In every circumstance, you always have to assume that this government has a hidden scheme and that nothing can be taken at face value
Lino Farrugia Sacco
I thought it was a bit suspicious that the prime minister, when he received the opinion of the Commission for the Administration of Justice, said with alacrity that the impeachment of Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco should proceed immediately.
This when Farrugia Sacco’s son, David, is one of the Labour Party leader’s favourites, played a starring role in the electoral campaign, and the only reason he is not in the cabinet is because he failed to be elected.
Now it turns out they had one of their tricks up their sleeve as usual. Farrugia Sacco claims that the motion for his impeachment is no longer valid because the member who brought it before the House – Lawrence Gonzi – is no longer there. The Speaker seeks advice and gets the same opinion. And the government, fascinatingly, says that it has taken advice too and got the same opinion as well.
The Opposition, which is thick with highly specialised lawyers and experienced parliamentarians, thinks otherwise, the charge being led by Mario Demarco. He says that if the government must insist on not carrying on with the impeachment motion on the grounds that the member who brought it is no longer in the House, then the prime minister can bring a fresh impeachment motion himself.
But then, he said, this should not mean that the matter is referred afresh to the Commission for the Administration of Justice (as yet another delaying tactic).
The government’s response? That of course we have to go through the process. This evening, the Speaker of the House ruled that way, too: the process has to start from scratch.
So in other words, Lino Farrugia Sacco will retire this summer without being impeached. His friends in the Labour Party have succeeded in making sure that happens. When Prime Minister Gonzi brought his impeachment motion in December a year ago, Opposition leader Muscat said that he would not cooperate unless and until the Commission for the Administration of Justice returned a negative report.
A year on, that negative report is in, and Prime Minister Muscat says that he can’t play ball after all because Gonzi is no longer in parliament and so the impeachment motion is no longer valid.
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Bizzilla.
Ezatt.
That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it. That’s the way to do it.
– Mr. Punch Drunk.
To the faithful and the gullible: ‘He’s so smart, so cunning, eh!’
Oh ye switchers, how proud you must be…
If a case was ever needed to illustrate the stark differences between Dr Muscat and Dr Gonzi, this is it. One has a vision for power, the other only has power in his sight.
And riding roughshod they are.
U hallikhom mill-FLAMINGO.
U hallikhom minn John Dalli.
Inhallu kollox kwiet u jintnesa.
And he had the cheek to accuse Dr Gonzi of “trying to be funny”.
The ‘justice system’, on the rock, is so incredibly ‘just’.
Nahh… this is too elaborate and subtle a ploy
Corruption at the very, very, very top.
Il-huta minn rasha tinten.
‘La copinocratie’ as the French are currently describing the phenomenon.
That shows that there is a big divide on the government benches in parliament.
Muscat is avoiding a vote and a showdown in parliament.
Can some MP present in my name a motion where the eligibility for a pension of a prime minister of Malta goes up from two years to a whole five years?
That will make our Joey furious.
Who cares about Farrugia Sacco. He’s been discredited anyway.
Net TV should get hold of the footage showing him haggling for the price of black market tickets on a loop every five minutes. That’s what Super one would have done.
There is absolutely no logical reason why the motion of impeachment should be discarded. Anyone with a bit of common sense and an understanding of natural justice would tell you that.
The way I see it, the government is permanent. It is only the people leading it who change. A new leadership can’t just opt out of a contract for example. Nor can it refuse to pay damages just because it was a previous administration which carried out the wrongful act.
Both sides have claimed that they agree with the impeachment motion being put forward so it is absolutely shameful to retreat now, especially with evidence from the Commission for the Administration of Justice in hand.
I see three aspects to it:
1) They’re saving Farrugia Sacco’s skin.
2) Joseph Muscat once again averts taking a moral stand.
3) Labour can never bring themselves to accept anything presented by the evil Lawrence Gonzi.
Dishonest government. Time and time again. I saw this coming weeks ago.
Simply disgusting.
No big deal, Judge. When you strut down Republic Street every morning you’ll still be looked down upon, and people will still consider you as the judge who cheated his way out of impeachment bis-sahha tal-Labour. Huda go fik.
Nikkunsidraw u nikkontemplaw il-hames misteri tal-Gvern laburista.
L-ewwel misteru meta cumnija wahda tal-BWSC issir sitta ghal tal-gass.
It-tieni, kif 30 miljuni isiru 1000 miljun f’hakka t’ghajn.
It-tielet, kif skrivan isir ministru.
Ir-raba, kif assistent skivan l-isptar isir ambaxxatur.
Il-hames u l-ahhar misteru, kif kriminal isir direttur.
Miftiehma, u issa daqshekk, jghid x’jghid Erskine May.
Yet another sleek manoeuvre by the Prime Minister, aided and abetted by the Speaker, which we all saw through of course.
They stab Anglu Farrugia in the back and dump him when his moment of glory has arrived, and he becomes their lackey. Il-vera bla bajd, Anglu.
I’m sorry to say but the PN left many things for too late in the day. Good examples are Farrugia Sacco, properties the MLP stole like the Australia Hall.
Also throughout its 25 years in government the PN appointed so many people in places of power it never should have. These sabotaged the Gonzi govt. big time for years on end, because that is how their minds work.
So Farrugia Sacco will retire in August. It doesn’t matter that this idiot made a bloody mess with that Olympic ticketing debacle because, coincidentally, the Commission for the Administration of Justice won’t finalize its report in time.
And the Judge will thus be able to call it a day dressed in white, like a virgin.
New faces, old Labour. Incompetence, Inc.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140129/opinion/Impeachment-turns-into-farce.504583#.UujOpmanzMI
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140129/opinion/Impeachment-turns-into-farce.504583#.UujEKcJwaTM
Viva chi regna!
Fat Joe might have saved your face, Judge, but not your honour. You have been shamed.
Get used to this. We still have 4 more painful years to endure.
And Farrugia Sacco gets to keep his salary, perks and position as his case load is taken from him.
If Joseph won’t, the Opposition can, present another motion that is.
They’ll have him in a thong by Summer.
Will an impeachment affect his pension?
And, Farrugia Sacco wanted two members of the Commission for the Administration of Justice removed from the ruling process due to ‘conflict of interest’.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/New-members-could-be-appointed-to-hear-Farrugia-Sacco-impeachment-afresh-20140129
Watch the empty space.
Is it good, bad, or shall we just put up another episode of Dalli’s torture, Saviour?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140129/opinion/Impeachment-turns-into-farce.504583
To which the prompt reaction below.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140129/local/speakers-office-did-not-request-ags-advice.504672
How I wish that there was a newspaper worthy of the name that acted as a terrier and didn’t let these points just disappear into Joseph Muscat’s quicksand.
Thank God for your blog, Daphne.