thrown out of the skip by Sant, together with their supporters – now the whole lot is back again. Why bother about policies?
What a bloody idiot. Well, let’s face it, it could have been worse – he could have spoken about his gardener’s wage.
Joseph Muscat’s only work experience in the private sector was at Alfred Mifsud’s Crystal Finance Investments. And it is significant that in the Labour Party leadership race, Mifsud did not back him, but George Abela.
I wonder what sort of financial consultant Muscat was in that office if he does not even know what a hedge fund is – as emerges clearly from his answer here.
How did The Exective ask the questions to Joseph Muscat? Was it in a form of a live interview? Did The Executive inform Joseph Muscat in advance about the questions to be asked? Were they sent in writing and answered in writing?
“Hedge funds are a new addition in relative terms” as opposed to, what? Absolute terms?
“also towards increasing Malta’s role as a hub for financial services and related market segments.”
Who would invest in a Socialist market?
“We are not planning a revolution or propose the opposite of what is being done – our aim is continuity.”
They are honest at least. To plan a revolution and/or come up with a different strategy, they’d need brains.
Sadly, this is way over the top of the head of the vast majority of the electorate. They will, only eventually though, feel the effects of this vast intelligence.
Oh God, save us. Does nobody in the newspapers check what this guy is saying, or are they all too busy poring over Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s Facebook page?
If he comes up with answers like this when interviewed by The Executive, how is he going to cope head-to-head with Lawrence Gonzi? Wake up, Malta – is this really the best man for the job?
How’s he going to cope head-to-head with other leaders who aren’t called Gaddafi?
Is this a joke?
[Daphne – No.]
I take it that there was no teleprompter available.
He must be taking logic lessons from Marlene.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-05/malta-lures-connecticut-hedge-funds-with-300-days-of-sun-aided-by-eu-rules.html
http://www.hedgefundsreview.com/hedge-funds-review/feature/1931860/prime-minister-gonzi-supports-expansion-hedge-fund-sector-malta
This reminds me of a comment Godfrey Grima made a few days ago during a TV discussion programme (probably Super One).
He said that Malta is not in the situation of Spain and Greece because we still have EU funds being spent on projects.
It is EU funds which are keeping us going. In other EU countries, as soon as EU funds dried up, they went into crisis, so says Grima.
Clearly for Godfrey Grima, competence does not come into it.
He thinks Malta’s success is a coincidence and not the outcome of Government’s correct strategic choices and competent management of the economy.
Yes, I heard that, which brings us to the crux, why, if what he says is true, did Joseph Muscat oppose membership then?
Fact is, Greece, Spain both invested money in useless infrastructure, see the Olympics, bolstering an already unsustainable construction sector dependent on inflated growth figures and a property bubble. Spain was the rage a few years back, as were the Greek islands.
Joseph’s surrounded himself with those who’d soonest get back to those years where every other week a new ‘project’ would be splashed all over the centrefold of every newspaper.
“Malta Lures Hedge Funds With 300 Days of Sunshine ” ……. and with 7,000 years of history ……. and with a pair of safe hands at the helm.
Bloomberg, eh? Did Purdie have a hand in this?
Of course, the mayor is a buddy.
Lanqas jaf xinhuma
So much for his work experience with Krystal Finance.
Meta taqra x’wiegeb Gonzi u x’wiegeb Muscat mill-ewwel tinduna kemm dan Muscat miskin ma jifhem xejn. Insomma imsieken ahna ghax ha nitwikkew bih.
Perhaps his interviewer’s accent wasn’t what it should be, and Muscat took him to mean hatch-farms, with AirMalta required to fly out the chicks as it does with tuna.
Come on, give him the benefit of the doubt. We need to hang on to our sanity here.
Are we sure that that answer pertains to that question?
Computer malfunction again, deja vu or a harbinger of things to come?
Interesting to see how he could use Airmalta to increase “Malta’s role as a hub for financial services and related market segments”.
Maybe he intends to use Airmalta as an instrument for derivatives such as transporting “options” of commodities, selling Airmalta’s “futures” to guarantee sustainibility, perform “swaps” of airline routes and move “forward(s)” in the direction of oblivion.
Oh My God. Has any adventurous journalist contacted Alfred Mifsud to comment on this reply? Kurt Sansone – quick, hurry.
“We are not planning a revolution or propose the opposite of what is being done – our aim is continuity”
He said it so clearly: The Nationalist administration is doing so well that there is nothing he can add to or change.
So where is the need for change in government he has been harping on since being elected leader of the PL?
Excellent articles (Bloomberg and Hedge Funds Review).
Only a minute detail that’s wrong in Bloomberg’s: I don’t know of any “red-tiled roofs in Valletta”. Perhaps the author of the article has never set foot in Malta…but…
If AirMalta reduces its freight charges Hedge Funds will be able to fly into Malta vast amounts of cash at competitive rates.
Huge containers full of USD, GBP, EUR,JPY, SFR etc
That is what Joey thinks.
For Malta’s sake send him back to SuperOne.
He will be pretty innocuous there.
Intelligent question , stupid answer , Laburist ta’ Mintoff style.
A potential client to the island’s financial services isn’t sure whether to come down with his private jet or boat.
Comprehensive yacht services, check
Comprehensive aircraft maintenance and registry, check
Comprehensive financial services ditto
Idiot.
It’s as if they made a mistake when copying and pasting the answers for two totally different questions. I use the word to often – but this is truly unbelievable.
It’s no wonder he declined to appear on that TV debate with the Prime Minister having been only given one day’s notice. With ample preparation, he is vague and mediocre. Without any at all the man is disastrous!
The problem is that no journalist has the audacity to test him on such subjects in press events where there is no script in question time.
Daphne, is it possible to scan an image of this text? I’ll gladly circulate it on linkedin/Facebook/Twitter with the financial services social media users.
I wouldn’t dare imply this site is not credible, but obviously seeing the real thing does wonders.
[Daphne – Right, is there anyone out there who’s got the actual print copy of The Executive and can oblige? Please send it to [email protected]. Thank you.]
You don’t need a print copy.
http://henleyalumni.org.mt/news-events_section/news/the-executive-new-issue/
Dear fellow citizens, bend over and place your head between your legs. Now kiss your ass and Malta…. goodbye.
I also listened in to Godfrey Grima with his utter stupidities on One TV.
Normally Godfrey appears to make some balanced arguments, but this time it was utter nonsense.
1) Joseph Muscat will be the next Fenech Adami because of his leadership skills.
2) Spain and Greece messed up when the EU funds ended. Rubbish – speaking from his ass. Spain messed up because the socialist party, led by Zapatero, screwed up the economy so badly 2004 – 2011. To generate employment there was an uncontrolled building boom which went belly up and so Spain now has 24.6 % unemployment. That would almost be equal to 40,000 people out if work in Malta.
Greece suffered from chronic corruption and employed thousands in the public sector, mostly by the Socialist party of Pasok. They also cooked the books to enable themselves to join the eurozone.
Sur Godfrey Grima, mur saqqi l-hass tal-Marsa – by saying that Spain and Greece’s woes are due to EU funds drying up, you demonstrate that you are clueless or deliberately twisting the facts for your Super One audience.
It’s solely due to the incompetent and corrupt (socialist) governments they had.
It may be worth mentioning that even the Labour Party in the UK screwed up the economy there with the debt as a percentage of GDP ballooning from 35% to 70% in a mere 1000 days under Gordon Brown’s leadership.
By comparison, Malta’s debt in the past four years increased by a mere 5% of GDP in the face of a harsh economic climate.
U kif, par idejn sodi, Sur Godfrey Grima.
David, you are spot on.
Two out of every three new jobs in the UK under the last Labour government (thirteen years) were directly or indirectly bankrolled by the state. It was simply an expensive exercise at masking government incompetence and mass unemployment.
The Uk economy was built on a mountain of debt.
The same can be said of the fictitious economic policies of the socialist Zapatero government in Spain.
In Greece both ND and PASOK were up to their shoulders in the disastrous economic pie.
The EU funds have nothing to do with this.
And Grima knows it very, very well.
He is certainly no slouch.
Sadly, he is very heavily tainted by politics and by opportunism.
Well said both David S and anthony
Godfrey Grima trivialises what has been achieved and encourages people to take Malta’s economic success for granted. How sorry we will all be when the clueless Joseph Muscat is voted in as PM.