“You’re being very RUDE, Ministru!”

Published: January 15, 2013 at 9:46pm

Now we have a new one, after “Shame on you!”.

“You’re being very rude, Ministru.” He must have been a professional nanny in another life. “Put that down, Tonio. You’re being very rude.”

I don’t know what it is, but there’s something not quite right there.

“Correct. Correct.” Imagine making out with a person like that. He probably holds the instruction manual to ensure she follows all the right steps. “You’re not doing it correctly. It says here…CORRECT.”

He’s moving the goal-posts and lying bare-facedly, blinding with science.

I have no doubt that he convinces many. But then, so did Alfred Sant.

What did he just say there? Dear God in heaven: he’s dismissed Ann Fenech – a consultant in maritime law – patronisingly as an ‘avukata’.

Imagine if she were black as well as a woman.




87 Comments Comment

  1. rustic fairy says:

    Jimporta twaqqfu ftit, Lou?

  2. Bob says:

    Is this the guy who chooses the flowers for the roundabouts?

  3. SPAM says:

    Every time he calls him “ministru” Konrad always looks at Tonio angrily.

  4. Josette Jones says:

    Konrad Mizzi has all the manners and snarkiness of a spoilt 16-year-old schoolboy. It’s the first thing that strikes you about him.

  5. bob-a-job says:

    The greasy pole is getting tougher for our Konrad to handle.

    He is talking rubbish at this stage and rubbishing everyone else.

    If it wasn’t so bad for the country I’d be tempted to vote Labour just to see him sink.

    • Antoine Vella says:

      I was thinking the same thing; if we could have them for 6 months only, it would be fun to watch them floundering.

      • Gahan says:

        Not even for ONE day.

        In a single day anyone can distruct anything.

        Antoine, you are not in the heat of the kitchen (private sector). People like me can lose their job in one fell swoop because of a bad decision by bullshitters (excuse me for using this kind of language) like this Konrad Mizzi, who, if things go haywire will go back to the UK and leave us in deep shit up to here.

        This is not a reality show. This is all about our reliability on a fuel which is shipped on SPECIAL tankers, supplying 80% of our electrical needs.

        We’re putting all OUR eggs in one basket and trusting Mr Mizzi to carry the basket.

        This is a wild gamble. What if something goes wrong in the supply chain which is vulnerable to many factors?

        We end up with no electricity supply and factories will just close down while you continue lecturing students who will not find employment due to the bad reputation our island will have internationally.

        Ships sink, workers strike,gases explode and power stations shut down with dire consequences for the economy. Fukushima and the Cyprus power stations come to mind.

        http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/cyprus/8629594/Cyprus-explosion-knocks-out-islands-electricity-plant.html#

        Unlike Japan and Cyprus we don’t have the luxury of having spare capacity to switch from one power station to another.

        Antoine, you will flounder with the rest of us and it won’t be fun watching a 55-year-old searching for a job.

    • Neil Dent says:

      Many of us have that same, morbid yearning to see them in power, and watch them fail epically.

      But we’re just being selfish.

      It’s a shame really, but there you go – national interest, our kids’ future, blah blah blah…

  6. Peter Mercieca says:

    Can you see his finger nails? They’re long, manicured, girly and all they lack is a bit of nail polish to match his lipstick colour.

  7. ciccio says:

    Lou Bondi has just asked Konrad to present a copy of a 10 year power purchase agreement.

    The cameras focused on Konrad’s face while Lou was formulating his question.

    From his facial expression, I thought, OMG, he’s got one underneath those papers and he is going to pull it out.

    But, nope, he did not.

    He hasn’t got one.

    Hadn’t he said that there are hundreds of them all over the internet?

    Tonio Fenech is right. Konrad Mizzi is only bluffing about his project.

    • FP says:

      True. Finally Fenech has come up with the one single word that describes the whole Labour Dream Energy policy:

      BLUFF

    • La Redoute says:

      Be fair. They’re all over the internet, so why should he do your research?

      I’m still looking.

      • ciccio says:

        Do you think they might be secretly hidden on some xhamster sites?

        You know, such contracts tend to be sensitive.

        According to Alexa there has been a lot of internet activity on those sites from Malta – you never know, it could have been Konrad Mizzi downloading samples of 10 and 20 year Power Purchase Agreements in the past three years.

  8. Peanuts says:

    So now Edward Mallia is a credible expert and Anne Fenech “only a lawyer not an expert on gas. ..”.

    As far as I heard there were no representations made that she was an expert on gas and in fact she gave an opinion on ships that carry gas … not gas itself. She definitely knows more than either Edward Mallia or Konrad Mizzi about ships of any kind.

  9. D Gatt says:

    I just love it the way you are all tripping over yourselves … go on please!

    Facts are facts though. There are many PPAs out there. Some of them in excess of 20 years.

    • ray says:

      Why don’t you show a couple to Konrad than? He looked like a tool without one.

    • Ghoxrin Punt says:

      Yes, but do they bind a fixed price for 20 years and if they do, is the contracting party still operational?

    • FP says:

      We’re waiting, D Gatt.

      Just one simple link.

      Go on.

      And forward the link to Konrad Mizzi while you’re at it so he can print it and give it to Norman Vella and shut him up once and for all about the damn contracts.

      I’m sure Konrad Mizzi would appreciate the favour, because so far he has been unable to come up with one himself.

    • Vanni says:

      Copy and paste a 10 year one, commencing from last year, please.

      In other words, put up or shut up.

    • Josette Jones says:

      We’re still waiting, D Gatt. Send them to Konrad so he can show them to the world.

    • Redneck Rabti says:

      Link pls

    • C Falzon says:

      The question is not whether there are 20-year agreements but whether they guarantee a fixed price, and just as importantly whether they have been made recently.

      Such fixed-price contracts were common (and a few old ones are still in force) in the days when there was over supply of LNG, not any more though. One would be crazy to guarantee a fixed price nowadays unless it is the buyer who is crazy and accepts an exhorbitantly high fixed price.

    • Mario d Boss says:

      @D Gatt: Can you kindly indicate just one purchase price agreement where the gas price is established in absolute terms and not linked to an index?

      I have been researching on internet since the day the PL plans were announced and could not find one example of an absolute fixed gas price ppa.

    • ciccio says:

      If Konrad Mizzi cannot show us one example of a recent power purchase agreement that fixes the generated price of electricity for 10 years, how can he keep Labour’s promise to reduce water and electricity rates?

      He might reduce them in the first year or two, but will have to increase them later.

      Labour’s proposal is not credible.

    • Angus Black says:

      Of course there are D Gatt, but what you don’t say (or even know) is that the longer a PPA, the more ‘front load’ it carries.

      Just to spoon feed you: if a PPA for 10 years is negotiated, it is based on today’s price of the commodity, plus an industry-wide formula which takes into account the probable price increases over the next ten years plus capital recapture, plus a predetermined profit amount and (as an example) from 9.6c net (today’s price) over the PPA period it would become say, 18c/unit FROM DAY ONE and throughout the ten years.

      Some deal. Some savings.

      In the meantime if the price and interest rates fall, the poor suckers (consumers) will still be paying 18c/unit. The investor cares little if prices go up because he had already factored the possibility in setting the PPA price.

      If Konrad is so cocky about his wonderful dream, why does he not produce the documents?

      Like it or not from the few numbers he provided both Tonio and KPMG worked the numbers backwards and soon found out that he is talking from both sides of his mouth. Smoke and mirrors, bluff, lack of vision – typically Labour.

      For heavens’ sake, they couldn’t figure out that a half assed exercise would be torn apart by people in the know?

      How could Joseph and his star accountants prepare such a sloppy presentation?

    • Mercury Rising says:

      I can give you a supply agreement for 10 years and more.

  10. La Redoute says:

    Konrad’s only reference is himself. He has yet to produce a single person to support his much cited but well hidden costings.

  11. sv says:

    “Please dont interrupt me for a minute…”. What a jerk.

  12. FP says:

    KM: Ir-rata tal-kanċer qed tiżdied fis-sawt skont ir-rapport tad-WHO.

    TF: Ir-rapport tad-WHO jgħid li r-rata tal-kanċer qed tiżdied minħabba t-tipjip.

    KM: Tidher li m’intix tagħmel door to door, ministru.

    How long can you keep this coming and going for, Konrad?

  13. maryanne says:

    Joe Mizzi, chi l’ha visto?

  14. Charles Darwin says:

    Come on guys.. let’s put things into perspective!

  15. bystander says:

    Lee Harvey Mizzi ……………. The Patsy.

  16. Phili B. says:

    The more I watch the Power Robot, the more he reminds me of Crispin Glover in Back to the future.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crispin_Glover_2012_Shankbone.JPG

  17. Gbow says:

    After yesterday’s dose of Joe Grima, today I had to see Konrad Mizzi rubbish the opinion of experts in various fields one after the other.

    His approach is predictable and repetitive: (i) try to find something remotely ambiguous or somewhat positive about any idea in the PL’s proposal (say gas is cleaner) and use that to say “glad to hear that the expert endorses our proposals” and/or (ii) object to any clarification pointing out that the expert was clearly against the spirit of the project, based on the fact that the person/s may be involved in government projects, the PN, consultancies etc.

    I would like to remind Dr Mizzi that when one discusses technical and scientific matters the personal opinion of whoever is presenting the fact is totally irrelevant.

    If you do not agree with the statements made by Dr Fenech, you need to substantiate why – say, do you have a fleet of vessels hidden somewhere which are not registered with Lloyds?

    Rubbishing Dr Fenech’s expert opinion for her political beliefs – even if she is a Nationalist supporter – is cheap, arrogant and nonsensical.

    Outside of politics arguments need to be addressed with logic and ample evidence and counterarguments need an even greater standard of proof.

    Due to its own nature this debate has to be challenged on technical terms and this form of argumentation, particularly by Dr Mizzi, is inappropriate.

  18. pablo says:

    He promised on Friday to present examples of a fixed price LNG PPA of ten years and it is obvious that back at HQ he was told by the faceless experts who fear identity discovery to shut up or ship out.

    Fifty shades of slick and sleaze.

  19. FP says:

    Konrad Mizzi has been promising other similar power-purchase agreements for many days now.

    We’re still waiting.

    He always answers that anyone can go on the internet and download these contracts.

    He can quite easily shut everyone up about the bloody contracts by going on the internet himself, download a contract himself, and publish the damn thing.

    Just as he promptly and without hesitation downloads favourable comments and articles from online papers and comments boards and publishes them the moment they appear on the internet.

    The fact is that THERE ARE NO CONTRACTS LIKE KONRAD’S CONTRACT.

    Truly one of a kind.

    Incredible.

  20. Giovanni says:

    Ann Fenech said on TVM’s Close Up (not Bondi+) that partial delivery is not normally done and if so not feasible. She

    I would like to thank you for giving me a chance to express myself. I hope I was not that rude. If so, then shame on me.

    Honestly, I pity the guy.

    When we see an adorable baby nghidu tal-gdim but seeing Konrad nghidu ta’daqqiet ta’ harta.

  21. il busu says:

    Day 8 of the electoral campaign and Konrad has been reduced to repeating the same 3 or 4 lines of thought, trying desperately to avoid giving sources and reports (always assuming that they exist).

    He is evidently worn out and has no idea how to proceed in a fresh way.

    I imagine that by the end of the campaign he will become a bumbling shadow of himself.

    Where are the big guns of Labour on this issue?

    [Daphne – They’ve left him to face the firing squad alone.]

    • ciccio says:

      The big guns are in a hole somewhere developing and recording Version 1003 of Konrad’s standard replies.

      Soon they will call Konrad for re-programming.

    • Angus Black says:

      They even blindfolded him.

    • observer says:

      He reminds me of a door-to-door vacuum cleaner or encyclopaedia salesman.

      However, he can reply to neither a simple question about the allegedly magical properties of the appliance nor to one about how many volumes the work consists of.

      All he can say is either “the thing can certainly solve all your dust/carpet cleaning problems” or “I can assure you that this encyclopaedia will teach you all you want to know about everything” – or similiarly facile cr*p avidly swallowed by the gullible and the brainless.

  22. jackie says:

    Tonio Fenech may be winning the argument but he is not winning the debate.

    He needs to stop shouting and interrupting his opponent.

    It looks awful and is extremely off-putting to the “undecideds”.

    He holds the winning cards but keeps acting like a panicked bully.

    If you’re reading this, Joe Saliba, get to work on him before he does irreparable damage to the cause.

  23. Ian says:

    He reminds me of those awful CET presentations in 1997, when Alfred Sant lied so barefacedly that one was left thinking: “Could they really be making all of it up?”

    • Gahan says:

      Spot on , and then Alfred had this so called expert on taxes Mr Spiteri (?) who had the impromptu ‘solutions’ coming out like hotcakes on CET.

  24. FP says:

    KPMG’s report is based on the wrong figures and assumptions. – Konrad Mizzi

    Fine. Grab that report, plug in your right figures and assumptions, and publish.

    Will you, Prattikament Minister?

  25. bob-a-job says:

    How can Joe Muscat possibly hedge his future on Konrad Mizzi?

    Experts are stating that Konrad Mizzi worked on impossible time frames, unrealistic costs and unfeasible shipping consignments yet he plods on making outrageous claims in the full knowledge that should he back down now his political future won’t be worth a dime.

    His only possibility at this point is to maintain the bluff, pretending to believe what he says for as long as this gives an advantage.

    “A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true.”
    —Demosthenes

  26. Vanni says:

    I have known Dr. Anne Fenech for quite a long time, and she is widely considered as one of Malta’s leading lawyers in her field. She is a well respected professional, and if she gives you an opinion, especially where it concerns shipping, you can take it to the bank.

    Who the hell ever heard of Konrad Mizzi before this latest installment of Tales from Never Land?

    • thehobbit says:

      As if the Laburisti patentjati ever heard of Ann Fenech. Many have never heard of her, but now they all know Konrad Mizzi. And as I’ve said, it’s not going to make one bit of a difference.

    • Philip says:

      Of course I did. He is the guy who organised the nation’s roundabouts. U halluna!

  27. Redneck Rabti says:

    Faqqalna link ejja. U ibghata lil Tonio Fwnech ukoll, ghax qas hu ma sab wiehed.

  28. Jozef says:

    What science? I can assure he doesn’t have a clue, bluffs his way around figures, makes comparisons which unearth his absolute incopetence in everything engineering and has opened himself to accusations of slander.

    He lied about safety standards belittling what they actually mean.

    The length of period of time the process has to take, isn’t negotiable.

    Setting a challenge to how fast it can be done, undercutting procedural constraints is downright criminal.

    This jerk doesn’t respect any of the professions.

  29. Riya says:

    Inutli jitkellmu dawn l-esperti u avukati u x’naf jien.

    Ghal Joseph Muscat u ghal Partit Laburista jekk ma taqbilx ma’ dak kollu li jghid il-Labour ma int xejn.

    Ara jekk bhalissa jghid xi haga dwar dan il-progett Eddy Privitera ibqa cert li Joseph Muscat u dawk il-bravi u esperti li ghandu mieghu jghidu li Eddy Privitera ghandu ragun.

    Mhux ta’ b’xejn jghidu li l’akbar diffikulta hija biex tikkonvinci lil injorant.

    • FP says:

      You’re right, Riya.

      Technically, this project hasn’t got a leg to stand on.

      Politically, unless the undiscerning voter starts seeing obvious cracks, I’d say it’s in the bag.

    • david says:

      Apparently Eddy Privitera has posted comments on timesofmalta.com as often as Konrad has appeared on tv in the last couple of weeks.

  30. Futur Imcajpar says:

    This was to be Labour’s trump card. Even without it, Joseph Muscat was already safely planted at Castille.

    I wonder if, when all is said and done (well, more said than done), it has cemented his position irrevocably, or if it has scuppered it.

  31. Malti says:

    I can already smell a “deja vu”.

    They will do the same thing to Dr Konrad Mizzi exactly like they did to Dr Attard Montalto, squeeze him and throw him away like a lemon. This will happen after their proposal is shredded, and could eventually be another electoral loss.

    • H.P. Baxxter says:

      If being sent off to the European Parliament is disposing of a squeezed lemon, then please squeeze me hard and chuck me in the bin.

      Jesus, Maltese metaphors.

      • Harry Purdie says:

        Won’t work, Baxxter. Your more like a tangerine. Your peel is easily removed, revealing sweet, enjoyable, juicy tranches of intellect.

        Far to good for the EP zoo. Stay scientist.

      • Malti says:

        I think you have a very short memory Baxxter. Did you forget what happened in the running for the Labour leadership?

      • H.P. Baxxter says:

        Yes, he lost. And won a better prize in the end.

    • Malti says:

      So you think being an MEP is a better position than a future country’s Prime Minister? And after all it was not the PL elected him to his present position, but the Maltese people.

  32. U Le! says:

    I am going to enter a PPA with my local convenience store to buy bread and milk for the next 10 years at a fixed price.

    If you do not believe me contact them yourselves: Abracadabra Cash and Carry.

  33. giraffa says:

    I was half expecting Konrad Mizzi to break down and cry. He is full of ‘gas’ and his arguments are nowhere as credible as Tonio’s.

    Labour have put all their eggs on their their new ‘bozza tal-mija’ basket, and as the days pass, the lot of them are being exposed as incompetent ‘pruzuntuzi’.

  34. Le Adder Noir says:

    Will the PL please stop portraying Joe Ellul Vincenti as some die-hard Nationalist who has suddenly fallen off his horse at Damascus? Flaming opportunist. No more, no less. Didn’t they have some project they want approved?

  35. david says:

    A quick search for 10 year PPAs led me to the following link. Yes, it is for a 10 year period, but it is not at a fixed price contract but the price will be linked to the price of fuel oil.

    http://www.icis.com/heren/articles/2013/01/10/9630754/lng/glm/turkey-unveils-ambitious-lng-import-plans.html

  36. Joanna says:

    The best part was when Lou Bondi said “Konrad, ghandna plenty of time.” :-)

  37. old-timer says:

    If I heard correctly, last night Karmenu Vella said that the expert (that one who was on the PN news conference) “proved the Labour plan right”.

    If I am not mistaken this expert was talking about the dangers and security measures.

    I do not think he tackled the costings problem. He might have done, perhaps I dozed off. Come off it, Karm!

  38. alfie says:

    Is this what they are offering for the next five years? What about our pensions, education, health, work and other important things?

    They only speak about this power station. Do they remember they were 16 years in government, and then another two years 1996-1998, and they never MADE a big project.

    we were like a third world country in those years.

  39. Ivan Attard says:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zad68VOxr8g

    Compilation of lies of someone who finally admitted what was so blatantly evident.

    In my opinion, someone should compile a video with PL’s lies and contradictions before it is too late.

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