The €20 million man
Joseph Muscat occasionally raids Andy Pandy's wardrobe.
Edward Scicluna must have stayed up all night with his trusty calculator to work out that the preceding five-hour blanket power-cut has cost the country €20 million. The man must have a mind like a Hal, the computer in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
If these people were not so easy with their throw-away remarks, their sound-bites and their round numbers, they might be more credible.
Scicluna’s professional credibility has been dented already by his standing for election on the Opposition party ticket, because now everything he says and writes is looked at askance.
However correct he may or may not be, it is now impossible to regard his views as those of an impartial economist. And the man does himself no favours by popping up on the steps of the prime minister’s office the morning after a power-cut that ended at midnight to announce that he has worked out already how much it cost the country.
There’s another point.
Edward Scicluna is an MEP. When we face the general election in three years’ time, he will be an MEP still, with another year to go. So unless he plans on doing what Muscat did, returning a year early to serve in the national parliament and be replaced in the European Parliament by a stodgy foot-soldier like Glenn Dangerfield, I really don’t know what he was doing standing next to Joseph Muscat at that Castille press conference yesterday.
As for the power-cut itself, might I give Joseph Muscat a little tap on the shoulder and remind him that perhaps this is the perfect opportunity for him to do what he’s talked about and not done for the last two years: cooperate with the government and sort it out.
Screaming from the sidelines that the Delimara power station is not the solution is going to get this country nowhere fast. By doing that, he will achieve about as much as Astrid Vella did by trying to stop the Renzo Piano project and replace it with….nothing or confusion.
Nobody enjoys power-cuts. Nobody is going to defend them or justify them. The Nationalist Party has called for an inquiry and the cabinet minister responsible for Enemalta has demanded one.
Instead of throwing bottles from the back, Joseph Muscat and his sack of ferrets should get a grip on themselves and help out where they can – for a start, by knocking the General Workers Union into line because that is one major stumbling block. Does the General Workers Union have an interest in sorting out the problems with the current power station? Does it hell.
And while we’re about it, might I suggest that Joseph Muscat stops taking to his press conferences types like Marlene Pullicino (married to one man, living with another woman’s husband and preaching endlessly against divorce while saying that she looks up to the Virgin Mary as an example) and Alfred Sant’s one-time ‘minister without portfolio’ Joe Mizzi.
They don’t inspire confidence. They put us off. We look at them and think to ourselves ‘better one power –cut a month than a country governed by those people’.
Some free advice for Labour, because Marisa knows sweet FA
Here’s some free advice for the Labour Party, as the past few months have made it amply clear that Marisa Micallef is just not worth the money.
I am not standing for election. The Nationalist Party is. I am not the leader of the Nationalist Party. Lawrence Gonzi is. I do not make policy or implement it. The government does. I am not paid out of public funds and I do not work for the state or the Nationalist Party. I work in the private sector.
If the Labour Party doesn’t like what I do, then that’s tough. Criticism is part of this game, and if my criticism is effective, then Labour should do something about its ample short-comings and give me less to mock.
But it should bear in mind that ‘the Labour Party versus Daphne Caruana Galizia’, which is what we have seen over the last few weeks, makes Labour look malignant and a danger to democracy and free speech.
Labour is using its media and media functionaries to try to do to me today what its mob of thugs did to its critics in the 1970s and 1980s. There is no difference. The thinking and the attitude which drives this behaviour remains unchanged.
And sometimes, Labour’s behaviour also makes it look ridiculous, as when – at a loss for some real scandals to dig up about me – its party functionaries and friends found themselves reduced to claiming that my father has a second family in Sicily (composed, as it turns out, of one of my sisters and her two daughters); that he visits Sicily often with ‘a woman’ (what do you know, she’s my mother); that my sons are gay and hiding it from me (they think I gave birth to everyone who shares my surname and is in his 20s, so they dragged an unwitting second cousin into their mess); that I’m a trans-sexual so my children can’t be my own; that my husband is a ‘pufta’ (and here I have to use the Maltese word, because none other suffices when describing the inherent contradictions in the party of LGBT Labour) who is having an affair with – depending on whether the Labour elves have taken their medication that day – a man, a woman, several women, several men, or all at once; that I am a witch who flies on her broom at night and keeps a black cat as a familiar; that I am ‘low kless’ and had to force my husband to marry me because he is ‘high kless’ and his ‘family didn’t want me’ (and when they found out the facts they changed tack and decided that, well, in that case my children are in-bred); that my sons only got onto prestigious postgraduate programmes because I’m a gONzipN spin-doctor who pulled strings for them….and that I failed my O-levels, I’m ugly and I have a fat bottom.
If they keep this up, by next month I’ll be having sex with Satan and producing the devil’s spawn, while boiling them for broth and keeping a pet Martian in my living-room for kicks.
Then occasionally I’ll take out my broom – more fun than a convertible, though the most fun of all must be a roofless theatre (imagine flying around in that) – and zap a few Labour activists dumb and blind.
And if I’m in a good mood that day, I might even give them a brain. Because you know what, they really need one, and some principles and a basic sense of decency might come in handy, too.
This article is published in The Malta Independent on Sunday today.
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I can’t understand why the LP is wasting so much time criticising a writer who is only doing her job. Daphne is not being paid from my taxes.
can you prove that statement
The point is can you prove otherwise Pam?
Claire Abela wishes a ‘Very HAPPY EASTER to you and all the family” to Robert Musumeci on his Fabebook wall.
By ‘all the family” did she wish to include the young family he abandoned, his new illicit family, or his brother tal-pinic cooler?
Claire Abela: Wishing you a Very HAPPY EASTER to you and all the family
With Love And Best Wishes.
May That EASTER Day Brings
Lots of Happiness and Joys in ur Life :)
Yesterday at 12:54pm
Manuel Cutajar likes this.
Robert Musumeci:Claire lilek ukoll
Yesterday at 7:42pm
Speaking of MEPs, John Attard Montalto gets an honourable mention on the back page of today’s Sunday Times; the item in question queries where he was when that vote on Frontex was taken in the European Parliament. It seems he was on holiday in Madagascar! Previous contributions by him in the Times always seem to be be from faraway exotic places as member of some European Parliament delegation or another . Bella vita !
John Attard Montalto: bih u minghajru xorta.
[Daphne – Lanqas xejn. He adds much needed panache of sorts to the Labour Party.]
Does Robert Musumeci really think that this was supposed to come across as a sincere Easter greeting. Look at the last line of his greeting.
Robert Musumeci: MINN QALBI NIXTIEQ L-GHID IT-TAJJEB LIL KULHADD – INKLUZ LIL DAWK LI HUMA TA’ FEHMA POLITIKA DIFFERENTI, KIF UKOLL LIL DAWK IL-FTIT ILLI GHAL RAGUNIJIET TAGHHOM QED JIBQGHU JITTAMAW ILLI SE NWARRAB MIX-XENA POLITIKA.
IR-RISPOSTA TIEGHI HI ILLI JIEN SE NIBQA’ NAHDEM FIL-PARTIT NAZZJOANLISTA GHAL GID TA’ KULHADD.
Thu at 7:11pm
I use the words Josanne Cassar used with regards to the Piiano project, since they might be more appropriate in this case.
Josanne Cassar: if ever there was a case when the expression WTF was appropriate…then this must be it
March 26 at 12:20pm
Well that strikes me as a perfect Easter message in the spirit of Christian charity.
Mahseb li l-Partit Nazzjonalista ma ghandux bzonnok Robert. Fittex itlaq ghax lil-Partit Nazzjonalista HSARA qieghed taghmillu.
When the Labour Party gets all heated up about power cuts it should not forget that they had the chance to show us how to run a power system and failed miserably. I still remember that power cuts were such a regular occurrence that we couldn’t even use it as an excuse for not doing our homework… I remember a Christmas without electricity too…
However I think the minister should have a good chat with the engineers at Enemalta and tell them to get their act together. I’m no expert in the field but I’m sure that the modern world has come up with a system which avoids the whole power station (and especially two power stations) shutting down when something goes wrong. I would imagine that they can rig up the system so that when something goes wrong certain parts of the country get blacked out giving the Enemalta workers a shorter turn-around.
Over at the Vladimir site, they are really scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Not content with reminding the public about David Agius (whose ‘story’, besides being mentioned in of Daphne’s blog-posts, was even covered by the Times in any case), they have resorted to picking on someone called Vivienne Bajada. I had never heard of her before today.
Whether this girl cheated or not in her exams is not the point. If she did, then shame on her. It’s as simple as that.
However, their choice of that ‘target’ is showing nothing but ‘hdura’, malice, and shooting blindly left right and centre at anyone whosoever that they may ‘find’.
They fail to see that Charlon Gouder e bella compagnia like the coconuts have been at ‘loggerheads’ with Daphne for eons. They have been ‘attacking’ each other in public for as long as I can remember.
Should this Vivienne Bajada be dedicated to writing against the Labour Party, then the ‘target’ would make sense.
Should she have stuck a camera up some Labourite’s back-side, ditto.
Should she be actively associated with any kind of anti-LP sleezy journalist or supporter, ditto again.
Once again, I am not conding (if) she cheated on an exam.
In my eyes, however, I equate their choice of this Vivienne Bajada on the same level of exposing the fact that some Nationalist Party members’ chihuahua pissed within 10 yards of the entrance to a Labour Party’s Kazin.
So therefore, according to the Vladimir website, that chihuahua’s owner would be one of the biggest threats to the Labour Party … or to Joseph Muscat’s dog. Take your pick.
Mentalita bazwijja with nothing that makes sense to say.
She is a member of KSU – the student’s council which last year and this year was made of SDM, the University’s student party most affliated with the PN.
The guys at tyom.com are reasoning that, as she is Gozitan and knows Giovanna Debono, she will ask Giovanna to tell Gonzi to stop Daphne writing ‘hdura’ about the PL and the Magistrate and those associated with her. It seems they lost hope of making her stop by targeting her family. So now they are targeting any PN affliate – even if they claim they do not come from any one political field.
No. The idiots at TYOM are reasoning that anyone who comments in this blog is a “revolting sycophant” of Daphne, is Nationalist, and is therefore fair game. The Maltese digital brain at its worst. Min mhux maghna kontra taghna.
QED : Mentalita bazwijja with nothing that makes sense to say. Seems that blackmail and coercion is embedded in all these idiots’ DNA.
A chap over at the other site proved my point :
——————————————-
#42 Overkill 2010-04-04 08:53
this site is doing nothing honourable… but that’s exactly the point…..
Keep up the good work TYOM and save no one from your rampage.
——————————————
Hence, ‘hdura’, malice, and shooting blindly left right and centre at ANYONE whosoever that they may ‘find’.
And they have the guts to say that they are doing what Daphne does.
Hass mal b**s.
I don’t advise anyone to refer to it as the Vladimir website, after all it is a blackmail website.
People might think Simone Cini’s father has something to do with it, and I can’t imagine Vladimir Cini or his daughter Simone would stoop so low.
Of course power cuts have a cost. However, any decent business model will include allowances for down time and unforeseen events such as power cuts, flooding, union strikes, contingent costs etc.
It would be good if the people are told how he arrived at this figure, and whether he quantified qualitative factors also.
During the Labour governments of 1970s to 1980s, we not only had power cuts but we also had Labour riots, which also resulted in a lot of business disruption and came at a cost too.
Prosit ghalik Dr. Joseph Muscat x’erbgha tal-affari taghhom ghandek fil-Maltastar.com. Dawn ghalek ghamluk ‘Leader’ tal-PL biex ikuni jistghu jaghmlu li jridu. B’dawn in-nies trid tirbah il-Gvern? Nahseb l-anqas taf x’laqtek meta sirt ‘Leader’ tal-PL. Mur afdakhom fil-Gvern. Alla jilliberana minn dawn in-nies!
What I think Joseph Muscat needs is some advice from ordinary people who are not Labour supporters and who really want the best for our country.
Catch-22.
So Prof Scicluna quickly pulled a figure out of thin air and claimed that 5 hours of blackout cost the country Euro 20 million. Let us for the sake of argument say that it was not a complete wipe-out and we produced Euro 5 million during that time just to follow on from the professor’s reasoning. In other words we produce Euro 120 million a day.
I make that Euro 43.8 billion a year. Where exactly did you get that figure from Profs? I bet you’re out by a few cents.
Imbasta b’idejh marbutin qisu sa jaghmel il-precett.
It was Good Friday, a public holiday on which most offices are closed and entertainment venues are quiet/closed so you should at the very least triple the estimation of Malta’s annual GDP based on Profs. Scicluna’s figure. (€60,000,000/5 * 24 * 7 * 52 = €104,832,000,000)
Wow that would make us the richest country on Earth with a per Capita GDP of €262,080.
I’m off to order my Ferrari…
I guess the Labour Party needs much more than just a little tap on the leader’s shoulder to be a ‘better’ party (or opposition). It’s a pity that it IS NOT so constructive in its criticism. Well, perhaps “HAS NEVER BEEN” as in past tense would fit better than “IS NOT”.
Let’s keep hoping for the best for the future of our country, although it might not look so good.
Illum fis-Sunday Times, ittra mill- Hon. Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100404/letters/no-wrong-in-lunch-with-magistrate
Just read Jeffrey’s article, and once again I will give him the benefit of the doubt. But he had better shape up or he will not get my, or my family’s vote again.
The point at issue is not what he discussed at table and whether he was able to influence the magistrate’s decision either way. Being in a potentially compromising situation is bad enough in itself.
You see? Even you can’t be sure that nothing went wrong. If you have that kind of doubt, then you can’t say you have full faith in the judiciary.
Those who gave him the benefit of doubt in the last election and voted for him probably won’t do so again.
“I can reassure readers and my electorate that I will not hesitate to vote in favour of her impeachment if sufficient evidence is presented to back such a motion. On the other hand, I will not let myself be swayed by any other factors, and will not be pressured by anyone into voting against my conscience.”
We have already experienced his crocodile tears, now we are experiencing his playing with words. He will not be pressured by anyone into voting against his conscience, but the question is, does he have one?
“Why should I meet up with a magistrate to try to influence her decision about a case which is to be settled anyway?”
Timing is important here. Did this lunch take place before or after it was decided that “This is one of the many libel cases which are to be settled by a blanket agreement between the two major parties”
Pull the other one Hon JPO.
What difference does that make, anyway? Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando has been Consuelo Scerri Herrera’s guest before there was any mention of any blanket agreement.
Not having any third party corroboration but assuming that Jeffrey is saying the truth, then it is again the “Hon” Consuelo that is putting third parties in an awkward position by attending these occasions.
As an example of why his Euro 20 million damage estimate could not be accurately measured, MEP and economist Scicluna provided, “Imagine if a wedding was ruined….” It takes quite an imagination to suggest that a couple in largely “Christian” Malta would hold their wedding on Good Friday, when the power cut had occurred.
I don’t think that all the usual formulas may apply in this nearly four-hour instance. I wonder how many “millions” were saved by virtue of the fact that the system protected itself by shutting down?
Nobody wants the problem to become routine, as some might be misled to believe; but the causes of the recent instances were not the same.
I don’t suppose a common “energy policy” between political parties, or a common policy on anything, is anything the PL could ever envision, except for dictating its ready scorn of anything “PN,” even if it is a national problem.
As they fail to propose solutions for virtually everything, especially when invited to do so, the PL deserve the scorn and mockery they receive. They are not in an equivalent position to give it; nor do they gain any credibility by their generally puerile politics.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7087299.ece
“David Cameron had advertised great changes about the Conservative Party. He says they have re-thought, they have made all these sorts of changes, they are now a modern party.”
“Mr Bradshaw the Culture Secretary said: “We are being asked at this election to take on trust the claim the party has changed, and we are seeing evidence after evidence that in its heart of hearts it hasn’t changed.” ”
Well Mr. Culture Secretary, our feelings are mutual!
PL also claims to have changed. Evidence, however, points precisely the other way. Almost every day, this blog chips away at yet another aspect of their hollow claims.
The PL is more like the Adullamites of biblical times rather than the Party of Moderates and Progressives. are embarrassingly hollow and false.
That is the problem when you try to be all things to all people and when you have your media machine calling the shots.
Daphne, your words I believe.
‘the Labour Party versus Daphne Caruana Galizia’,
I think all would agree that it’s game set and match to you.
Now Joey I suggest you start another crusade, but don’t go for one you cannot win…..again.
Min jaf Joseph kemm ferfer denbu ghax ghandu “Profs” fit-team tieghu.
I would like to hear comments from Professor Scicluna regarding the letter sent by the Central Bank to the government published in il-Mument of yesterday wherein the Central Bank explained the financial situation at the Dockyard during the Labour government.
The economy might have lost a good couple of millions last Friday, due to the embarrassing power-cut, but is surely made a good couple more yesterday.
With no booking, and Labour harping that everyone is on the verge of hunger, we felt sure we would find a table in a Paceville/ Sliema restaurant.
We ended up celebrating Easter “lunch” with a baguette in a cafe.
A wedding on Good Friday?! No one gets married on Good Friday because it’s the only day in the year when Mass is not celebrated. Civil weddings are out too because it’s a public holiday. Prof. Scicluna must think he’s addressing drooling imbeciles.
How could the Labour MEP and eminent Professor Scicluna make such a wrong assumption in his computation of the economic losses of Good Friday night?
The largest loss the Maltese suffered on Friday night was some spiritual enrichment as they could not follow the annual “purcissjoni tal-Gimgha l-Kbira.” Maybe he valued that also.
Classic. Coudn’t resist this.
From maltastar.com
Anthony Buttigieg – 04 April 2010 15:41
“Why not Bondi make a program and try to explain to us why the rich of Malta did not not pay their taxes”. So they did.
Unlike Daphne the minds behind tyom.com are part of the PL. So one asks the question. if the PL are that scared of someone who has their own blog (like Daphne) and already panicking and coming up with ideas that make them look like fools, then what will happen in the future?
A good piece Daphne. Well done. I am always doubtful of what Joseph Muscat says. He criticises the government for power failures and he also criticises the Delimara extension yet he never comes up with a solution. It is back to the old days when they used to say “when we are in government, we will reveal our ideas”. Joseph Muscat, like his predecessor, plays on the mind of the naive and it is in this way that he gets the votes.
And Anthony Buttigieg has a vote – imagine a government elected by such coconuts.
Prosit Manuel Camilleri. That is the only way the PL know how to obtain votes and it has been like that for Labour ever since. But thanks to the educational system and the media programmes which the PN provided during these last 20 years the population is not naive anymore. That is why they are trying to stop Daphne from teaching us more. They don’t how to do better.
Power cuts: what’s behind the scenes. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100405/local/gwu-demands-independent-investigation-into-power-cut
It would be nice to know that the workers at the power stations used to do a lot of maintenance work during overtime.
The management tied the performance of the managers on how efficiently they utilise the manpower under their responsibility, along with other criteria.
Less overtime for workers higher performance of managers. Now that the workers at the power stations are not doing any overtime they a reverting to an unofficial ‘go slow’, there is a psychological reason why they are doing this: it’s because they want to earn more money like they used to when they worked Saturdays and Sundays overhauling the boilers and turbines, which may I add, is a tough job.
We are always at their mercy even if the power stations were brand new.
In his estimate Prof Scicluna took into account all the stored frozen foods which should have been thrown out. Now, who threw out anything because of a three-hour power cut?
Muscat’s greatest mistake was to call back to the party the scum that Alfred Sant had managed to sweep aside. Are there any more to be called back?