So. You want to talk about issues. You want to stop the navel gazing? Fine. Let’s go then. A few questions.
1. Cabinet Memos: Let us say that we accept that Cabinet has a right to discuss even the wildest of possibilities and to dismiss them on the basis of how much the electorate will find them acceptable. I do at least. Gonzi claimed that cabinet never discussed an issue. There is ample evidence to the contrary. The problem for some poeple is not the issue itself (they are adult enough to recognise that the cabinet dismissed the idea) but a Prime Minister who denies the obvious. Is it or is not a credibility problem? Before you mention wigs and Sant – I don’t care. Is it or is not a problem of credibility when you deny it was discussed and facts show otherwise?
2. ONE Cameramen denied movement in Naxxar: And now for the tough one. The security guard in Naxxar claimed he had orders not to let the ONE cameraman to approach Gonzi. Pushing on the unacceptable so far but still within the limits (distasteful but hey whatever its their Untouchable Leader). He then proceeded to keep the cameraman from leaving a public building whenever he liked. He effectively held him under arrest against his will. A security guard acting for the Nationalist party and claiming he had orders from above. Condemn the Labour Ministers who hurl insults at students. Make a fuss about a DNA comment. But then its ok to hold a journalist against his will and prevent him from doing his job. I have not heard the apologist take on this one. Not a misprint – more like a democratic disorder. I want to know. Does it change your opinion of the squeaky clean Nationalist party? What would you be writing now if the journalist was a NET journalist held against his will after the umpteenth Sant non-interview?
Until now whenever someone on this blog has dared criticise the PN we get the PN apologistas branding them as either being a bunch of disgruntled immature beings or people with some hidden Labour agenda. You forget. I rule out Labour. I will not vote Labour. I want to engage with the Nationalists and see whether they are happy with this lot. Whether they are happy that part of their party’s election campaign does not win them much points on the grounds of democratic tolerance. Throwing the whole “Labour is bad” book at me does not work. I know that already. I just cannot see much to be thrilled about in the PN. Frankly I don’t care much about AD either. What I care about is whether I am the only mad person here who sees a lot of inconsistencies in PNs democratic credentials. Here’s a quick shortlist of what is wrong:
1. Intolerance – to people who think differently, to people who do not accept dualist thinking
2. Aggressive Negative Media tactics – not just versus the Labour party but versus the people who think differently. We have seen a gradual demonisation.
3. Determination to defend the status quo – From electoral changes to misinformation campaign.
4. Heavy Handed Naxxar Style Tactics – by 21st century standards of evolved politics Naxxar is the new Tal-Barrani. We have moved from the physical violence of the eighties to the moral and psychological violence of the naughties.
5. Catholic Doctrine – the PN insists in thinking that everybody subscribes to the same principles as themselves. They are unable to conceive the separation between church and state.
6. The reinforcement of a failed system of developing new politicians – the PN promises new faces but does not have much to go upon as it generates more and more yes men who climb the greasy pole by simply not criticising and not bringing new ideas.
That is a very roughly faced list of what irks some people. We have frankly had enough of being treated as Labour apologists or Ad campaigners. Stuff that. This is an open challenge to the apologistas. Call a spade a spade. We have no agenda for Labour or for AD. We are clearly engaging you upon the faults and deficiencies of a party that apparently aspires to be the best option to govern Malta for the next five years. Frankly we are not convinced. We’ve dismissed Labour, we see AD’s weaknesses (and the electoral ploy that makes them weaker) but we will simply not vote for PN by default. We need to be shown the money. Go on – tell us our vote is not worth the hassle… you know what they say about the straw and the camel’s back.
And you know what.. while the PN apologistas are busy trying to answer or hiding in a corner ignoring the question let this arrogant blogger also tell the ones that are so eager to see Sant and his merry band of misprints in government that they still don’t know what is coming. MLP apologistas take a deep look at yourselves and ask where have you been in the past five years when you could have been changing the party within and presenting a valid alternative to this paltry mess that claims to be a democratic party for the 21st century. Ask yourselves why in an election full of undecideds these undecideds who, to put it crassly, do not have it in their DNA to vote MLP still find it an impossibly nauseating non-option.
You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.
You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are all part of the same compost pile.
j'accuse 
It’s also a question of why Gonzi is denying they discussed the memo in the first place. So what if they discussed it? They can discuss charges on health care all they want as long as they don’t implement them. So why does Gonzi feel he needs to deny this?
You forget to mention that if we criticize PN, MLP, AD, and AN, then justjoe tells us that we’re naysayers who would never accept the responsability to hold a public position. I regard that as the stupidest post this blog has ever seen.
I RULE OUT LABOUR. I WILL NOT VOTE LABOUR.
Another “independent” voice on an “independent” newspaper.
SAD.
“independent” does not mean “politically neutral”
politically neutral usually means “indifferent”
Why would anyone write about politics if they didn’t have a position?
Just finished watching Gonzi interview Xarabank, doing so with an open mind, and rarely have I so felt torn within as this time. At one point, Gonzi is actually convincing me to grab my pencil and put a 1 in a blue box on the 8th of March. You cannot deny this man does have a vision of some sort, something which is completely absent in the MLP. Then he is asked a question about his party’s misgivings during the last legislature, and he starts talking in party and scaremongering slogans rather than answering the questions directly. My conclusion is, he is not interested in correcting his party’s wrongdoings. He failed tonight in addressing “hot” questions (which we all would like an answer to) many times … I thought he couldn’t beat Alfred Sant on this but he managed. He also cheekily accused the MLP with PN’s major defects. I don’t know. He lost me again. Can I trust this man?
At last another good post.
Welcome back Jacques.
Sandro
What you call an ‘undecided’ person, I call a ditherer. I’d hate to be around when these people are trying to choose a fridge. No wonder the Malta Trade Fair is so popular. They can walk from stall to stall and agonise over the different cooling options, shelf space, guarantees, lack of them, and on an on until the bus has come and gone again. Life belongs to those who can take decisions – quickly and well. Somehow, I don’t think Bill Gates or Roman Abramovic do much dithering over which box to tick on the ballot sheet. They decide, tick it and move on. Dithering is for those who have too much time on their hands, and too much mental space to fill. Sorry if I am being obnoxious, but honestly….I wouldn’t like to be lost in a jungle with some of you lot. Shall we go that way? Oh no – we’ll go that way. Oh but my conscience! I’ll have to hold my nose. I’ve decided. Oh no, I’ve changed my mind again. I don’t know. What do you think? And what does everyone else think? Shall I risk it? Shan’t I risk it? Shall I vote for change? Shall I vote for certainty? Shall I put a rocket under everything? Shall I not? And what do Tom & Jerry think? And Tweety-Bird? And Tweety-Bird’s mother?
Jacques
I nearly walked away from this, because you address your challenge to PN apologistas. I don’t count myself among them.
I have no idea of its context, but I saw the Naxxar youtube clip, and it looks awful. Heavy-handed, neanderthal, undemocratic. A thug at work, clearly given instructions by a moron.
The PN’s stance on social issues like divorce and gay rights is behind the times, and as you say embedded in Catholic doctrine. Many in the party often have a problem distinguishing between church and state.
A number of Ministers have not performed well, and have clearly grown too comfortable with power.
I wish they had done more on the environment; I wish they were more open to electoral reform. I sincerely hope I will be able to vote for a change in government in five years time, because we need alternation of power.
But.
I will make no apology at all for using my vote in this election in the way that I think will do Malta most good. One of two parties will form the next government. I will vote for the one that I think will take the country furthest forward.
Although it’s always so much easier and more satisfying to criticise, I am also ready to give credit to this government.
For delivering Europe in the face of fierce, and often unscrupulous, opposition;
for making the first years of membership smoother and more successful than I thought would be possible;
for giving the right direction towards a modern, knowledge-based society; for competent management of the economy;
for a dramatic turnaround in the country’s finances (from which so much else flows);
for delivering the euro;
for delivering almost full employment;
for delivering record tourism;
for putting together a serious electoral programme (the only one on offer) that prioritises the environment over everything else;
for (Naxxar notwithstanding) being generally respectful of its citizens and press;
for investing heavily in education and believing in the country’s potential.
These are weighty, important positives. As objectives they may be ‘obvious’ Jacques; as deliverables they constitute a very solid track record. Even when you take the rough I mentioned previously with all this smooth, it’s a positive package. And yes, it looks even more positive when compared to the alternative government. I will make no apologies for making that comparison either. Comparisons help us make choices.
Many people in the nationalist party describe themselves as conservatives, a term that makes me shudder. On the contrary, I will vote for the nationalists in this election because of the two alternative governments to choose from in 2008 they are by clearly the most progressive.
Should read: “As objectives they may be ‘obvious’ Jacques; as achievements they constitute a very solid track record”.
And ‘by far’ not ‘by clearly’ in the last line.
What can I say. I’m tired.
Cora,
most of the writers who write about politics do not FLAUNT their “indifference”. At least not the ones I’m used to, but then again I live in another country. They don’t say…I’ll never vote Conservative or ..I rule out the Conservative party.
Those we don’t call indifferent, we call them lackeys.
Do they have people like Dom Mintoff in Canada, Vince? Just asking.
Jacques. Your first point is built on a wrong premise. The second point, the Naxxar incident, is sure something to be condemned. But it is not the serious matter it is being made to be by some people in this blog. It was dropped off the news bulletin on One TV the following day to make space for the story of “provocation” by Jeffery Pullicino-Orlando who went to a Labour press conference and … watched.
As to this blog, if you are inviting a judgment about it, it is less a vehicle for criticism of the Nationalist Party than your hang-ups over whom to vote (the Nationalist Party being criticised is a secondary consequence) and other irrelevant topics like coalitions in the next Parliament when it should be obvious that in the next Parliament there will be no coalition because there will be only two parties in the House, and that will not happen because of the electoral system.
“But it is not the serious matter it is being made to be by some people in this blog” – Fausto imissek tisthi titkellem hemm. Nipretendi ahjar minn ghandek.
Vince, Could you explain that? I’m not sure I follow your line of thinking correctly.
I consider what Daphne wrote about dithering to be quite interesting. In addition, her comaprison of ditherers to those who used to visit the Naxxar Trade fair, which by the way will no longer be held at Naxxar, to be quite apt.
I remember the billboard in 1998 when then ten PN illustrated an empy fridge. Politics is about issues. Whether those who believe in better politics like it or not, one major issue in thiss general elections is the cost of living and the purchasing power of Mr average citizen. That billboard is perhaps as appropriate today as it was back in 1998. I invite anyone interested to come and have a look at my fridge.
The outcome of which way the so called ditherers will vote will, ironically be determined at Naxxar.
Looks like I’m the only sucker around. Since I’ve gone in for it, I’ll go deeper.
There are different models of parliamentary democracy. In some countries – mercifully not that many – if you are a taxi-driving, immigrant-hating communist, you can vote for the taxi-driver, immigrant hating communist party, hopefully beating the rival taxi-driver immigrant-hating catholic party in the process. Your conscience may be squeaky clean because your party perfectly mirrors your ethical/political mind-set; but it makes for lousy governance because your parliament is so fragmented that nothing gets done.
In other systems, like ours, the parties are much more broad-based, and inevitably there will be aspects that every voter will be more or less comfortable with. You vote for a package. That package will never mirror your personal preferences perfectly; but once chosen there is the possibility for a government to govern according to its mandate and be judged at the end of it.
Clearly this type of system is at its weakest when, like now, one of the parties does not offer a real alternative.
If even the party you like most, or dislike least, doesn’t fit you particularly well you have a few options.
1. Revolution.
2. Try and mould that party. If you’re really keen, by working within the party for change; or by using ‘electoral selection’. e.g. If I confirm what Pippo Psaila is quoted as having said in this blog about how he sees his faith relate to his political career, he’s off my list; the more liberal Georg Sapiano, on the other hand, will climb higher up my list. Enough people choose the same way and the party line evolves.
3. Try and mould the system by pressing for electoral reform. Not in an election, where the rules are already set; but in between elections when the rules may be reviewed.
4. Wait for the election and wring your hands in anguish because none of the parties are perfect.
Fausto, you’re convinced that there will not be a coalition in the next parliament, but many here believe there will be one, so maybe it’s worth asking again what anyone here thinks of the following combinations:
PN AN
MLP AD
MLP AN
Can they happen? And how would the interests of the smaller parties’ voters be assured?
I saw it coming well in advance.
On various instances, the Malta Labour party was raising questions on whether Cabinet discussed the introduction of fees associated with health care. Denials.
Then there was the now infamous press conference on TV where Miriam Dalli asked repeatedly Dr Gonzi :
“Do you deny that the matter was discussed at cabinet level?”
Dr Gonzi replies:
“Yes I deny categorically that it was discussed” or something similar.
I noticed Miram Dalli’s smile. She got the exact answer she was looking for. So did Malta in genral. It is my view that Dr Gonzi very naively took tha bait.
Is it possible that at that moment Dr Gonzi did not realise what was happening, the implications of his statement, or what was coming in the forthcoming days.
Then the documents were published.
CHECK-MATE!
Honesty in politics and in life is a fundamental principle.
In this instance, the MLP were brilliant in exposing the pirnciples of the present Prime Minister on such a fundamental issue – honesty.
I have to admit Jacques, that the non-alternative were in this case brilliant.
Fausto imissek tisthi titkellem hemm. Nipretendi ahjar minn ghandek.
Minix inqis dan l-episodju anqas importanti minn kemm qed iqisuh il-One News.
Fausto, you’re convinced that there will not be a coalition in the next parliament, but many here believe there will be one, so maybe it’s worth asking again what anyone here thinks of the following combinations:
PN AN
MLP AD
MLP AN
Can they happen? And how would the interests of the smaller parties’ voters be assured?
I have written on occasion about that (here, here and here) not because I believe that the situation will arise but because the Greens have been so successful in presenting the situation (not the solution) as realistic that it would have been like not talking about the (imaginary) elephant in the room.
There will be no coalition in the Eleventh Parliament because there will be only Nationalist and Labour MPs. And there is much sense in what Alfred Sant says that we shouldn’t discuss hypothetical questions.
There is a serious flaw in your argument Jaques, because you cannot discuss the merits and demerits of one party, without comparing it to its electoral competitors. Almost half of the French electorate wouldn’t even think of voting Jacques Chirac and his UMP party back in 2002 , but when he didn’t get his absolute majority in the first round (and the socialists got excluded for performing even worse then LePen), all those who would have usually vote for the french socialists went out and voted Chirac.
This can be applied to all democracies. When you vote you are not only voting for someone but more importantly, against someone. My voting Pn does not preclude me from criticizing the mess in which Mater Dei is, the wrongdoings going on at MEPA, the state that national broadcasting is in, the total absence of a long term energy plan, and the way in which the Maltese stock market is at a standstill even though some of the companies in it have earned increasing profits year in year out.
If people like me will vote PN once again it is not because we are blind to all the evidence you’ve been mentioning, on the contrary, it’s because in spite of all this evidence and more, the parties in opposition have not managed to propose themselves as a better alternative.
This is probably the best post you’ve ever had on this blog. And the 6 points you mentioned are very valid indeed.
Regarding the new cabinet, I’m asking, how new can it be? I can’t imagine the likes of Austin Gatt without a cabinet post. I can only think that the “new” cabinet will be a slightly modified form of the current cabinet – with more socially conservative members of cabinet. That seems to be the trend anyway.
Intimidation is a reality – and it’s not just in Naxxar. There are candidates and supporters who have been intimidated and who have experienced “negative repercussions”.
Fausto said “Minix inqis dan l-episodju anqas importanti minn kemm qed iqisuh il-One News.”
Since when do you consider One News to be the measure of whether or not you should be appalled by anti-democratic behaviour? What happened in Naxxar is symptomatic of a party that has discarded its lofty principles, a party that has become utilitarian in the pursuit of the goods that it strives to achieve.
“The problem for some people is not the issue itself (they are adult enough to recognise that the cabinet dismissed the idea) but a Prime Minister who denies the obvious.”
Gonzi’s problem is that when he lies he is not worried to be criticized by the MLP but when his truth is being discussed a helicopter is needed.
Large companies of accountants were commissioned to prepare that particular document. This document was sent to the cabinet and these accountants never had a reply. Most of them asked several times what happened to that report and the final answer was that its contents were kept back because the payment for health services was ruled out.
This doesn’t happened for the surcharge report.
This report included that every patient should have his own bill. Whoever does not own a private insurance should sign the bill, writing also the social security number and if his taxes are up to date, hence, the social service will pay that bill.
Whoever has the private insurance, the bill is paid by the insurance. So, people would appreciate more how much the health services costings are avoiding waste of money.
Alfred Sant succeeded to shoot on his leg one more time.
Besides all, I wish to discuss the proposal rather than if Gonzi lied or not as he did regarding the Lisbon treaty.
Sant released another report today. Seems like he has more ammunition up his sleeve.
I imagine that he would.
Ever heard of the rats that desert a sinking ship?
Talking about ships, we were today blessed with more Africans arriving on our shores all saying specifically that their destination was Malta.
Welcome abroad guys and girls .
Plenty of tax payer-funded space, jobs, opportunities ,housing, educational opportunities and free health services available for you as well in GonziPN land.
Who says that the GonziPN posters do not effective?
Yes, welcome to Malta people escaping oppression and/or hunger. Malta, a nation built on Christian principle, will do its utmost to share the promise of a better life with you. We will not be able to welcome you with a red carpet because we must learn more about each of you and ensure that you are entitled to stay here. But we will encourage our politicians to improve the conditions in which you are housed, to process your applications expeditiously and to treat you with the level of respect that is becoming of every human being. We’re sorry that our means are limited, but we will do our utmost. We’re also apologise in advance for the behaviour of the bigots in our midst. WELCOME TO MALTA.
“I imagine that he would.”
I thought so too. And I suspect Miriam Dalli “hadmitu xi hadma tajba” yesterday with one of her questions on Xarabank.
Yesterday, Miriam Dalli was very deliberate in leading Gonzi to state that he had received no more reports. I got the feeling she was baiting some sort of trap. There is no wasted space behind that pretty face.
Since when do you consider One News to be the measure of whether or not you should be appalled by anti-democratic behaviour?
Paraphrase: Since when do you consider One News to be the measure of whether or not you should be appalled by anti-democratic behaviour by the Nationalists?
Answer: Ever since I learnt the meaning of the saying “More Catholic than the Pope”.
Didn’t you just love the Benny Hill show? Alfred Sant being chased for 2 days by Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, only saying his bit to the press when he felt safe enough from the horror of having to criticise someone to his face…
Picked up a great book in Rome called La virtu’ del dubbio by a great guy called Gustavo Zagrebelsky who appears to think that dithering has its virtues. Mainly the avoidance of destructive conflict and hatred.
http://www.internetbookshop.it/code/9788842083801/zagrebelsky-gustavo/virtu-del-dubbio.html
Now I’m imagining Gustavo trying to buy a frigde at the Trade Fair. Zanussi? Ariston? Candy? Minchia c’e troppa scelta!
But I’ll grant Daphne one thing: in a land of Iljuni tal-Bidla and Eileen Montesin interviews with the Prime Minister, Her Pragmatic Highness is probably spot on when she says that it’s pointless talking about this pretentious crap.
Incidentally, it’s probably worth mentioning at this stage that we’ve collected a nice collection of labels, tags and insults in the past weeks. Jacques – the prat, time to grow up. Raphael – the sad, 36 year-old single obsessive, Gonzi-hater. Viktor – what was it? Sad Mintoffian loser? Claire – obnoxious lawyer.
I say, fair enough, par for the course in a colourful debate but…simply very very disappointing.
Viva San Filep! Viva San Bastjan! Viva s-Salvatur! Ta’ l-ajkla kollha l**a, ja qatta hmieg!
Fausto, You seem convinced there will not be a third (or fourth or fifth) voice in parliament. Yet all the smaller parties are stepping up their campaign efforts and still seem convinced that they will be ‘the one’. Why? Do they know something you don’t know?
Why? Do they know something you don’t know?
They don’t want to admit something everyone should know. Granted, the Greens scored quite a success in the 2004 EP elections. But if you look at the LC elections since 2005 they have been faring miserably. Not to mention surveys.
The only “source” is what Harry Vassallo says people tell him on the campaign trail. Hardly a reliable source.
PcP – how about cricising tye CONTENT/
Fancy a mega-night club at Mistra?
AD is convinced not just that there will be a coalition but that AD will be part of it. That is combined with a resistance to discussing what form a coalition with MLP might take.
In the other corner there is AN, still speaking of a three party coalition.
Are all these people obtuse, then?
Victor, aren’t you too old for night clubs?
Are all these people obtuse, then?
Probably. Or just delusional.
Where does that place the “lesser evil” voters who say they will vote but not for MLP or PN?
Cora: Are all these people obtuse, then?
Fausto: Probably. Or just delusional.
Beginning to read like a david mamet script. How long, I wonder, before you realise how incredibly condescending you sound?
The following document was published by the Ministry of Health.
Click to access showdoc.aspx
Interesting reading.
Ant this is another one.
Click to access showdoc.aspx
Will comment after reading it carefully.
Sant waiting for Jeffrey Pullicino Orland to be absent before defaming him is totally spineless. We’re probably talking about our future prime minister, people.
Apparently, JPO decided to stop for lunch rather than to follow Dr Sant straight away.
In this case, the expression ‘JPO missed the boat’ is more appropriate.
Boat trips on Saturdays are scheduled every 45minutes. Did the conference at Mistra take longer than that?
Strangely, the army helicopter was not called in this time!
Where does that place the “lesser evil” voters who say they will vote but not for MLP or PN?
They might as well have stayed at home.
Beginning to read like a david mamet script. How long, I wonder, before you realise how incredibly condescending you sound?
Come on, Raph. As if it were not obvious.
I think the Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando business was absolutely hilarious. After being chased by Jeffrey for two days, Sant brings a press conference forward by 40 minutes, safe in the knowledge that Jeffrey is getting on the next ferry from Gozo, rushes to Mistra, gets his aides to ring the press, then rushes through his spiel before Jeffrey gets there. What a spineless prat. The greatest proof that he’s twisting the truth is that he can’t do it to the person’s face: what a coward. He really knows how to instill respect in the electorate.
And what was that performance in Gozo this morning, anyway? Did he have half a bottle of whisky for breakfast or what? He couldn’t even get his words out straight – that slow, deliberate speech of the person who’s had far too much to drink at the dinner-table, while everyone cringes waiting for the swear-words to start spewing out. And guess what? They did – apparently, Gozitan zaghzagh are ‘inkazzati’ in Gozo. Why do his aides let him take to the podium in that state? I was embarrassed for him just watching him over the television.
I see you have much in common with someone named Dr. Austin Gatt, Daphne. What’s wrong with a slow speech? Does one have to shout whenever he speaks on a podium? I didn’t see anyone that seemed drunk. But then again, we know that you see things from a different set of glasses and it seems appropriate for you to do so, and spreading your scaremongering political agenda, seeing that you earn your living from spreading loathe about a public persona.
Thank you for the information Daphne. 😉
I saw you post on another thread, and tell Raphael to stop ‘hating’ Gonzi and then this comes from a particular person speads loathe about Sant herself. You only want to hear and accept what your ears wish to hear and block everything else out if it conflicts with your views.
And big props to you when you say it is not easy to find a Labourite with something between his ears and in general Labourites are not known to be so bright. Then you want the Maltese public to take your articles seriously, after such statements.
Go ahead, label me as an MLP elf or another label you deem appropriate since we have areas of disagreement.
Dafnay, there isn’t another MINTOFF anywhere, but there’s a lot of Dafnays….I call them party-shills or pigs at the trough.
Dafnay, HAVE YOU NO SHAME?
You criticise Sant’s wig, his walk, his manners and even his speech. What did this man ever do to you that you have so much hatred for him? Do you realise what you’re putting yourself into? What are you gonna do if and when he becomes PM?
Look in the mirror Daffy, you ain’t what one would call “perfect” you know.
Vince! what are you saying?? Inferring she’s done for if Sant becomes PM…? Scuze me, are you planning on voting for a leader who once in power might silence his harshest critics? You’re in Malta you know, not Libya. Having said that, I recognize that I am probably alluding to a fantasia scenario where Maltese politicians accept that, in being civil servants (last time i checked that means they are employed to serve the people, not the other way round), they cannot silence their critics (who are paying towards their salary as much as supporters are). I wish GonziPN had had such a rabid critic snapping at his ankles-maybe he wouldnt have gotten away so easily with all the corruption he seems to have undersigned. Its actually people like DCG who make Malta like Libya when they freely exercise their right to lambast public figures but whistle for the cavalry when they are made fun of.
Re. Fausto and Cora and their James Mamet script.
Go ahead keep up the momentum. As a voter with no ties I am still in the process of very slow reasoning (yep. I’m not Bill Gates) as to who to vote for. I’ve ruled out Labour much to the jubilation of some and the frustration of others. I have a big problem voting PN because of the way it has treated basic democratic issues – its attitude to the sovereignty of ALL the people is in a pitiful state. Where does that leave me? An AD with a fixation of a coalition that is remotely possible (and even if it gets in a position to form a coalition it cannot form it anyway because big bully won’t play ball and form a compromise government) and AN which will only get my vote if hell freezes over.
So. Where does little sibling Cora hope to lead people with her absolutely ridiculous scenarios about coalitions? Does she not realise that people like me do not give two hoots about coalitions but are more than worried about the idea that a potential government is comfortable with the idea of a Wasted vote? Not just comfortable but eager to use it as a weapon.
So where does this taunting lead me? I might not just be speaking for myself when I say that this kind of attitude (coupled with Daphne’s constant emotionally based forays of condescending claptrap) push me straight back to where I started this campaign… a number one vote for AD. At this point I think that only a very very strong guarantee from Gonzi (who incidentally can do one or two “I will not answer the question” tricks when he likes) that he will immediately work to introduce proportional representation will make me think about changing my mind (depending on the offer).
Just keep it up guys. Wasted vote? If there are many others like me then your efforts (and those goes mainly for you Daphne) do not help much in recycling it.
As for getting lost in the jungle with Daphne.. .she hopes it would never happen because we would never ask for directions. Even if the situation were remotely possible I don’t quite see how asking for directions in a jungle could ever be much help. Who would you ask Daph? The fakawi tribe? And what directions would you get? Follow the light from Portomaso tower and turn left at the showroom tal-volvo? U hallina.
MLP has no charisma and isnt terribly convincing in its political strategies but I suspect that, like in the UK-when theory becomes practice, when ideology meets hardcore practicalities- the distinctions between Labour (New Labour) and Nationalist(Conservative) political ideology will be hard to detect. At least there’s a chance that a new govt may work its darndest to appease the people with a view to securing as good a run in power as the PN has had. Its beyond me to understand how anyone can contemplate voting for a party which is blatantly complacent about ethics and arrogantly dismissive about culpability, solely on the basis of its successes! But then I’m not pragmatic-I’m idealistic. I should pack up my toys and retire to an idyllic island in the sun…hey wait! I thought I had. Sod it. My space capsule must have drifted into the wrong dimension.
“Justin BB Says:
March 1, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Yes, welcome to Malta people escaping oppression and/or hunger. Malta, a nation built on Christian principle, will do its utmost to share the promise of a better life with you.”
Well ,that welcome of yours covers approximately ONLY 5 to 10 per cent of those arriving irregularly on our shores. And that is offical information . Ergo, you are not welcoming the other 90 per cent , or are you?
Be specific please and no waffling either.
“Cora Says:
March 1, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Are all these people obtuse, then?”
I would phrase it as well meaning, but shortsighted and gullible.
,
“Daphne Says:
March 1, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I think the Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando business was absolutely hilarious. ”
Me too, especially when the word was going round about the possibility of him being groomed for a ministry connected with the enviorment.
“And what was that performance in Gozo this morning, anyway?. ………………………………..Why do his aides let him take to the podium in that state? I was embarrassed for him just watching him over the television.”
Bet that plenty more embaressment all round will be evident by tomorrow evening when the book with the whole story of the alleged JPO/MEPA-related story will be on sale at the MLP activity beig advertised for tomorrow.
“VINCE COLLINS Says:
March 2, 2008 at 12:01 am
Dafnay, there isn’t another MINTOFF anywhere, but there’s a lot of Dafnays….I call them party-shills or pigs at the trough.
Dafnay, HAVE YOU NO SHAME?
You criticise Sant’s wig, his walk, his manners and even his speech. What did this man ever do to you that you have so much hatred for him? Do you realise what you’re putting yourself into? What are you gonna do if and when he becomes PM?
Look in the mirror Daffy, you ain’t what one would call “perfect” you know.”
Daphne,with her great journalistic talent can be unbeatable and better then even the best , if she only stops letting her past, poison her present and her future ., and if she opens her heart and mind for some real and unconditional love.
Re that ridiculous obsession with wigs., well Vince Farrugia wear one and so does David Casa and she has not written any volumes about the subject now, has she?
🙂
Today, the media didn’t let an independent candidate have his 5 minute speech. He had two strikes against him:
1) he mentioned the illegal immigration problem repeatedly
2) he is Norman Lowell.
This is getting ridiculous.
I agree with Keith. Unless Norman Lowell turns his speech on National Television into a vulgar one and/or incites racial hatred, he should be allowed to speak his mind. It is one of the basic rules of democracy.
Afterall, though Norman Lowell exaggerates sometimes, the illegal immigration dilemma is a indeed a serious national issue no matter how much we try to ignore it.
I got curious about what he said and found his speech on youtube. I don’t see it inciting racial hatred. PBS probably knew they wouldn’t air his speech before it was even recorded.
So what if I don’t agree with him? He is still an independent candidate who deserves his 5 minutes.
serious national issue. for real? sorry, phooee. I think its a smokescreen; an easy fallback on kneejerk base tribal instincts. The influx of dodgy East European and Russian contingents is more disconcerting. But then they’re Caucasians (sweet talk meaning whites). How come it hasnt been a serious national issue in Dubai which flourishes as it does when its been built on the backs of Indian/Philipino labour? They came in on legal work permits? Maybe maybe not. We need to accept that we cant stop the illegal immigrants; and we shouldnt just bitch about it-we should exploit it. We’re Smart Island after all arent we?
Perhaps some quarters fear that the greater the influx of “Third World” people, the less we’ll be able to secure our identity as a “European” country? (This may tie in with the blanket dismissal of Arab/Muslim influence on the sociological fabric of Maltese society engineered by the Church).
Of course Lowell deserves his 5 minutes-the best way to fine-tune what we really value and wish to uphold/preserve in our society is to have the say of controversial voices.
If you love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.
– Samuel Adams
Nowhere did Matthew say that eastern europeans who outstay their visas are not part of the problem.
I may have missed it, but he didnt say that it is. And i didnt see the Lowell speech to know if he mentioned it either. Enlighten me 🙂
It doesn’t interest me in the least that an independent candidate didn’t mention eastern europeans and asians outstaying their visas in his speech. They are a huge part of the illegal immigration problem, regardless of whether he mentions them or not. We have brains of our own to use.
Why don’t you tell us your name OUT LOUD AND PROUD instead of insinuating Mr Matthew Aquilina is racist against Africans simply because he called the ILLEGAL immigration problem, “a serious issue.” Yes, it is a problem. Yes, it is a serious issue. Deal with it.
Jacques: Why, when this blog has an audience of thousands, did you imagine my questions were addressed to you personally? I put the questions here because it seemed to be the only space where people might talk about coalitions without the conversation revolving solely around AD.
The ‘absolutely ridiculous coalition scenarios’ as you call them are not mine. Those scenarios are being touted as possibilities by the smaller parties themselves. AN continues to say that it prefers a coalition that includes “the best minds” of both major parties. Norman Lowell is convinced he’ll bring down government if he doesn’t get his way on the single issue that irks him. There many people who believe he’ll be elected and able to influence government decisions.
Those are just two examples.
My original questions on this blog were about the workings of coalitions and their potential for representing small party voters. I’d asked why discussion of coalitions always revolved around AD as the minor partner, when there are other possibilities. AD was once a small party and now it boasts a cast of thousands. What’s to stop the other smaller parties going the same way?
Raphael: Why is it condescending to ask Fausto Majjistral if s/he thinks coalition voters are obtuse?
That has been my reasoning all the way Jacques. If people continue to avoid voting for the alternative, because of scaremongering or whatever we want to call it, Malta will get nowhere.
AD may not be elected. So what. But if I reason differently, I would squander the opportunity of having a more objective voice in parlament.
I decided and there is no turning back.
AD
Vince, you ask what Alfred Sant did to me. Your sense of detachment from the situation is amazing – but then that could be because you’re in Canada. Perhaps you don’t understand how prime ministers of a small country can either damage people’s lives or make them better? Sant didn’t to anything to ME personally, but he sure as hell did a lot of damage to the country I LIVE IN. Why can’t I stand him? Let’s see now – do you want a list? Close to the top of the lot is his presidency of the corrupt, violent Labour Party in the mid-1980s, but at the very top are his determined attempts to stop me and my sons from getting hold of that EU passport we wanted and needed – not just me, but this is something that hit everyone directly, which is why people took it so personally. Oh, and then when I voted Yes in the referendum along with the majority of the population, he said that he didn’t give a fig what I thought. How about that? The man should have been buried politically a long time ago. Half the people on this blog are working elsewhere in Europe. If that nasty piece of work had got his way, they’d be stuck in Valletta, working in some crap job, with no hope of leaving unless they married somebody with a foreign passport. Or emigrated to Canada in the next immigrant quota, like you did.
Jacques, Cora isn’t my ‘little sibling’. She’s taller than I am and much smarter, with a postgraduate degree from the London School of Economics. She’s one of the few people on this blog who actually knows what she’s talking about, the others being Patrick Tabone and the supremely well-informed Fausto Majjistral. I won’t add myself to the list, but isn’t it an amazing coincidence that the sensible, well-informed people have all made the sensible, well-informed choice in this election?
My election diary went live last night – http://www.daphnecaruanagalizia.com
Ha tirrispondi ‘l dawk li wiegbuk, jew sempliciment kuntent li Dephne taghtek ic-cans taghmilha ta’ l-urtat u l-muguh?
There is a section in your blog dedicated to the 70’s and the sex pistols.
I remember an album by the sex pistols.
The name of the album was “Never mind the bullokcs”
That word is very apt to describe the manner in which the issue of corruption has been handled by the administration during the past 4 years.
A pertinent question is ,”Do they have people like Daphne in Canada?”….. Hopefully not!
Does it take so much guts to leave the so-called diary open to comments? But then you would hve to reply which was never your ‘forte’. Monologues are alwasy preferable,
http://www.espresso.com.mt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=455&Itemid=34
Frankly, Daphne, you’re being too personal and this:
“I won’t add myself to the list, but isn’t it an amazing coincidence that the sensible, well-informed people have all made the sensible, well-informed choice in this election?”
Is probably the most glaring covert act of megalomania witnessed since Lowell’s times!
Daphne, you are lower than low, you are a shame to our country, you live on another planet in la la land. Friends, do you know that your highness Daphne qouted that “even if you trawled the length of the Islands, they probably woudn’t find a single kid at ballet lessons whose parents vote Labour”. Who do you think you are Daphne? Anyway, if that was so, I would rather have my children not attending ballet, which is not the case, than having kids like yours, you know what I am talking about, just look at their conduct. And do us a favour keep it up, as you have helped with the downfall of Gonzipn with your arrogance. You can write back and say what ever you want to me, I don”t give a hoot, you are filled with such hatred for the Labour party and its supporters, if you had your way you would exterminate us but that would leave you with a quarter of the population. Well Daphne I am off to join our united team at another festive meeting, I will vote Labour next Saturday, yeehaaaaaaaaaaa
Well, well, I see that you got one page half and a half on the Malta INDEPENDENT of insults towards anything that is Labour. SURPRISE. Old News.
I believe that divorce is wrong, so it must be wrong for everyone.
I have come to the sensible and informed conclusion that I will vote for PN. Therefore anyone who does not vote for PN is ignorant and ill-informed.
The possibility of different solutions to the same problem is not considered. What’s worse is that different people considering other aspects of a problem are deemed to be ignorant, self-indulgent, immature… Some take a look at AS and MLP’s comedy of errors, lies, corruption etc and, understandably, decide to vote PN. Others take one look at PN’s economic record and decide, understandably, that they want more of the same. That’s fine, but it is not ignorant for others to consider systemic corruption to be equally important. Nor is it ignorant for others to vote for a progressive agenda. Others might want to vote for a system of governance rather than a government. It isn’t ignorant to do so. It is simply symptomatic of different people having different priorities. Nor is it ignorant to seriously consider and ponder one’s choice of representatives.
I think that in many ways Gonzi is the best PM that Malta has ever had. I also think that Sant was a terrible PM ten years ago, was a shameless leader of the opposition, and will not be any better if he is elected this time round. Yet I still have reservations about voting for PN because I am disgusted by what Gonzi has tolerated and continues to tolerate and justify, whether it is anti-democratic behaviour or incompetence. I know that the best way for my vote to contribute to PN staying in government is by voting for PN. Perhaps I will conclude that Gonzi vs Sant is in fact the most important consideration. Alternatively, I might conclude that a truly representative democracy is more important. I might support a strong environmental agenda because I honestly think that there is nothing more important than our habitat. I will dither some more and ponder my decision because the only time that I need to be convinced is still a week away.
The main difference between African and east European/Asian visa overstayers is that the latter will be deported when caught and they are not a burden on the state. African klandestini on the other hand are costing us a considerable percentage of the health and defence budget (~15%). Their culture is so different to ours that they can never integrate no matter what the bleeding hearts would have us believe.
Multi-culti has been discredited everywhere it was tried, it will fail even more miserably in insular Malta. Gonzipn is going to learn this the hard way on Saturday. Ignoring the illegal immigration problem was Gonzi’s worst tactical mistake.
Lowell’s 5 minute speech having been banned from PBS will have little effect on his electoral performance. As if anybody in Malta doesn’t know what NL thinks of Africans. 90%+ of the population probably agree with him too.
What this censorship has done is highlighted the sorry state of democracy in Malta.
Justin, let us give this man a chance, we have the power as a nation to chose our PM, five years will pass and judgement day will come again. Change is healthy, it will kill the roots and arrogance. If we do not show our power as a nation that we are the ones to decide who is good and who is not, then we are all to blame if they keep on with their dirty laundry.
So where does this taunting lead me? I might not just be speaking for myself when I say that this kind of attitude (coupled with Daphne’s constant emotionally based forays of condescending claptrap) push me straight back to where I started this campaign… a number one vote for AD.
Wow, am I surprised.
Carol, we gave the man a chance in 96 and he blew it. He has had ten years to offer a credible alternative and he has blown that too in my book. I do not want to give him another chance because I am convinced that he is dishonest, amoral and incompetent.
Yes, change is healthy but I wouldn’t replace dirty laundry with laundry that is dirtier still.
Alfred Sant is dishonest? If I can label him every word in the book, that’s the one thing I won’t call him. I would reserve that for Mr. Gonzi.
Yes Alfred Sant is both intellectually dishonest and dishonest in the sense that he lies.
Relatively petty examples: stating that the MLP manifesto includes things that have already been done because of a computer malfunction; stating that the reduction in the surcharge was always intended to apply across the board…
Serious examples: misleading voters about the removal of cash registers; stating that stipends would not be touched; stating that the management of the dockyards would remain in workers’ hands; fabricating stories about corruption; utter misrepresentation of the healthcare saga; stating that ‘partnership’ won; stating that De La Salle has a reception class of the same sort that he proposes to introduce nationally; and the list goes on…
Well, I am not arrogant and I respect your wishes. I have suffered under this government so I have my own opinion about them. I once learned..that not everything is what it seems. I am ready to take a chance like a lot of other people who will be voting Labour, I am sure that he has learnt by his mistakes. He who lives in a glass house should not throw stones.
Dafnay, I came to Canada during the time of the PN/Church rule, just before GBO won independence from Ma Britain, April 64 to be exact…..in 62 at fifteen I was arrested and kept at the Paola Police station for fourteen hours coz I put a poster of Mintoff on the wall of the church just prior to the 62 election when there was no Maltese government and there was some sort of “emergency rule” where you couldn’t do certain things blah blah blah, too far back to remember.
The thing with you is that you get too personal, you’re the only one who’s always bringing up Sant’s wig, manner of speech, cancer and other personal things, Beck hates Sant more than you do but I’ve never read anywhere in his articles where he mentions Sant’s wig.
As for the rest of your “opinions” you’re entitled to them but then so is everybody else, so stop trying to impose on others, they have a brain, maybe not as big as yours but they do have one.
ps…PN 25..MLP 16…GANADO 4..PELLEGRINI..4 MABEL..1
The world did not come to an end,
To R.Cauchi….do we have people like Dafnay in Canada?
NO. The closest I’ve seen is in the US..Maureen Dowd, she has BDS like Dafnay has SDS (Sant Derangement Syndrome), but at least she writes against Hillarious and Hussein too, but Dafnay is obsessed with Sant and anything that does not reach her high standards, whatever they are.
What about Anne Coulter?
“The best PM Malta ever had…….”
Was he being serious?
Anne Coulter is a real conservative who “tells it like it is”, does not matter if it’s Bush, McCain, Hillarious, Hussein or whoever.
PLEASE, do not compare Dowd or Dafnay with Ann Coulter. Read a few of her columns at http://www.anncoulter.com or some of her best selling books and you’ll know what I mean.
She’s been touted to take over from Bill Buckley as the US’ foremost conservative.
Smart, witty and biting.
Yes I was serious. Maybe I should qualify that – the best PM in my lifetime (born 1979). Who would you pick Vic?
Mintoff? KMB? EFA? Sant?
Mintoff, by a long shot.
I did read some of her stuff, Vince – my stomach is still trying to recover.
Vince Collins – smart, witty and biting?
This short clip, which is pretty representative of her public persona, would seem to disprove your claim.
Oh, and as an aside – I sincerely hope that your political opinions aren’t formed from reading the likes of her.
Ann Coulter beleives that the greenhouse effect and darwinism are two big lies.
I rest my case.
Justin
The arguments you put forward are indeed very valid. In my case the issues that will determine which party to vote for are as follows:
1. Accountability
2. Efficiency
3. Honesty
Perhaps, I am in the not so enviable position to state that in the past fifteen years, I have witnessed first hand, the performance of the past and present governments, the errors in financing, the mismanagement blunders, the portraying of a totally distorted picture to the public. What is being revealed in the press by the different parties, AD and also up to a certain extent Labour are what I would define as the tip of the iceberg.
A good leader should be judged by his performance but also, and perhaps more importantly by the performance of his team. If Malta had the structures and the efficiency of the higher echelons of Strasbourg, Brussels or Luxembourg (of which I am no expert), but we would be in a much better position four years after Dr Gonzi took possession of his post at Castille. This is where I feel that Dr Gonzi has failed. He is a good man, although I must also admit that the events of last week have somewhat tarnished that view.
He had the opportunity in the past years to change his team and deliver better governance. He chose not to. Why? The answer is obvious. Any demotion to present ministers would have caused a serious internal rift within the Nationalist Party. The leadership skills of Dr Gonzi are very questionable.
Like I said….Ann is a true conservative, something you liberals and socialists would not understand.
Jon, Darwinism and climate change ARE BIG LIES.
Jacbin, I hope you don’t rely on YouTube to form your opinion of Ann Coulter.
You guys stick to Dafnay, Boxcar Berta, Janice Chetcuti, Benoit et al and I’ll stick to MS,Coulter.
PS…she’s a lot more beautiful too.
Daphne Says:
March 2, 2008 at 10:44 am
informed choice in this election?
My election diary went live last night – http://www.daphnecaruanagalizia.com
The cyber equivalent of Maghtab.
PROSIT TO EX-AZZJONI KATTOLIKA PRESIDENT LAURENCE GONZI for allowing such filth to be thrown about on his behalf and that of his Religio Et Patria party.
And then they went to censor nutty old Norman ………………………..?
Hi Matthew A, wow just came back from our meeting, it was simply the best. Yes we are united, united to make a change for our beautiful country. The real count down is on, I have faith in the intellegence of our nation. On another note, why are the pn offended that we use EU flags at out meetings, let me remind you that there were labour supporters who voted YES for EU, so they have the right to wave the EU flag like anyone else, they do not however need to be pn supporters to wave the EU flag. And just before I put my head down to sleep, what’s all this bull about DNA, I was there when Charles Mangion said at the meeting that the PN MP’s must have something wrong in their DNA to be against social services, and not once did he refere to PN suppoters, so cut the bull and lies and just be honest and quote what was really said.
Carol – sorry to have to point this out, but you really don’t think straight. You go to a Labour meeting and wave an EU flag about because you voted Yes in the referendum (and so, I presume, also for the PN in the general election that followed). But you don’t see anything odd in the fact that the man you’re shrieking for, the man you are trying to bring back as prime minister, is THE VERY ONE WHO IGNORED YOUR VOTE IN THE REFERENDUM, THE VERY ONE WHO OUTDID HIMSELF TRYING TO KEEP MALTA OUT OF EUROPE AND DENY YOU AN EU PASSPORT.
Tell me something here, are you one of those women who keep going back to a man who hits them (u no, jahasra, he didn’t mean it, he was drunk, he loves me really).
I give up. When people are senseless, they’re REALLY senseless.
Thank you for the publicity, Gamma – much appreciated. As a brand-new blog, and an 11th-hour decision, it needs all the promotion it can get. Continue to spread the word, please.
So you’re an oldie, Vince. Well, I’m glad to find out that you and I never lived in the same country. You left Malta before I was born.
Daphne don’t use your usual arrogance we are sick of it, I never said I voted yes, you assumed dear and made an ass of yourself (as usual). Who I support is none of your buisness, you have no divine right to tell me what to do, are you my mum now!!! We live in a democratic counrty and we all use our vote as we wish. If being PN means our kids are like Osama bin Galizia then I am proud to be Labour. Your words are lost on me your highness as I know what the PN are capable of, I do not need you to preach to me who is right to govern, I was not born yesterday. And no my partner does not hit me, and is neither gay.
And Daphne forget cosmetic surgery you need to be reincarnated to come back as a better person. good day : )
The issue here is not Daphne. She pops in early in the morning and shoots every opinion and blogger that dares to write against her values.
She states that she is not here to convinve those who write in this blog, because they are prima donnas.
Well Daphne, we all know why you are here. You are here to try and convince those 15,000+ voters that you call disgruntled nationalists not to vote for AD or for MLP. That is a mammoth task. Therefore, I urge you to continue calling people senseless, brainless, spineless, stupid, morons, marionettes and so on. I wish you success in your endeavours.
Now try to convince us that the following equations are not true.
GonziPN Accountability = Corruption, Mismanagement
GonziPN Values = (dis)Honesty = Dr Gonzi and his Ministers
GonziPN Principles = The word ‘principles’ is missing from the GonziPN dictionary
Haricot, you’re completely wrong. I’m here to bait you not convince you. As I explained on another thread, I have the personality of my Staffordshire bull terrier (dogs match their owners). When I come across people who reason like this, I can’t resist putting a rocket under them or nipping at their ankles.
And I ESPECIALLY LOVE people like ‘Carol’, who are so obviously ridden with a thousand chips, class anxiety, social angst, fear of The Other Who Might Be Better, and burdened with a crippling inferiority complex, sometimes even despite physical good looks and a list of personal achievements. If you’re raised to feel that others are out to get you, that others have what might rightfully be yours, that others are ‘arrogant’ (but you’re not, no matter how rude and common your behaviour is), this is what happens to kids when they grow up. They become like Carol.
They will never be comfortable socially because no matter what they do or how high they climb, they’re dogged by this nagging feeling that they’re not quite good enough or that somebody will ‘find them out’. They support the Party of the Inferiority Complex because it speaks straight to their heart and makes them feel secure. That’s why people like Carol only feel comfortable when ‘their party’ is in power. It makes them feel they’re at the top of the table.
I’ll never forget how amusing I found it when, in October/November 1996, all the Super One people started coming down (in a group for moral support) to the ‘tal-pepe’ hang-outs in St Julian’s. They’d obviously never felt ‘good enough’ to do so before, but the minute the government was ‘theirs’, they felt they good face anyone down, even the ‘tal-pepe’ they looked down upon but secretly wanted to socialise with.
And here’s the really funny thing – even if they had popped in for a drink a couple of years before that, they would have been welcomed with open arms because most people like to see a new face in a bar instead of always the same ones. Nobody was stopping them mixing with anyone else, but their couldn’t break through their hang-ups.
Incidentally, Carol – I never mentioned anything about your partner being gay. As far as I know, gay men don’t hit women. They just take an interest in their clothes, and no woman I know has ever complained about that.
“When I come across people who reason like this, I can’t resist putting a rocket under them or nipping at their ankles”.
Now, now, Daphne, that’s quite a fetish trait.
Well Daphne, the only one who bit the bait in this electoral campaign happens to be Dr Gonzi, when he forgot that cabinet had discussed issues related to fees associated with health care! Did he really forget? I think not.
As to your remarks about Carol, I will let her respond. I am sure she has something between her ears (apologies for using your jargon, Daphne). Some inferiority complex!
Back in the 1990’s, you claim that you would have been eager to see new faces in the bars in Sliema. Nationwide, the Maltese people are eager to see a change in mentality, a change in the management of Government affairs, a change in the way public finances are handled. I assure you that the majority do not suffer from an inferiority or superiority complex.
Daphne’s contribution above :
Paragraph 4 :
“… they good face anyone down…”
“…their couldn’t break through their hang-ups.”
What did you drink for breakfast this morning? Vodka?
Has anyone read yesterday’s MaltaToday survey results?
The sample they chose wasn’t representative. I was hoping it would be done well – I’m dying to see a situation profile…
Daphne, all of Malta heard you cheering Dr.Gonzi last evening on Super one news. I
t happened when Dr Gonzi was visiting a cow farm.
Whilst Dr Gonzi was talking , a shrill cow could be heard mooing persistantly in the back ground.
😀
“Keith Chircop Says:
March 3, 2008 at 10:25 am
Has anyone read yesterday’s MaltaToday survey results?
The sample they chose wasn’t representative. I was hoping it would be done well – I’m dying to see a situation profile”…
Anyone heard anything of the survey that Peppi Azzopardi and yesterday’sT imes kept under wraps so far?”
The Times conducted a survey as well?
Keith,
The conclusions that can be drawn from MaltaToday’s survey published yesterday, and those published the previous Sundays are more or less the same.
The figure indicated in my earlier post is a careful and conservative interpretation of those surveys.
Surveys of course may be incorrect, depending on the size of the sample. Nevertheless, the Tables in MaltaToday successive surveys with resepct to the voters’ intentions of 2008 when compared to the voting patterns of 2003 appear to be consistent.
At the end of a mathematical proof, the following is genearlly used:
quod erat demonstrandum
or
Q.E.D.
Now, if anyone can disprove the equations I wrote further up in this thread,
I would be happy to vote for Dr Gonzi and PN (I make the distinction between Dr Gonzi and PN because PN is not made up of one single person).
For information purposes to those who might attempt this exercise, I did vote for PN in the past and have no regrets about my decisions then and that includes 2003. This election, however, is a totally different matter.
Assumption is the mother of all fuck ups. I’m using the word ‘fuck’ as it is acceptable nowadays to utter it in a public fora… the police will not prosecute me for sure for using such a word as, according to sociologists, it is a socially accepted tabooed word. Anyways, Daphne assumes that people like Carol only feel comfortable when ‘their party’ is in power’ because of this so-called inferiority complex. Perhaps people like Daphne feel more comfortable when ‘their’ party is in power too, as they would show to all their superiority complex. But why is this so? There is no doubt about the fact that Daphne feels kind of superior than others. It would be interesting to analyse why. Maybe because she lives in the same street where Dr Ray of 90210 lives? Because as far as I know she lives in Malta as well. Is it maybe because she knows how to twist her tongue better than others when she speaks English, or perhaps because she thinks that the PN has a divine right to govern? Who knows, maybe Carol was a nationalist supporter in the past and have had a change of heart now. Does this make her inferior than others? So Daphne is saying that those who support labour are in a way inferior than others, others being PN supporters obviously. How wrong is poor Daphne!
People like Daphne think, or perhaps assume, that labour supporters are not entiltled to speak good Englih, drive BMWs, own villas or seafront apartments in Sliema.
Perhaps she even assumes that next Sunday the MLP supporters will have no right to celebrate in Sliema….. well, we will see about that:)
Dear Daphne, if someone is rude and common it you my dear. When ever someone dares to show their opinion you attack like a desperate cobra. I wonder who of us suffers from an inforiority complex!!!. The problem with you is that you think you can write and offend anyone who dares to stand up to you. Daphne I never insult pn supporters as I have many friends who support them, I only state my rightfull opinion without attacking or hurting anyone. On the contrary you offend anyone and anything that is Labour, and here is your problem Daphne, just leave us alone we are sick of your insults, your prejudice and your arrogance, yes, your arrogance, because only an arrogant person thinks that he is always right. Sorry wiz of oz I am not an x pn supporter, and one thing for sure is that I never suffered from inferioity. I just believe that gonzi did not deliver and now has a bunch of corrupted Ministers and it’s time for a change. I did not need to join the EU to feel good about myself and have a EU passport, I never had a problem to travel around the world. Way back the pn once said that we would all die of hunger if we kicked out the British, here we are today enjoying our counrty, and not being kicked out of Marsa tal-Inglizi, or cleaning the houses of the British wives. People like you Daphne divide the nation and sow hatred amongst us. As I said before, you must live in La La land, we are all Maltese and the only thing that matters is we are all related to someone who shares a different opinion to us, we still love them and care for them. So, stop sowing hatred and grow up, if you have half a brain you should know that attacking people just because they do not bow to you, in itself, is attacking democracy.
Hi Daphne, I really thought that you were something Daphne, being outspoken and talk about anyone, in the manner you do….. But how LOW CAN YOU GO, Attacking someone personally, HAVE you ever looked in a mirror !!. Guess not. And Please We are aware where you live, and hopefully if we win, we will come and let you hear our horns. I have a very strong Feeling that we will win !!!
More bad news for the PN… did you hear about yesterday’s hunters gathering?
That huge testosterone-filled crowd was told by the FKNK president that the MLP had given “Written guarantees” that they will saveguard hunting. And he told the hunters to vote for the party that safeguards them. We can guess which. (certainly not AD)
Matthew that is what happens when you use people and lie to them. Dr Sant said that he will repect the UE directives on hunting, if, there is nothing he can do to rectify the situation, and did not make any empty promises to the hunters. I heard him myself say this, so I am not quoting hearsay.
I beg to differ Rangie.
Your feeling is incorrect.
There is a gun pointed at my head.
I have no choice but to vote for GonziPN, otherwise I might risk becoming the victim of a russian roulette.
Thanks to people like Daphne, I have finally seen the light!
If I vote for any party other than Gonzipn, I will not be able to breathe anymore after Monday 10th March. Let us be frank, if Labour wins, one of the repercussions will be that Earth will no longer rotate, and the sun will no longer be visible at around 6:30am, the oxygen content in the Earth’s atmosphere will reach a very low level, with the result that I will suffocate. No oxygen in the atmosphere, means that it would be the end of days. I will not dare vote for AD, AN or MLP!
WOW Daphne, Can wait to see Saturday’s results, Hmmmm have a Pretty strong feeling about this. Seems that the days are NUMBERED !!!
Please drop us a message, if you would like to joins us in the celebrations.
AS they say if you cant beat them join them !!
No party can resolve the hunting issue with the EU. They want us to abolish hunting and that’s that.
However, if hunters are dumb enough to think MLP or AN will have their way against the mighty EU, they will get MLP elected.
I agree with hunting being abolished. However, I think since they feel PN have betrayed them and MLP told them the truth that they will be at risk of having to give up their hobby, with ascession to the EU, might be another factor that works against the PN.
The only way hunters can show their frustration is going to the polling booths unless they gather en masse and shoot people lol
Hericot you are really something, I laughed so much I cried. You are so right that thanks to people like Daphne a lot of people have seen the light. I have a lot of friends who are voting Labour for the first time and I am sure they will not regret it. I gave the PN a chance once, but in their books once you are marked Labour you will die a Labour, and suffer for it. I am stating this through experience, the difference between the two parties is that Labour would give you a chance irrelavant of your past belief. Rangie do not waste time blowing your horn near her house, she will be on La La land that day wearing ear plugs with a bottle of valium in her hand singing the Titanic theme.
Hmm carol It was only an expression, I would not be interested in loosing anytime in the middle of nowhere Hooting my Horn, I will make sure that I will celebrate in Style and not just try to impose my feeling on anyone. Well I think that even though the election is a few days away, I can already feel the Celebration feeling.
I hunt innocent fish in Summer so I’d be a hypocrite to say bird-hunting (a passtime that is tens of thousands of years old) should be abolished.
Nobody can blame hunters for being royally pissed off at PN. They can vote AN or MLP to spite PN all they want. But voting AN or MLP in hopes of safeguarding their hobby would be repeating the same mistake they did the last time round.
Daphne, did it never occur to you that the people who “came down in 1966” were just sightseeing, hoping to see the ‘natives’ orderimg a plate of salad to be shared amomgst 4 and squabbling about the number pizza balls?
I don’t know why so many of you keep picking on poor Daphne. Anyone who feels comfortable in the company of an ex-President of Catholic Action is more to be pitied than mocked!!
On the lesser evil, which happens to be the subject of this blog:
The portrayal of facts about the events of this morning by the PBS newsroom during the 6pm news bulettin is to say the least shameful and that is an understatement. It was such a totally biased report!
Net news were more balanced than PBS in reporting this event.
Democracy at its best.
What is all this gush of orgasmic intellectualizing at the eleventh hour?(yes very impressive admittedly-I am truly in awe of the political acumen exhibited on this blog). But what IS this? Frenetic crisis management? As if we’re a collective chicken farm and someone threw a rabid fox among us. Jeezus Cluck is that what I think it is? Oh hell Cluck-Cluck, don’t say! Man we gotta DO summin! Lets flash our feathers!
The toxic minestra has been brewing for years. Maybe the first sign of fermenting rot to regurgitate out of the pot was the fiasco of Le Grande Palais de Malta in Brussels. Lots of sabre rattling in the media. Then oh fukkit, lets go to the beach. The attention span of a delinquent Playstation addict. Lets repeat the episode (seeing as delinquents probaby blinked and passed out), but change the scenery props…Manuel Dimech Bridge maybe?
If ever there was a time when I felt a family-oriented society was a synonym for disaster, its here, now, in Malta. Here the otherwise positive force of family-orientedness shows its darker shadow when manifested within a small-scale society and conspires to create democratic lockjaw. Small doesn’t mean impotent, as many blokes know…let me quote: Margaret Mead, American Cultural Anthropologist:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
In my limited understanding of local politics, its only recent history since people judged others as friend or foe according to their political affiliation. God, how tribal. Sheikh Sant or Sheikh Gonzi? Put your card down before I trade camels with you.
Its all about the money. Someone asked me in one of these threads if “vested interests” arent required to be successful (when I queried DCG’s possible sub-strata interests in keeping PN in power) . Oh most definitely. Within the parameters of local tribal politics, you’re fucked if your allegiances are otherwise and you submit a tender to government. Its big business baby. The government isn’t a body of civil servants working to secure benefits for the collective society-it’s a Corporation of corpulent suits, given the carte blanche, as they assume when granted accession to power, to milk the cow. For their benefit and the benefit of their cronies.
MONEY buys governments; not the voice of the workers; nor the voice of the needy. All we can do is demand the set up of civic monitor groups to give the ruling party a hell of a run for its money. And hopefully turn the tables and make POLITICIANS behave like chickens fretting (over their accountability) at the smell of a fox in their midst. So far it seems we only have the FAA thats effectively heating a poker and waving it at Govt’s ass. Albeit a good start. If there’s no change in govt, I foresee the Mater Dei Burns Unit being overwhelmed with 911 calls.
Ronald Cauchi Says:
“March 3, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I don’t know why so many of you keep picking on poor Daphne. Anyone who feels comfortable in the company of an ex-President of Catholic Action is more to be pitied than mocked!!”
Is the detritus being spewed out of her cyber watering closet sanctioned by the ex Azzjoni Kattolika president?
Will payment for services rendered be directly proportional to the amount of poison spewed?
The level of local journalism has never sunk so low in living history.
Shame.
Is Daphne’s blog an official part of the GonziPN machinery?
Is this the same lady who lost no opportunity just a few weeks ago to castigate fellow Maltese citizens for their Christianity or lack of it where irregular immigrants are concerned?
Your credibility is now zilch and more fool him who would pay two new cents in future for your raving hatefilled inconsistant schizophrenic ramblings to boost readership of his insipid paper.
How low the mighty have fallen.
oh dear, Shocked…typical woah is me pass the buck maltese irresponsibility. Who d fk is DCG that you pay so much attention to what she says? She’s playing fiddle from her white tower and you’re tapping to her rhythm like peasants would do.
What mighty have fallen? When were they mighty to begin with? Sounds like deluded sycophancy.
scuze me Shocked I dont mean to sound aggressive or confrontational….it just makes me sick to see how much attention an intellectually void rabble-rouser is generating-particularly in respect of the possibility that a rabble-rouser only has as much power as an intellectually void public gives it…
We don’t need this vacuous distraction-(and distraction IS the purpose of the personalized vacuous jibes).
Focus. Ignore diatribe. Ignore calculated manipulations of tribalism. Any possibility that concern amongst voters to represent, and support, the weakest might prevail???
Le le you are more than right, I know the reason why all this is happening, it’s because some people just can’t stand that our country now lives in peace and that violence is a word from the past. But if hatred is sowed dear friends and frustration builds up, maybe just maybe someone would fall in the trap hole and prove someone who is still living in the past that she was right. If you critisise a Government so be it, we all have the right to do so, but when you attack democracy and dictate to the people that their opinion is rubbish and they should all go to hell for their belief, then we are in trouble. I would like to thank Evarist for stealing the show last night, he was my favorite lecturer way back. Gonzi, was as usual playing the victim instead of cleaning up his act. I have learnt a lot these past few days, when you are asked a question that you cannot answer..attack, attack..defend..defend..but still, do not answer the question put to you, start a totally different subject.
Daphne seems to like talking to herself – I am not being allowed to ppst on her blog
I wonder why Ganni : )
Alternatiely Carol, you can scurry away like a rat and avoid confrontation, most probably because you are in the wrong. What a coward! Leadership qualities u think?
I don’t think that this Daphne has managed to swing ONE SINGLE VOTE to her cause with her ridiculous over-the-top attitude. She seems to have admitted this herself now ( “I’m here to bait you not convince you”). Her own admission of failure is the ultimate certifacte of her inefficaccy. Her only saving grace is her comic lack of self-deprecation – which is truly hilarious from some one who prides herself so much on being so deeply steeped in British traditions.
My advice to her as a concerned citizen : take it easy, go back to Eastenders, and take some time out to reflect on your mid-life crisis. In a few weeks’ time, when all this will have boiled over, anyone who mentions your name will either meet with a puzzled reply : “daphne who?” or else a patronising shrug, as when referring to a dotty aunt who has seen better days..
“In a higher world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” Cardinal John Newman
I love this one “It is not speaking that breaks our silence, but the anxiety to be heard. The words of the proud man impose silence on all others, so that he alone may be heard. The humble man speaks only in order to be spoken to.” Thomas Merton
Daphne has her own blog now. She can write whatever she wants on her website and she can also choose to accept only the comments she likes. Which is why she doesn’t need to come around here anymore.
This blog isn’t, and was never about Daphne Caruana Galizia. Some people around here fail to notice this. Technically we should be commenting on Jacques’ articles, but we’re using this blog as a forum.
The number of comments regarding Ms. Galizia is astounding. Can we move on? We have elections coming up in a couple of days. You can talk about Daphne after if you have to.
Keith, I agree that we all have better things to do then to waste our time and energy on a nobody.
“The trouble with not having a GOAL is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never scoring.”
Quick question Carol while u leaf through MY LITTLE BOOK OF QUOTES – are Merton and Newman your comments on the YouTube link I sent? Actually nevermind – don’t bother. Have a nice day instead.
Oh my God we have Daphne 2 now…xbiza,
Two clowns are better than one.
No, I won’t bother with you. When your party does something wrong just admit it, don’t try to justify it.
And if anyone out there is believing JPO after all that evidence, then we are really in deep shit.
Sad sad – daphne 2? clowns? what a bunch of obsessed intolerant people. My party? who said anything about which ‘my party’ is just because it is obviously not MLP? I’ll leave you to it…
Anyone who goes on The Times online, and tells people to eff off is a clown in my books. Tolerance my ass.
Just in case anyone missed it, here is what the clown said:
“More MLPAD, I’m afraid. Sant launches an attack on Jeffrey and Harry weighs in to help out. I’m going to borrow a choice phrase from my son here: eff off, Harry. This campaign has been littered with obscenities from the Labour Party, and now you wake up to declare the Mistra case ‘obscene’? Go back to sleep, for heaven’s sake. Do you and Alfred Sant wear matching wedding rings by any chance? I hadn’t realised you’d entered into some secret pact”.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080302/news/ad-joins-the-mistra-controversy
A sad clown, indeed!
Can someone remove the fog that’s gathered in front of his eyes?
Tolerance, you send me a link, and I can’t quote!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ah, I thought the clown you mentioned might have been a male so I referred to the clown as a ‘him’. I should have known better that there is only one real clown in this island coming from Bidnija. To be honest, she is not too far off from looking like a ‘him’.
Vacancy on La La Land, we need clowns by the dozen.
Chaps, I must admit that I adore DCG.
She thinks that she has this big understanding of human nature. I will not delve into what I consider to be her area of expertise in relation to human nature, I leave that to your imagination.
She also thinks that her contributions during this electoral campaign will have an impact on the way the disgruntled nationalists who have a visceral hatred for Alfred Sant will vote.
Well, indeed, her contributions will surely have an impact. It is yet to be confirmed whether this impact is positive or negative with respect to her agenda.
But folks, the impact of blogs like Jacquee’s, and the valid comments from people from all across the board are a necessity and we should thank him for that. Jacque’s blog, is particularly relevant because, to my view, it is a platform where people can express their views/comments and be resepcted for their views.
Thank you Jacques!
How about this for Nationalist logic?
Sant goes to a press conference.
JPO goes as well holding a temporary press card given to him by a subservient a**e licking Department of Information., and expects to turn the press confeence into a two men debate.
Sant holds his ground and JPO acts likes a spoilt brat who didn’t get his own way.
Sant gets called a coward, and JPO becomes a hero for a day!!
Ronald – It’s not ‘holding his ground’. It’s a would-be PM refusing to face a man whose immediate future he has ruined. He waited till a few days before the elections, produced nothing but weak circumstantial evidence, but set off an inquiry that will last till after Gonzi has named his Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries (in the unlikely event that he wins the election) . JPO – if he still manages to get elected now – will now not be one of them.
If you really believe you need to ruin a man (and you should only do it on the basis of real evidence, not the assumptions we’ve seen so far), have the guts to look him in the eye while you do it.
A press conference he wasnt entitled to attend wasnt the place for him to challenge anyone. If the Nationalists want to play the game they cant expect to change the rules half way through the match to suit themselves. ………and if JPO doesnt get elected then that doesnt say much for the Nationalist voters trust in their own politicians!!!…………….as for making unfounded accusations on the eve of the election doesnt this remind one of EFA on the eve of th last elction.
Nothing ever changes does it??
Carry on without me, folks – you obviously think I’m the hot topic in this electoral campaign. Bore on. If you want to know what I have to say from now on, just visit http://www.daphnecaruanagalizia.com.
The hot topic in this campaign is gonna be the Red Sea re-enacted for you by MLP supporters in Bidnija, if MLP wins.
@Daphne;
what makes you think that anyone really cares about what you think about anything, and that includes your pechant for Eastenders,and news on Super 1 and NET to the exclusion of all else. No wonder you sound more and more like a female version of Manuel Cuschieri with every passing day.
I think she is looking more and more like the female version of Joseph Goebbels.
“Carry on without me, folks – you obviously think I’m the hot topic in this electoral campaign. Bore on. If you want to know what I have to say from now on, just visit http://www.daphnecaruanagalizia.com.”
hahahahahahahahahaah aqqas haqq ir-rapport lill-paravendu!!!!
hahahahhahaha….Mission Accomplished.
It was not so impossible after all.