The crazy logic of Jason Micallef
Haqqhom prosit: they didn't attack the billboards
I couldn’t believe my ears while watching BondiPlus last night: Jason Micallef criticising the Nationalist Party for failing to remove its billboards on Sunday morning, and making the accusation that the billboards were left there deliberately to provoke Labour supporters into attacking them.
He then spoke with pride about how his party’s supporters “obeyed instructions” and didn’t attack a single billboard or perform any other act of violence. “Haqqhom prosit.” Unbelievable. It doesn’t seem to occur to him, given his party’s history and the kind of people it attracts, that refraining from violence is normal behaviour and not something to be highlighted and praised.
“Oh, you didn’t kill somebody today? Excellent. Good boy, keep it up.”
“No newspaper buildings set on fire? No politicians’ wives beaten up? No private homes ransacked? No public buildings sacked and shops looted? No tankers hauled across the mouth of Grand Harbour to block entry to a British warship? Fabulous. Keep this up or you’ll scare off all those Swieqi votes again.”
Lou Bondi backed him up on this one. “Vera, haqqhom prosit.” Come on, Lou.
I wanted to reach into the television screen and give Paul Borg Olivier and Simon Busuttil a good shake. They could have really gone to town on that one, and said: “Look here, if your party has the kind of supporters who behave like savages, that’s your problem, not ours. So deal with it.”
Instead they got bogged down into bickering over whether there was an informal agreement between the parties to remove the billboards on Sunday morning, or not.
Sigh.
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You’re right about this and I agree 100% but maybe you don’t remember that all Labour’s posters after the referendum and election were set ablaze.
[Daphne – Yes, and I don’t remember Joe Saliba going on prime-time television to accuse the Labour Party of leaving them up on purpose as provocation, and trying to take the moral high ground. Nor could the Labour Party have capitalised on the burned billboards, for the simple reason that the Nationalist Party has no history of institutionalised violence and terror, or of perpetrating violence on people who do not agree with it. The Labour Party, on the other hand, has a frightening record in this respect, and clearly some of its supporters are still trying hard to control themselves and put the good old days behind them.]
Unfortunately in Malta we’re so obsessed with politics that we’re never objective when we criticise. One other thing I must say, I really enjoyed listening to Louis Grech yesterday. Pity this man doesn’t like the limelight much.
[Daphne – Oh, I can assure you that from now on he’s going to be wheeled out at every possible opportunity, because he’s the most (perhaps the only) socio-economic-group-A-friendly Labour politician.]
I think he could easily be Labour’s leader if he wanted to. This is the style of politics I like to hear and hopefully someday we’ll get there. Out of curiosity, Daphne, Louis Grech is maybe the only one from the Labour camp that never came under your fire. Is it a coincidence or do you think this man is good?
[Daphne – Neither of those two. Both he and his girlfriend have been personal friends for several years (independently of each other), long before he became a politician, and certain boundaries have to be respected. Whether I think he is good or not is irrelevant, given that his political party is so dreadful. Even if I thought he was wonderful I wouldn’t vote for him, because he represents a truly horrible political party. Unfortunately, many people I know voted for Louis Grech while ‘blanking’ the fact that theirs was a vote for the Labour Party, with its ghastly line-up of Farrugia, Abela, Sceberras Trigona and the likes. At drinks parties organised for Louis Grech, members of this social group were not mixed with ‘Labour supporters’ so that they were made to feel that what they were doing was all right and acceptable, socially, morally, and politically, and quite hip and avant-garde rather than an act of renegade vengeance which is actually the very opposite and reflects extremely poor judgment. Voting Labour out of conviction, I can understand and even laud. Voting Labour for less than admirable reasons, I can’t. Believe me, I don’t understand how you can have the crazy logic to back a political party like that while criticising the Nationalist Party and still calling yourself a Nationalist. Some people think out of the seat of their pants. I’m fond of Louis, but he has never tried to persuade me to vote Labour by voting for him, as he has done with several people I know, and I imagine that’s because he understands I’ve got a very strong character and I stick to my principles instead of walking around like a big injured ego on legs.]
Daphne if by using certain phrases you think you are doing the nationalists a favour…i can assure you you are not.Instead you are only proving your very worth in terms of hatred that usually results in violence.Most of you people(mostly after watching net on Sunday morning) think that it is still classic to terrorize people and voters over past incidents.You tried to provoke people’s sentiments with the Qahbu story withouth not even knowing a single fact.Police officers duly took care of the situation and there is no need for further panic.If they were wrong they will be punished that’s all.You don’t talk of the PN agents dreadfull actions in the counting hall these past days.Why?
[Daphne – Albert, I speak my mind and I don’t do it to do anyone a favour. I don’t need to do anyone favours. I have more work than I can cope with in the private sector, where you only get the job if you do it better than anyone else, and I was born without the need to social climb. As a result, I have had the good fortune of being able to live my life doing and saying exactly what I please, without being disloyal to others.]
When using such terms like…’his political party is so dreadfull’ and ‘he represents a truly horrible political party’ you only manage to instill hatred in our people.And that is not what we need.This was just a normal EP election.People voted and we have a result…a labour victory.Let life continue!
[Daphne – I’m sorry, Albert, but a factual analysis of the Labour Party, rather than looking at it through the eyes of a disaffected former Nationalist or somebody from a Labour home, can only conclude that it is dreadful. If you think that mine is a prejudiced or biased view, you’re wrong. Both my parents come from families of long-standing and staunch ‘Stricklandjani’, so my opinion of both the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party was formed independently and is the result of personal judgement in adulthood.]
So why the continued hatred and venom to the labour leaders one after the other?Everyone is entitled to opinions of course …but yours seem to be always one sided.All that is labour seems to be evil for you…ar am i wrong?
[Daphne – They are not always one-sided, Albert. They are factual. I see nothing that is desirable in the Labour Party, and plenty that is highly undesirable. On the other hand, I am really impressed with the Nationalist government’s achievements considering the sink-hole Malta was in 1987, and I am not the sort to, for example, vote against the government because of hospital waiting lists. I am the sort to vote for the government because of the hospital. I don’t regard ‘the labour leaders’ with ‘hatred and venom’ but with a mixture of contempt and amusement – and it’s not because they’re Labour but because all four I have known justify it. On the other hand, I have the greatest respect for Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi. They are men of deep integrity, and that above all is the quality that I most admire. Dom Mintoff, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, Alfred Sant and Joseph Muscat are all men of little or no integrity.]
Probably this is why malta is so divided in politics.You will never change no matter what.The sink hole you refer to at least was never immersed in debts that we have to pay for long years to come.Times changes and with it the way we do politics and live our lives.People at least have their chance to change when they feel it’s needed.And boy….it is needed!!!
[Daphne – If you would rather return to those years in exchange for the dubious privilege of not having ‘debts’, then I think you are on your own. Malta’s lack of debt was entirely due to the state of deprivation in which the Maltese lived. If you don’t spend anything on infrastructure, then of course, you don’t have debt. And if you ban almost all imports, then you have no balance of payments problems. ]
Bravi, for this in the next general election I will vote Labour. These people are unbelievable. They should be given Gieh ir-Republika.
Very foolish, in more ways than one. Isn’t this a tacit admission that the party is responsible for the violence committed by its supporters?
Daphne I’m not very good at politics but who was it that bombed the police station at Sliema on the 18th of December, 1985? My dad was working there and no-one seems to have taken responsibility for it. I believe labour was in governement, why would they politically terrorise people if they were in power. Many bombs were placed between 1984 and 1987 resulting in a PN landslide victory and no more of these bombs. Someone knows what was going on but never owed up and this someone should be ashamed. Im not a labourite and for all I care they can shut shop but Dr. G. DeMarco gave my dad compensation for being 40% invalid after the explosion. Lm 2700 …. wow! We all retired after that and went to live in LosAngeles. X’ ARUKAZA!
At the same time of my dads accident a lady got punched in the face by labourites at a PN meeting in Zejtun. She got over Lm 5000.
And just to prove you wrong in 1998 bill boards where burnt but not by savage labourites.
[Daphne – The police station building that was bombed was the property of my husband’s family at the time.]
Oh so we should thank them for not being violent. But you forget the sage words of the deputy leader Toni Abela: ‘Iccelebraw b’certu modicum’. Now that’s good news – they understood him.
[Daphne – Modicum ta’ x’hiex?]
Those were his exact words when he was interviewed at the counting hall. He was trying to tell his people to celebrate in a decent way.
Maybe Toni Abela actually wanted to mean “iccelebraw b’certu Modica”? The guy seems to be jealous of having been left out of the Sicilian party….
Modicum mhux dak li tiehu meta toqghod tirremetti, jghid, Def? http://home.intekom.com/pharm/janssen/motilium.html
I would like to know how they are going to control the hardcore Labour supporters if they win the next general election. How are you going to convince il-Qahbu and others that they are progressive and instead of beating Nationalists they now need to kiss and hug.
Daphne, take a look at Alex Sceberras Trigona’s comments and thoughts about these elections.
[Daphne – Please post a link.]
According to Jason, they did well not to let their atavistic tendencies get the better of them. Come on. I expected better from Lou, and I expected better from Paul and Simon. The condemnation should have been absolute.
I wonder how Labour’s MEPs are going to keep their promises now. How will they manage to tackle the water and electricity bills? How will they tackle the persons made jobless because of the recession? How will they tackle the illegal immigration issue? What parliamentary tools will they use, I wonder? They fought this election on local issues, I now expect them to deliver. But they won’t, because they can’t.
[Daphne – I found it interesting that Louis Grech said in response to the accusation that Labour had promised to solve the water and electricity bills issue: “No, we never made that promise.” And then Jason Micallef rushed to speak over him: “Of course we will sort it out when we’re in government.” (talk about counting your eggs on that one….). And Simon Busuttil asked, “How, by taxing people more?” And of course, Micallef didn’t have an answer. This is like with the car registration tax issue. “How are you going to pay out the money you’ve promised – including to yourself, Jason?” Busuttil asked. “By increasing taxation to the tune of EUR50 million?” Micallef’s reply was: “We won’t need to.” “Iva, se tohroghom mill-but tal-gvern, mela,” was Busuttil’s response.]
Simon Busuttil asked Jason Micallef directly to give him an answer and Louis Grech replied on his behalf. This raises a few questions. Does Louis Grech think Jason Micallef is incompetent? Why did Jason Micallef even try to utter a word? Was Jason relieved that Louis Grech stepped in?
True. Is-segretarji generali qatghu brutta figura. Paul Borg Olivier hardly said a word.
“Veru, haqqhom prosit”
Of course Lou would say that. Isn’t he the same person who said that when the PN is elected, you hope things will get better but when Labour is elected you hope things won’t get worse? He just holds the Labour Party to a different standard – as many do – only it’s lower, rather than higher, than normal.
Ok I understand your reply about Louis Grech. The only thing I don’t understand is the word principles. I follow and read many of your articles and I hardly percieve many things in common between you and many Nationalists I know. Most of them are ultra conservative while you are more of a liberal, many are the church-goers-holier then thou type while you’re not, they adore the Gift of Life acolytes while you hate them, they are anti divorce while you are in favour. I’m not judging or anything I’m just trying to understand what really brings you so near to the Nationalist Party that’s all.
[Daphne – A great many people who think as I do vote for the Nationalist Party, and the Nationalist Party has to wake up to this fact. If you don’t know other Nationalist supporters who think as I do, then I certainly do. I support the Nationalist Party because it espouses true liberal values. Unfortunately, liberalism is usually wrongly defined as being concerned only with the regulation of sexual relationships. On those aspects, the Nationalist Party really has to change its thinking, but its shortcomings in this regard are eclipsed by far by its visionary approach to education, the economy and foreign policy. When people complain that not enough is being done, they need to be reminded that this potty little country went from an absolutely desperate, broken-backed sinkhole to a member of the Eurozone in just 20 years, and would have done so sooner had it not been for the obstacles thrown up by the Labour Party.]
Prosit lil dawk kollha li vvutaw lil Vince. Hu qal li se ntellghu 5, imma minhabba fih il-lejber tellghu 4.
Tal-Muzew, Ma nahsibx li Vince ivvota ghalih innifsu 10,000 darba hux? Ma nistax nifhem ghaliex qed tghid li hu ta lil labour ir raba siggu. Jekk xejn, in-nazzjonalisti taw vot massiv wisq lil Simon. Mhux ghax ma haqqux, imma dak il vot massiv ma halliex firxa kbira bizzejjed fuq il-kandidati l-ohra.
Sa fejn naf jien, il-poplu jivvota. Vince mar tajjeb u kien leali, u xogholu ghamlu. M’ghandux minn xiex jisthi.
Mhux bil fors Simon imur tajjeb jew kien imbuttat mill-partit. Il kandidati l-ohra kienu zvantaggati.
Fl-opinjoni tieghi il-programm Xarabank ghen ukoll fl-opinjoni pubblika.
F’isem l-PN rega’ kien hemm Simon, u fl-isem il-LP kien hemm Louis Grech (li gab l-akbar ammont ta’ voti).
Iva nibqa’ nishaq li kien tort ta’ Vince. Dak ma missux hareg maghna ghax kompla jnaqqsilna mill-kredibilta bhala partit.
There were too many emplty vessels in the PN camp. The people knew, so much so, that they only trusted Simon out of the whole lot. Imagine 68,000 for one candidate and only a few thousands for the other 9. Lucky that Casa’s surname starts with C, second on the list.
[Daphne – They’re not empty vessels, not by a long shot. They just don’t have a particularly strong profile.]
Assolutament zbaljat habib. Vince’s comments were funny, true, but he had nothing to do with the result. All your team had. People felt more at ease voting PL. Something is wrong with the PN system. This is the second EP elections were they failed. And they are supposed to be leading the line….or not?
[Daphne – It’s also the sixth general election the PN has won on the trot, bar 1996, and the sixth general election the Labour Party has lost on the trot, bar 1996: 1981, 1987, 1992, 1998, 2003 and 2008. And the referendum on Europe, too, of course. I thought you might need reminding.]
No need of reminding offcourse.I live in Malta thanks and i have lived these years.I have never celebrated EP election victories even if the latest was a trashing.If you ask me why you get the answer automatically.People did not want Alfred Sant end of.Otherwise it would have been a very different situation darling.
[Daphne – Oh, no doubt. And I am not your darling.]
Are you suggesting that Mr Bondi was being sarcastic then? I have not seen the quoted episode, and for people like me who are reading this thread, it would be helpful to obtain some objective clarification.
As a side-comment, was there a Sette Giugno commemoration or was it forgotten in the election fever?
In a few hours, the PL will be celebrating the Quattro Giugno.
It was held on Friday.
“At drinks parties organised for Louis Grech, members of this social group were not mixed with ‘Labour supporters’ so that they were made to feel that what they were doing was all right and acceptable, socially, morally, and politically…”
“Right and acceptable”?? “Socially”? You seem to imply that those in the so-called “social class A” will be shunned and boycotted by their peers if they dare approach the Labour Party. As if its a mortal sin, for which one would be liable for interdiction or excommunication from society. Seems like the Nationalist weapons are not much different then they were in the 60s. Old habits die hard.
[Daphne – Qbadta minn sieqa, Albert. What I meant is that THEY shun the ‘typical’ Labour voter socially, and the reality of their choice would be brought home to them pretty sharply by sitting down to dinner with Anglu Farrugia and Toni Abela. It’s bad enough that many of those whose approval they seek, and whose company they crave, refer to Joseph Muscat as ‘the headwaiter’ (absolutely no disrespect meant to headwaiters here). You can take it from me that many of them would have been cringing inwardly at the sight of Joseph Muscat’s black suit worn with a white tie during his ‘victory speech’ and at all those half-drunk harridans shaking their breasts at the cameras. They certainly don’t fear being cut off by their peers – of course not. Their peers include cocaine traffickers who have spent 15 years in prison, and their extended family, disgraced judges, and whatnot. Voting Labour fades into insignificance besides crimes of that magnitude. But it is apparently more acceptable to deal drugs than to look and act common. No, what they fear is feeling infra dig – to use an old expression. Hence, as with everything else from leaving your wife to having a child outside marriage to wearing lime green, it’s all right if you’re in the company of your peers. Now, do you understand me?]
Many people you know and many people I know voted for Louis Grech, going to his parties and canvassing for him. I was a counting agent at Naxxar and I would have liked your friends and mine to be there to witness the aggressive and violent PL agents. I can assure you that they would have kicked themselves for being so stupid and thinking that Louis Grech is not part and parcel of this violent mob. I can bet anyone that if and when they win an election there will be murder starting from the counting hall.
[Daphne – Thank you, Edgar, for confirming what I wrote, lest people think it is only speculation. These ‘people we know’ failed to understand that Louis Grech in an election isn’t Louis Grech, but a candidate for the party run by Anglu Farrugia, Toni Abela and Joseph Muscat. Enough said. We might like him enormously, but it doesn’t follow that we should vote for him on that basis. I think it’s absolutely disgraceful to behave with such blind and unprincipled stupidity. One should vote for the party, its track record, its abilities, and its competence, not on the basis of whether one is friendly with a candidate or not.]
U ejja tesagerawx. Kien hemm anke agenti taghna jiggieldu bejniethom, rajthom b’ghajnejja. Dak it-tisbit huwa normali ghal min imur il-counting hall. Sa fejn naf jien il-hin kollu kien hemm il-prezenza tal-pulizija li kienet mill-ewwel twaqqaf xi storbju zejjed.
Hbieb jekk irridu nergghu nigbru n-naghag mitlufa ahjar nibdew nghidu l-verita ghax jidher li hafna nies m ghadhomx jemmnu aktar fina (35000 mhux cajta jekk ma tghoddx dawk li ma vvutawx u dawk li vvutaw lil AN AD etc)
http://www1.di-ve.com/index2.html
Scuffles at the counting hall
Tuesday, June 09, 0110h
Minor scuffles broke out at the Naxxar counting hall at around 2300h where party agents clashed over a Labour vote which was found in a Nationalist party candidate’s pigeon hole.
A number of policemen rushed into the counting hall to calm things down. Labour president Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi and PN secretary general Paul Borg Oliver tried to calm down their respective agents.
A number of heated arguments broke out in succession in front of table 6, during which Labour party agents confronted journalists and a NET TV cameraman who was asked to stop filming.
The situation calmed down some minutes later.
“Nationalist Party has no history of institutionalised violence and terror BLA BLA BLA”.
Perhaps forget the Karen Grech case. Perhaps you should speak to that poor Pakistani Doctor who ended up with her bowels in his hands to give you the details.
[Daphne – The Nationalist Party did not kill Karin Grech.]
Clarification: this comment was not mine.
I watched Bondi+ and well done Simon. Honestly I don’t like the way Paul Borg Olivier speaks. He is not sure of himself like Joe Saliba used to be at these kind of talk shows.
I think both Simon and Paul were too docile in Bondi’s debate. Could be that they lost a lot of sleep lately? When Simon was asked by Jason if he is ready to shoulder the responsibility of defeat, he should have reminded him of his (Jason’s) reaction to the PL’s defeat in the 2008 general election.
I’d like to make two points.
1) Oh, how the Nationalists miss Joe Saliba! Paul Borg Olivier does not convince me at all as secretary-general. Of course, I hope he proves me wrong, otherwise we are in trouble.
2) This massive Labour victory could be a blessing in disguise for the Nationalists, if only because it will force floaters and disgruntled Nationalists to look at Labour as a possible government and actually analyse its (non) policies. Also, the current feeling that Labour is well on top has encouraged the more violent elements that have been welcomed back into the party to be more bold, and as a result we had the incidents seen on election day and during the vote counting. Incidents such as these may scare moderates into voting for the PN at the next general election.
[Daphne – I don’t think that the return of violent elements is a good thing, or that it should be seen as some kind of blessing in disguise. It’s dreadful, whichever way you look at it.]
It is dreadful, but it’s better if we find out now, rather than in four years’ time.
Paul Borg Oliver is incompetent to say the least.
I have always called a spade a spade, and I honestly think that both Jason Micallef and Paul Borg Oliver as party secretary-generals are unsuitable for the job. Granted, they were elected, which goes to show what happens when you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Both should be removed.
I feel Paul Borg Olivier should be removed from the post ASAP…the PN can’t win an election with him holding such a vital post as that of secretary-general. Is it that difficult to understand? I always thought that he’s not good for the post. Sorry but that’s reality…out before it is too late.
“It’s dreadful, but it’s better if we find out now, rather than in four years’ time”.
Strange, but unless my memory deceives me, we found out a long, long time ago.
Seems like a useful scapegoat has been found…Paul Borg Olivier. In any case, I am sure some heads will roll. There is talk of a cabinet reshuffle in some circles.
[Daphne – Sounds just like a 007 movie, Albert. Let me just tell you this: Labour has a bitch for a secretary-general, and a useless one at that. He’s been a laughing-stock for the last 18 months. He puts in one half-decent – make that a quarter – appearance on BondiPlus buoyed up by a victory to which he almost certainly contributed nothing but probably hindered its progress, and suddenly he’s amazing. I don’t think so. So keep things in perspective, and remember what you thought of Jason Micallef this time last year.]
Jien hsibtu l-ewwel li se jtajjar meta semma it-terrimot. Imma nahseb li hemm se jibqa’. Biex tara kemm hu cuc u njorant, diga qal li 4 snin ohra JEKK jirbhu l-elezzjoni se jrahhsu l-kontijiet tad-dawl u l-ilma!
Segretarju Generali ta’ l-affari tieghu meta jigi mistoqsi x’soluzzjonijiet tad-dawl u l-ilma kien jirripondi li likieku kien fil-gvern l-LP issa kien irahhas il-kontijiet mela 4 snin ohra!
Bahnan.
Jason Micallef cannot be removed if not by the same delegates who elected him. Joseph Muscat is the PL leader, but no leader is above the rules of the party.
Same applies for Lawrence Gonzi and Borg Olivier.
“Jason Micallef cannot be removed if not by the same delegates who elected him” so said M. Brincat.
The same delegates that elected Alfred Sant after the loss of three elections, a referendum and just two years in government after twenty years in limbo, he means.
Or the same that elected Muscat instead of George Abela?
If these people are ever entrusted with the leadership of the country, with that mentality, God please have mercy on us.
I can’t stop laughing at this. Anyway, I think Paul needs to step down urgently. He has no managerial credentials. He is a lawyer for Christ’s sake. Lawyers are black and white people. Managers need to see the in-betweens as well.
I’m not commenting about Jason – he’s not worth the bother.
[Daphne – Fenech Adami and Gonzi are lawyers too.]
Daphne, it does not matter whether you are a lawyer, engineer, doctor, an accountant, or a quantum physics physicist you can make a good manager if you have the natutal managerial instincts, acumen to lead, motivate and organise and of course the charisma and self discipline to make people follow you without question.
Paul Borg Olivier and more and more so Joseph Muscat do not have any of the above attributes.
You only have to look at these two guys once and immediately you realise that the first is suitable for an office job doing menial routine work and the other will be at home on a construction site pushing a wheel barrow.
Sorry but that’s the way I see it and I’ve been in industry for over 30 years.