Labour Party employee to be made Malta’s ambassador to Washington
Just like Cousin Mark in October 1996. And for the exact same reasons. You can’t accuse the Labour Party of not keeping up traditions, can you?
Perhaps I should clarify my opening sentence. Marisa Micallef hasn’t been appointed ambassador to the US for the EXACT same reasons Mark Micallef was. Mark, as far as we know, didn’t take a salary from the Labour Party back in the early 1990s when he networked on behalf of Alfred Sant. And he kept his efforts secret.
Marisa’s networking for the Labour Party was never secret because the party announced it in a press statement almost four years ago. And because she has spent the four years since then ringing up people I know and asking them whether they would like to meet ‘Joseph’.
And the Labour Party itself made public the fact that she was being paid a considerable salary to do this.
Malta Today runs one of its usual ‘half the truth is as bad as a lie’ headlines on this story. It’s designed to make the prime minister look good for appointing a ‘former Labour critic’- by which they mean, of course, a former critic of the Labour Party.
What that headline SHOULD say, if this scurrilous newspaper is not to serve its readers ill, is LABOUR PARTY EMPLOYEE SET TO BE MALTA’S AMBASSADOR TO WASHINGTON.
But that doesn’t sound sufficiently Malta Taghna Lkoll, does it.
The worst of it is that she will replace a seasoned career diplomat, Joseph Cole – which (and you don’t need me to point this out to you) is the precise opposite of meritocracy. Cole – who is a Labour supporter, but who was made ambassador to Washington all the same under the previous government, which did not discriminate despite the propaganda to the contrary – is now permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
His replacement should have been somebody of similar career experience to his. You don’t replace an experienced professional with a clueless amateur who needs to be compensated for her efforts in ringing up artists and asking them whether they want ‘Joseph’ to open their exhibition.
Beyond pathetic. Beyond it.
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Apart from being a Labour Party employee, she is a thoroughly nasty and spiteful person. She has a long list of ex-friends who often attest to this. As far away from ambassadorial material as it is possible to be. 100 days of utter shite and counting…….
She might find herself an aide there.
Did you get wind of who’s earmarked for the London post?
[Daphne – Oh, ages ago. Somebody who wore a red jumper from his home to the Labour Party club in Naxxar on 9 March 2008 at 11am, only to walk back home again to change an hour later. But I really wouldn’t like to go into that.]
Any other hint, Daphne?
[Daphne – No, sorry. It’s not something I wish to discuss.]
Guzi, Hint: Likes cruises.
So, were we referring to the same person?
And now, I am lost for words: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130620/local/brig-maurice-calleja-to-head-commission-on-army-injustices.474715
Unbelievable
Oh, good. She’ll definitely find herself a man there. And with luck he’ll have enough money to keep her in the manner to which she wishes she were accustomed.
The hunters’ market here is too small. Lots more potential in the US of A.
Just when I expected that Labour cannot stoop any lower, Labour once again exceeds my expectations.
The most shocking iced bun yet: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130620/local/brig-maurice-calleja-to-head-commission-on-army-injustices.474715
Should we have expected Manuel Mallia to stoop so low? Mamma mia.
Something tells me we’re still in the warm-up phase.
Why not? Have you somehow ever expected better?
Perhaps Manwel knew more about the Blokka Silg, after all.
So that’s how they garnered their 36,000 majority. Not by their manifesto, specific policies, rowdmepps or vision for the future.
They were contacting the disenchanted offering them the opportunity to ‘speak to Joseph’ directly, thereby giving them the false impression that their problems would be over once Labour is in power.
This proves what you had been saying throughout the election campaign that they were pouncing on the weak of character who were more interested in their own patch than the needs of the country.
If we had the same mindset of Anglu Farrugia, we would have already gone to the Commissioner of Police to ask him to investigate all this ‘buying’ of votes through the various promises to different people/groups.
I think that is the main reason why Labour won’t confirm that they have promised an amnesty to prisoners well before the election.
Joe Cole is well known to be a Labour supporter, so much so that he was one of the new permanent secretaries appointed by Joseph Muscat after the March election and in fact left Washington in April.
Good to note that this Joe Cole was appointed ambassador to the US by a Nationalist government.
He didn’t leave Washington. He was summoned back to make way dor someone else in the Taghna Lkoll meritocracy.
Ray Azzopardi, the DJ who’s been introducing Labour leaders on stage since Pope John Paul (the first) was still in office, is flat-hunting in Brussels, as he is to become Malta’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and Luxembourg. And Norman Hamilton is getting read to take over as High Commissioner in London.
[Daphne – Not the latter, no. I don’t think so.]
Vanessa Frazier has the giant iced caked in the Kingdom of Belgium. Surely they’re not moving her to an even bigger cake?
According to what someone told me recently, yes, they are, Baxx – probably to Rome.
Vanessa Frazier was appointed ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium by the former administration. And let’s hope she remains there as she’s doing a good job.
Frazier will be sent to Rome.
She’s off for a spot of dolce vita…
God, it’s like watching the Congress of Vienna from the keyhole in the broom cupboard.
Frazier doing a good job, Josette? Why, she can’t even modulate her speech like a normal adult. You may think it’s normal, because all Maltese high-flying women speak in sing-song, but believe me, it isn’t.
Daphne, it seems that London calls Norman Hamilton.
[Daphne – No, I don’t think so.]
Now it’s the embassy staffs’ turn.
You wait and see.
First the inner circle, than the second, and then the third circle.
L-ewwel Joseph, imbghad ta’ gewwa, imbghad il-hbieb u r-razza u radika tal-hbieb, imbghhad il-hbieb tal-hbieb tal-hbieb.
I believe Helen Damato should have ended her spell as Commissioner for Children last month. Who will replace her? Albert Gauci Cunningham?
Didn’t Marisa turn anti-PN because Gonzi did not appease her request to become ambassador to the UK?
My understanding is that Joseph Cole (the former ambassador) is a die-hard Mintoffian (his father or grandfather was a PN MP who switched to the MLP in the 50s or 60s).
He left Washington DC immediately after the MLP victory in March to become the permanent secretary in the Foreign ministry with his friend George Vella.
He was another die-hard MLP activist appointed by the previous PN administration.
That’s not an iced bun. That’s a torta tal-lewz. No doubt her friend, our new ambassador to Paris, will have given her some pointers.
I hope they have a decompression chamber in Washington.
This nonentity will be so much out of her depth, she will get the bends.
The goings on in Washington are so tough, even seasoned career diplomats struggle.
This PL employee will founder even before she gets there.
I just hope she does absolutely NOTHING, for Malta’s sake.
“I just hope she does absolutely NOTHING, for Malta’s sake.”
She will definitely organise a prime ministerial visit, with wife and twins.
30 pieces of silver…..
They must be reserving the title of ambassador to China for someone really special.
mmm could be Reno Calleja
Daphne, you mean the hotelier is for the London post?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130620/local/marisa-micallef-expected-to-be-made-ambassador-to-the-us.474716
Oh so she’s a man?
As Ambassador to the United States, Ms Micallef will likely also serve as High Commissioner for Malta in Canada.
I would have thought that with an historic free trade agreement now pending between Canada and the EU, and a much larger one to follow shortly between the United States and the EU, what Malta needs in Ottawa and Washington is a skilled diplomat and a consummate professional.
This is precisely not the time for some misguided patronage appointment.
I’m disgusted to say the least.
I overheard three women on the bus this morning grumbling and grumbling against the government saying: “Arukaza..issa izzejjed!”
Of course, now I know why this fresh news is making headlines.
Needless to say, career diplomat Colin Scicluna, current ambassador to Austria and other central European countries has also been called back to Malta.
I’ve no idea who his replacement will be but I suspect it will be yet another of the party faithful.
I think we’ll soon have a lot of employees in the foreign ministry staring at the wall.
This time round we have clear-cut court judgements about this kind of treatment and unions should hold the minister personally liable for any psychological suffering incurred by these civil servants.
Civil servant’s abilities should be used to the maximum so that the taxpayer will get value for his money, while the employee gets his job satisfaction.
Employees who are maltreated by their employer can build a good case of constructive dismissal against their employer.
To be fair, I don’t expect the personal assistant of a former minister to be the same one for the new incumbent, although I know of many instances where Labour leaning civil servants worked in positions of trust in the last administration.