Bring out the palm fronds – we’ve got the donkey already
I believe Joseph when he said he apologised.
Some people are so desperate to find proof to back up their (poor) judgement that they end up seeing things which are not there.
Two or three newspaper columnists, who have protested over the years about having to vote with a gun to their head, and who are likely to be voting with a pistol in their pocket instead come 2013, have rushed to gush over Joseph Muscat’s articulate and well constructed expression of shame for the events of 15 October 1979: the single sentence ‘Black Monday should never have happened.’
One called the sentence ‘statesmanlike’. Another called it ‘clever’.
They all called it an apology. One even grouched that “apparently the journalists don’t want to know what is expected of them because only a handful turned up” to listen to that nice man speak.
Quite aside from the fact that I know of no hand large enough to fit around a journalist (or a journalist small enough to fit inside a hand, still less enough of them to make a handful), I think the reason for our absence is obvious.
Few of us wish to take lessons in media ethics or journalism from Joseph Muscat, an ex Super One hack and political hatchet-man. The very thought is ridiculous, because he is the one who needs teaching.
The only value Muscat’s thoughts on the subject would have to us might possibly be in the realm of vaguely amusing entertainment, but EastEnders throws up some stiff competition even there. I trust the working title was given to him by somebody at the Tumas Foundation who has the kind of wicked sense of humour I adore – something along the lines of a headline talk on human rights by Robert Mugabe, with a flattered Mugabe taking the request literally and remaining unaware that he is being mocked for sport.
I rooted about for examples of apologies made by Maltese politicians, so as to be able to compare and contrast. But no matter how grievous the offence, I found none except this one, which was delivered, as is often the case, by somebody who has precious little to apologise for.
The apology comes in the closing words of prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami’s valedictory speech to parliament on 22 March 2004:
“Fl-aħħarnett, mar-ringrazzjamenti, irrid ukoll nitlob maħfra, kulfejn stajt inqast lil xi ħadd, kien min kien. Il-Griegi kienu jgħidu li tad-daħq huwa kull żball li minnu ma joħroġx wisq deni. Nittama li l-iżbalji li għamilt jien kienu aktar tad-daħq milli tal-biki u nitlob li Alla li jaf jikteb dritt bis-sinjali mgħawġin jinqeda bihom għall-ġid.”
Here it is in English, for the ‘Joseph puts a pistol in my pocket and not a gun to my head’ brigade: “I ask for the forgiveness of those, whomsoever they are, who I might have hurt or served ill. The Greeks of old said that errors which do not cause too much harm should be laughed away. I hope that my mistakes caused more laughter than they did tears, and I pray that God will take those mistakes and turn them to the greater good.”
Fred-in-the-box pops up again
Just when he thinks we might be missing him too much, Alfred Sant pops up with an interview. I sometimes suspect that he does it in a fit of irritation when he thinks that his protégé has been a little ineffectual.
So our man Sant was on that interesting TVM interview show Dissett a couple of nights back, telling us that Dom Mintoff was manipulated by the Nationalist Party for the ultimate purpose of ending Sant’s premiership three years before its time was up.
If the Nationalist Party really did seize the day, if it really did have sufficient understanding of Mintoff’s psychology to know that his desire to undermine Sant would win in a tussle with loyalty to Labour’s cause and desire to keep Malta out of the EU – well, then I applaud the Nationalist Party for its keen judgement and quick work. It is the reason we are now in the Eurozone, rather than floundering about in crisis like Iceland.
With his usual tunnel vision, Sant can’t see that. Or maybe he does, and regards it as a great tragedy that we are now in the European Union rather than in Iceland’s boat. All he seems able to see is the rather egocentric point that Mintoff and the Nationalist Party colluded to bring him down after 22 months.
I don’t think he understands that great swathes of people thank the stars every day for that, and one of them is Joseph Muscat, for whom it turned out to be the ultimate in lucky breaks, allowing him to segue from Super One hack to prime minister via a brief stint as an MEP and an even briefer one as opposition leader sitting in a borrowed seat.
It’s disturbing to see that even after all this time, Alfred Sant remains unable to take the blame for three consecutive general election defeats and one catastrophic referendum result (catastrophic for him, that is, and not for us).
There were three reasons for the Nationalist Party’s victory at the polls last year, he said: the government’s power of incumbency (yawn), people who came to vote from abroad (let’s disenfranchise them at once, shall we?) and – wait for it – his cancer.
Yes, that’s right. He had nothing to do with it. Third parties and circumstance were entirely to blame.
And then some people are surprised because his successor can’t find it in himself to deliver a true apology. The real trouble with this parade of Labour leaders? Not one of them knows how to behave like a gentleman. It is the root cause of all their problems.
This article is published in The Malta Independent today.
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I really wish these people would get a life and let us live. Do they have nothing better to do?
I firmly believe had Alfred Sant stepped down as leader five months before the election (because of his cancer), and appointed Dr George Abela leader designate, Labour would have won the election.
[Daphne – I think so too, David.]
While Jason Micallef may have been responsible for some campaign mistakes, the prime liability for Labour was indeed Alfred “no regrets” Sant.
What would have been the point? Might as well leave Gonzi in charge.
[Daphne – True.]
Hear, Hear
Why can’t our politicians, whether they are aspiring to be prime minister or an incumbent minister, learn to “behave like a gentleman”, swallow their pride and make a straightforward apology? No double speak or legalistic jargon. The old fashioned “I am sorry” will do.
We live in hope.
As you well know, Tony, you’ve got to BE a gentleman to behave like one.
The overriding reason Labour lost the last election was staring us in the face throughout the interview. Even de Nerval’s pet lobster would have led them to victory – notwithstanding his restraining blue leash.
Little Thibault.
SO you’re a journalist now Dear Daphne?
Funny, in the past I recall your saying that you were an opinionist and not a journalist….
We both know that there is a huge huge difference between the two.
[Daphne – 1. Anyone who writes or broadcasts regularly about current affairs, trends, issues, contemporary mores, culture, etc is a journalist. I rather suspect that what you have in mind is a news reporter. A news reporter is just one sort of journalist. Newspaper columnists and magazine editors are other sorts of journalist and I am both. There is no such thing as an opinionist in English language or English culture, which is why you will find that your computer underlines it in red. Italians have opinionisti. The British don’t. Nor, as far as I can make out, do the Americans, Australians, South Africans or other members of the English-speaking world. What is the huge, huge difference between the two? The ability to write? The ability to assimilate information? Lots of news reporters can do that, you know. You appear to be reading the wrong newspapers.]
I was of the same idea about the word ‘opinionist’ as I thought it was translated from the Italian word but after doing some internet research, it appears that we were both wrong.
[Daphne – I trust you mean ‘opinionist’ as used to describe an opinionated person? The word is extremely obscure, and it certainly has no relevance in the context of journalism. It is used in Malta by people who translate literally from Italian, often the very same ones who call illegal immigrants ‘clandestines’.]
Yes, I believe you are right. It has a different meaning, but if it had to pertain to journalism maybe a columnist could be defined as an opinionist.
X’tahwid! Ahjar nieqaf hawn!
Labour are quite right, of course. What’s all this fuss by the Nationalists about, demanding an apology? Just because a few gentlemen paid a courtesy call on The Times, and then popped over to Mrs. Fenech Adami’s for a cuppa tea.
Saying “it should never have happened” is stating the obvious – like saying the sun sets in the evening. We all know that. As an apology it’s meaningless – it’s no apology.
A good analysis of Joseph Muscat’s ‘apology’ for the events of October 15th, 1979
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yf68N638DQ
I don’t see any reaoson why J.Muscat should apologise for something which he had anything to do with. It’s like saying the germans should apologise for what Hitler did or the Italians because of Mussolini..etc. If anything the poeple who were in charge back then should do it. What I really think is lets leave those horrible things in our history books and keep our eyes wide open so they never happen again. One thing which really annoys me is that in 2009 we’re still hearing of police beatings or police harassment regularly and its not the bad old socialists who’r doing it but those who are there supposedly to defend us.
[Daphne – Joseph Muscat stands in representation of the Labour Party. It is the Labour Party which is required to apologise, and not Joseph Muscat the man. He speaks for the party and not for himself. Please apprise yourself of these matters because they are important and not, as some within the Labour Party would have it, sinifiteti.]
Careful, Eric – people like us are worried because of one teeny-weeny detail which many are missing: the same people who were in the MLP and in the police force 30 years ago were asked to return by Joseph Muscat and are now in the new LP.
If you abhor violence you cannot surround yourself with people who looked the other way when these atrocities were committed. There are even some in the Labour Party now who instigated that mob rule back then.
Dr Muscat knows that fences should be mended, but his hands are tied by the diehards without whose votes he cannot win elections. So he came up with a half-baked apology.
Am I missing something here ? “the same people who were in the MLP and in the police force 30 years ago were asked to return by Joseph Muscat and are now in the new LP.” I bet you are referring to Anglu Farrugia. I don’t know of any other activist in the LP who was in the police force back then. Maybe I’m wrong please let me know. First of all Anglu Farrugia never made a return. He was already MP before Joseph Muscat took office. If anything it was the party delegates who elected Anglu Farrugia, not Joseph Muscat. Blame the party delegates, not Joseph.
It’s obviously very convenient for some people to blame Joseph Muscat for anything imaginable.
On another note. Eddie Fenech Adami back in 1989 had full trust in Anglu Farrugia and elected him deputy police commissioner.
Ejja naraw il-fatti sew qabel ma nibdew nitfghu it-tajn.
[Daphne – Deputy police commissioners are not elected. They are promoted to their position, and not by the prime minister.]
Just as much as it is Labour’s obligation to ‘apologise’ it is also the ‘injured’ parties to forgive, forget and move on. I sincerely believe that all this noise about ‘the apology’ that was for some and wasn’t for others is utter nonsense. Besides if The Times really believes that with its editorial slant it is doing this government any favours it had better rethink its policy. It is only giving our PM false pretensions, completely detached from reality.
For me personally, we are being led by a person who was a much better minister than he could ever be a prime minister; a head of secretariat who can only possibly dream of emulating his predecessor and seems to have a knack at rubbing his MPs the wrong way.
It is evident that both Dr Gonzi and Mr Galea Curmi have not only lost the plot but the respect of those they are supposed to lead.
Dr Gonzi has another very serious problem to contend with. He has lost my trust and my eventual vote.
What is evident to you may not be so evident to others. You just wrote some general sentences and it seems that you want to say much more than you did. Either clarify or else don’t make statements – just say your opinion.
Also you seem not to care much about an apolgy. It means that you have not lived through those years. And yes, the injured party has moved on. Much more than some would have liked. Do you remember Dr E Fenech Adami and his ‘reconciliation’?
Jean,
“Dr Gonzi has another very serious problem to contend with. He has lost my trust and my eventual vote.”
Perhaps it is the way you express yourself that conveys a wrong impression but, somehow, the idea that the loss of your personal vote is a “very serious problem” for the PM strikes me as being more than slightly pretentious.
At any rate something tells me that the PM never had either your trust or your vote.
And that’s precisely the point isn’t it! It should be a serious problem to Dr Gonzi but thanks to The Times and dozens of apologists (my word?) it isn’t. Go on.. continue with deluding the PN that my criticism is just a mask and beneath it I’m just an elf! Very sad situation indeed.
The most irritating response, which there seems to be no end of, is that the “apology” was unnecessary as PN have done bad things too. As if that somehow makes it ok.
Another brilliant example again in Maltastar – that oasis of delusional entertainment:
http://www.maltastar.com/pages/ms09indxy.asp
“that oasis of delusional entertainment”
I know a blog which is just like that.
Gonzi might have had the power of incumbency, but with Sant Labour sure had the burden of ingombruency.
[Daphne – Nice one.]
Hand on heart I have to admit that I do not know the meaning of ingombruency. It is not in my Oxford dictionary nor on Wikipidia. Please enlighten me.
I’ve only just coined the word; it hasn’t made it to the dictionaries yet. From INGOMBRU as in encumbrance.
I think it means ‘ingombru’.
Hi Daphne,
Is it possible to send you an email, as I have some news I would like to share with you?
[Daphne – [email protected]]
unrelated… but related to previous articles about grammatical mistakes.
http://www.maltastar.com/pages/ms09dart.asp?a=4970#
Bencini explained that it is the Union’s right and duty to verify if (mhux whether tkun din?) these allegations are in breach of health and safety regulations or not. “They have to call the police this time round,” the MUT president warned.
NO OBJECTION TO INSPECTION
In reaction, the Ministry of Education said it did not object to the MUT inspection scheduled for Monday as long as it did not disturbed (ooopps, harbitihom an extra -ed) the school.
Dear Daphne, so in your opinion Dr. Sant cannot speak about his political career. For once, give him a chance. THIS IS THE MEANING OF DEMOCRACY, THE NATIONALIST WAY.
[Daphne – Bore on, Carm. I thought you lot were AD anyway.]
Sir Eddie F.A….gentleman. Inspite of the fact that the MCCF went bust under his auspices. Ah what the hell, a gentleman is generous. Even with other people’s money. Ah wait! Dr. Gonzi.. a true gentleman..keeps his word. inspite of defaulting on all his election promises,.Oh but he wears such fine suits (reminds me of the lyrics of “the Emperor’s Clothes”).
Heritage Malta is bust; the Malta Council for Culture & Arts is bust; MTA aint got any dosh to produce brochures for tourists wishing to do the walk during the Birgu By Night Festival (inspite of such walk maps being advertised)…it goes on and on and ON. But lets not dwell on these shortcomings..lets focus on the Opposition’s dumb antics…
Some things never change. Alfred Sant is one of them!
The wigged wonder continues to only open his mouth to change feet. A truly consistent loser.
Another great opportunity lost! The people who were the victims of often wanton violence in the 1970s and 1980s deserve a proper apology, which buts no buts. The apolitical individuals whose desire to get on quietly with life was thwarted by MLP thugs’ behaviour deserve an apology. The MLP supporters who were disgusted and dismayed by the betrayal of the principles of Democratic Socialism, and who watched aghast as their party assumed features usually associated with Fascism, to a lesser extent deserve one too.
However it is the PL itself which probably would have gained most had Joseph Muscat issued a sincere and comprehensive ‘mea culpa” on its behalf. It would have truly set the seal on the PL’s break with the past. Without that apology, some people’s doubts about the reliability of the PL will persist, and the PL – probably unjustly – will remain open to the accusation that it has not yet cleansed its soul completely.
It is not apologies, real or fake, that are needed but meaningful actions. We need the police to do their work, to build cases and seek the conviction of the persons who perpetrated those vile criminal acts. On that day the police did nothing to stop the ransacking and burning of The Times from happening, but I would think they have done equally nothing to date to right the wrongs that were perpetrated then. As usual in Malta, we crave misery so that we can wallow in it and try to inspire the ‘jahasra, msieken, kemm batejna’ and other useless sentiments, while riding a moral high-horse. The energy should be directed to other, more profitable, directions namely that of bringing the culprits to justice.
You have put your finger on it, Frank. The PN has always realised how valuable martyrs are to a cause. To that end, they provoked reaction and, when that reaction duly arrived, they never made the slightest effort to bring the culprits to book because an open sore is more useful than a closed case.
[Daphne – Ho hom. By the same token, I provoked the racists into setting fire to my home, nearly killing the three people asleep inside, just to draw attention to myself. You people are nuts. Jew kif jghid il-Malti, tirragunaw minn sormkom.]
Daphne, I hope that you are not referring to me when you say ‘tirragunaw minn sormkom’.
[Daphne – No. I was addressing Twanny.]
The point that I tried to make is about the aftermath of those despicable actions and not about why they happened. In no way was I trying to excuse or justify such horrific criminality. What I want to see is concrete action. I am sure that the persons involved are known and that we are capable of some good police work in this country. Why this has not yet happened is a mystery to me.
As far as the racists who attacked your home are concerned, I sincerely hope that they were caught and punished. I think that in Malta we have a problem and that is that we are not really dealing with racism and racists in an effective way. Racists will not simply disappear just because we ignore them. Moreover the scary thing is that it seems that an ever increasing chunk of the Maltese population are taking on board the mad solutions that the racists are proposing. Tal-biza.
You put your finger on it, Twanny. Mrs. Fenech Adami was a well-known provocateur.
What, a spokeswoman for this? http://www.agentprovocateur.com
Is there something we’re not being told?
No, not Mrs Fenech Adami – but Ganni l-Pupa certainly was.
No mystery about it, Frank. An open sore that can be reactivated whenever the need to divert attention arises is much more useful than a closed case.
Besides, when you go chasing culprits, there is always the risk that certain leads may take you to areas where you least expect to go. As we say in Maltese, “ma rridux li jinkixfu ċerti borom.”
Thanks, John. Good one – was a bit off yesterday (long lunch).
Twanny, I’m pretty lukewarm about the PN government which is – frankly – mediocre at best but I must say that dumb remarks like yours leave me no option but to keep on voting for them.
Would you like to be a bit more specific?
And by the way, Twanny, why don’t you have the guts to use your real or full name?
99% of the posters on this blog use just a Christian name, like me, or a nom de plume. You have never complained. Is it just mine that bugs you?
[Daphne – Twanny is a Christian name? There is a saint called Twanny?]
Being on a short visit to the Isle of Lilliput I decided to hop over to Daphne’s bottegin where the smiling donkey assured me all is well on this shelf of the isle.
And what a break. While in far off lands Barrakka-Bama has just declared the long-planned, agenda-setting ‘martial law’ – otherwise known to you as a ‘gnashynill imajensey’ – here in the district of Pollyanna the isle’s wannabe Establishment seems to be the only problem. Not even Peppi’s mouth watering expose of Malta’s version of the occult could make it to this shelf’s notice board.
Kudos to you all. But do call me when you wake up. I’ve prepared a special brew for you and it has nothing to do with my book ‘Rajt Malta Tinbiegh’.
I know you’ve got better things to do, but I’m sure that many are eagerly awaiting your comments on Muscat’s speech. ( http://www.maltastar.com/pages/ms09dart.asp?a=5025 )
While you’re at it, maybe you could also tell us what you think of Toni Abela’s beige “sjuwt”, Muscat-and-Michelle’s yellow tie and blue scarf combo, and the backdrop of Maltese and EU flags – or, rather, the lack of Labour flags. Who knows? Maybe they’re still trying to come up with an emblem for the Koalizzjoni Nazzjonali.
Please also tell us what you think about this brilliant piece of Labour advice to pull Malta out of recession:
“6. Reduce VAT for restaurants as recommended by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association”
They can’t really be serious about it. Most restaurants tend to be bursting at the seams with patrons. The ones that are not are simply not good enough or are over-priced, and what they need is to take a good look at what they’re doing, not a reduction in VAT. If there’s one thing that Maltese people won’t give up on, even when the going gets tough, it’s their “harga”, which consists not only of a meal out, but the accompanying outfit, hair extensions, nail extensions, etc.
If anything, keeping the VAT level at what it is – or even increasing it – could go some way towards helping combat obesity.
@middelcless
“Most restaurants tend to be bursting at the seams with patrons”
True. Were out Saturday evening and couldn’t get a table for love or money. Long queues everywhere, even at the grottiest of restaurants. We ended up getting pastizzi from Maxims, and even there we had to queue up for a while. And what VAT anyway? Most restaurants don’t even give you a VAT receipt. Is Joseph Muscat for real? Tax tourism and entertainment and not health, manufacturing or education. Muscat has his priorities all wrong.
Whenever I watch on television news about election results elsewhere, and the leader of the losing party is interviewed, he or she always takes the blame for the defeat. Dr. is still blaming everyone and everything but himself. What’s wrong with the guy? We all remember the EU referendum….52% voted Yes and then he came out and said that the general election will determine if we join or not. Did he expect those 52% to change their mind? We all knew what the result would be, and then he blames others.