Another biased, half-assed story in The Times
The Times has chosen to focus this morning on ex Nationalist MP Jean Pierre Farrugia’s complaint that the newly elected PN MP, Claudio Grech, is registered as living in a flat in Valletta when he lives elsewhere, and that six families of his supporters are registered to the same flat.
I disagree completely with this practice and I have said so repeatedly. People’s ID cards should be registered to their main address, the place where they actually live, and not to any arbitrary address which suits at the time. This includes all those people with weekend flats in Gozo who have their ID cards registered there to save money on the ferry – presumably because while they can afford to run two homes, they can’t afford the ferry fare.
Sure, you can argue that it’s none of my business or anybody else’s, and that people should be free to register where they please. But here’s the thing: if the state is going to invade people’s privacy anyway by having ID cards, then the state has got to make sure that the information on them is correct.
Otherwise what’s the point – you’re just turning your own system into a joke and you might as well ditch the address function completely, as with passports.
Except that you can’t do that because the main purpose of the address function is to split us up into electoral districts so that we can vote, and this is where much of the rot is setting in.
So why is The Times story biased and half-assed? Simple: instead of doing their own investigations, with that massive team of full-time reporters they’ve got, they picked up on Jean Pierre Farrugia’s accusations and ran with them, taking them out of the context of the complete scenario and making it seem that he is the only one who does this.
I’ll make this clear once again: I disagree completely with the practice of candidates and MPs registering themselves to an address where they do not live, purely for electoral purposes. I am completely against the practice of registering supporters to the same address. It is absurd, ridiculous and totally wrong-headed. It undermines confidence in the candidate when he resorts to these things.
But the point is that what Claudio Grech has done here is not the disease, but a symptom of the disease.
Labour MP Jose Herrera’s identity card has long been registered to an address in St Christopher Street, Valletta. Yet he does not live in Valletta and never has. He lives elsewhere with his wife and children.
And Jose Herrera is no ordinary MP. He is now Culture PS in the new government. Perhaps he, too, besides having an identity card registered on Valletta when he doesn’t live there, has supporters conveniently registered there or elsewhere to help him out. And perhaps not.
Either way, I really think it’s about time a newspaper with a staff complement that big stops sitting around waiting for former Nationalist politicians to grind their axes on Facebook or elsewhere and then make a skewed story out of it – the lazy, hopeless way out of proper reporting.
The Times has access to the electoral roll. It’s not going to kill them to get a proper story going by checking, through that very same electoral roll, where all current MPs are registered as living (the electoral roll gives your ID card address) and where they actually do live.
If they are feeling particularly energetic, they might try the same exercise on the unsuccessful candidates.
Maybe this time round it was only Jose Herrera and Claudio Grech. Or maybe not.
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A newspaper that reports based on what appears on Facebook is a complete waste of time and money.
Since the rest of us have Facebook too, we can see things for ourselves. What’s the point of the likes of the ToM doing the interpretation for us?
Stopped buying The Times some time ago, because it’s going in the direction of MaltaToday — which is just another Labour rag, and so biased it makes me want to throw up.
Trouble is that some people actually think it’s ‘independent’ — as it indeed claims to be. Yeah, right.
Your’e not alone. The Times’ agenda over the last 6 years has been to destroy Lawrence Gonzi, put deMarco in good light and repeatedly bash Austin Gatt.
Now I’m eager to see how that newspaper will treat Arriva once it has been taken over by the ex-CEO at the Dar tal-Hgieg.
I have absolutely no doubt that the main reason for PN’s heavy defeat was due to The Times’s subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, shift to an anti-Gonzi paper.
The Times has duped a huge amount of its prevalently-Nationialist readers much more than Joseph convinced the electorate to give him a try.
Maybe, but then again if we are able to see that The Times had and still has a specific agenda would others notice it too? You really don’t have to be that bright to see what is going on.
I blame hunger for power and the envy of some individuals who, unlike others like me who only vote for whom they believe can run our country in the best possible way, vote in the belief that now “ahna ngawdu mhux in-Nazzjonalisti biss” because that is what was hammered in their empty skulls. As if.
I, and many of my friends, have stopped buying The Times for the same reason.
Jean Pierre Farrugia, voters voted Claudio Grech in and voters voted you out. End of story.
I find the practice of politicians who air their grievances on FB, distasteful. Not that there is anything inherently wrong about FB or the airing of grievances.
I find it really pathetic of politicians who keep on moaning and finding scapegoats to justify their electoral or political misfortunes. Such actions and behaviour is puerile, to say the least. Like spoilt children they can’t accept defeat with dignity.
In the case of the Nationalist Party, they should all close ranks, instead of airing their bickering and mutual recriminations, in order to help the party heal as soon as possible and rebuild itself.
Regarding ex-premier Gonzi, all Nationalist voters would agree, in spite of his miscalculations or mistakes, he scored high points for his country and its citizens, and this amidst all kinds of adversities.
Prosit Last Post. I agree totally.
Yet the times had no inkling of what happened at Rabat on the 19th.
No does it care I daresay.
Living in Burmarrad ( district 11) Joseph Muscat chose the obvious big Labour districts. Even Lawrence Gonzi opted for districts other than his Marsascala residence.
Joseph Muscat wanted to surpass Eddie Fenech Adami in the number of votes obtained, and hence chose those districts with strong MLP stronghold. Remember, he is a megalomaniac.
Ah! But while Dr Gonzi only had Malta’s best interest in his view, Joseph Muscat only yearned for power and to be the second youngest Maltese PM.
Nor does it care.
Am I right in thinking that you have to use same address on driving licence as you do on ID card?
I wonder if that would potentially cause problems with car insurance.
Meanwhile, as the Kasco Tribune continues to sink lower and lower, the Malta Independent rises to the challenge:
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-03-22/news/former-labour-ceo-piscopoi-appointed-to-transport-malta-1228865536/
What about investigative journalism? Can we really know why The Times is reporting this way. Please do not mention Keith Schembri. Big deal they owe him money! That surely is just a cover for a more sinister cause!
While they’re at it, they can run through the electoral register and match up candidates’ listed addresses with those of voters listed at the same address.
For once I agree with you Daphne. I consider this thing a fraud too
Mhux forsi ghax Claudio Belti? Eh il-Furjanizi ihobbuna wisq lill-Beltin. Imma xorta nahfirlu li t-tabib.
We stopped buying The Times and we buy The Malta Independent. In Gozo we are having a hard time finding it.
The Times and The Malta Independent have been a Sunday staple in our home ever since I can remember.
We never really buy any another newspapers. For a while now we too have felt a bit cross at the way The Times has reported (or not reported) certain stories and we are finding that they’re being rather selective and dubious in their ‘investigative journalism’. We might stop buying it too and stick to the The Malta Independent.
Schembri of Luqa has people registered on his father’s garage.
Why do Gozitan businessmen who are well known millionaires benefit the reduced fare as well? Did you know that there are Maltese who travel to Gozo to work and don’t get a reduction?
The reduced fare should only apply when work is across the Channel and not free for all those only residing in Gozo. This is discrimination galore.
Jean Pierre having failed to get elected is just following in Franco Debono’s steps. An axe to grind indeed.
Having failed to get elected it is obvious that Jean Pierre is jealous of the person who took his seat.
Since the election I have stopped buying the Times and switched to the Malta Independent which seems to be the only newspaper that is truly “independent”.
I don’t want to waste my time reading the rubbish that The Times is publishing. So much for independent journalism. They should know better, ah yes, but that was another The Times and years back it had a solid reputation.
Most people who put their ID card address on an other property, do so also because the property is cheaply rented to them and falls under some archaic rent law which protects them from being kicked out by the landlord.
Jean Pierre Farrugia is just annoyed because Claudio Grech was elected as a firstcomer and he wasn’t elected despite being an old hand.
I don’t agree with this concept, but in my opinion Grech only used the system the way it’s structured. If this is truly a problem, solutions are needed:
http://acuschieri.wordpress.com/2013/03/22/change-of-address/
The Times of Malta got the virus of a tabloid since they hired that Daily Express night editor some two years ago, and they’re still going downhill.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/node/47966
With an investment of 25 mill the stakes are high if sombody is holding the purse strings .
Why doesn’t The Times come clean about its business relationship with Keith Schembri/Kasco?
The man is now the prime minister’s chief of staff, which means that the situation, which was bad enough before when he was Labour’s campaign manager, is quite different.
Keith Schembri might be relinquishing his directorships (he hasn’t, yet) but he will retain ownership of those businesses.
Is this the new way of doing journalism in this country?
I am really sorry that Jean Pierre Farrugia was not elected. However I suspect that the voters in his district were not too pleased that during the last five years, Jean Pierre did not toe the party lines on many an occasion.
Edgar, ma nahsiebx li kellek ghalfejn tfakkru, jaf bizzejjed ghalxiex ma kienx elett.
Mela gej bl-indirzzi u r-recivementi bla hlas. Ghax bhall dak li qallu l-ewwel darba li sar hekk, jew in-Nazzjonalisti nivvotaw lill-min jaghtina pastizzi b`xejn l-izjed.
Kultant nahseb li l-intelligenza poltika, f`certu poltikanti jew ex hi xi naqra skarsa, avvolja bi dottorat.