Berta Sullivan
Trouble stirs in paradise
The former general secretary of the Malta Labour Party, Dominic Fenech, a University professor, warned his party against losing its soul by "pussyfooting" to pander to voters (timesofmalta.com, November 22).
The leader of the Labour Party (the National Coalition or the New Progressive Movement or whatever it is calling itself nowadays) promised that: "We are eradicating the siege mentality - where we think everyone is against us. We're accepting criticism better" (The Times, June 14).
In spite of the best of intentions, disagreement, disgruntlement and dissent continues to flourish within the PL between those revering the "saviours of Malta" Dom Mintoff and Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici versus the pro-Alfred Sant bloc versus those who hope Joseph Muscat is going to miraculously glue all the pieces into one happy family. What a fool's paradise!
The new leader promised an earthquake. But is the earth shaking simply because the "lost" sheep are back in business? Is the world quivering because Labour supporters are now sporting the EU stars and the Maltese cross instead of the Labour torch or because every so often it baptises the party with different names?
Labour's foundation has been quaking since its first split between Sir Paul Boffa and Mr Mintoff and continued trembling when, in a militant and belligerent fashion, Mr Mintoff alienated justice and freedom and handed over the reins of the country to Dr Mifsud Bonnici, who continued playing havoc with our democracy.
Then came Dr Sant, with his less aggressive political style but, underlying the apparent "calm" smiles, internal conflict was fermenting with major fissures immediately appearing in his chain of command. The first casualties were deputy leader George Abela and Finance Minister Lino Spiteri. Dr Sant's Premiership was also a frustrating period of isolation for his predecessor, Mr Mintoff who fumed silently on the back benches until he could take no more and exploded. Ironically, while admitting that his government floundered in 1998 because it was "unstable", Dr Sant alleged that Mr Mintoff was manipulated by the PN (Dissett).
Another example of Labour's expertise at shifting blame was Prof. Fenech's comments on Black Monday's destruction: "I didn't know. And if the others knew, they didn't identify them. We're not even sure, strictly speaking, that they were Labour (supporters). Do you have proof? I'm not saying they weren't."
The Times was quick to rebut: "If they were not Labour people, who were they then? Nationalist hirelings? Or men from some terrorist organisation?" (November 25).
Another Labour general who was transformed from potential hero to classic scapegoat by his own party was deputy leader Michael Falzon. The more he was blamed for the 2008 electoral defeat the louder he cried blue murder, shooting his mouth off against Dr Sant, Jason Micallef and the whole Labour Administration. He categorically denied involvement in Labour's campaign, claiming he was not the culprit but a victim.
Mr Micallef was another top brass Labour casualty when he was unceremoniously kicked upstairs to One Productions by Dr Sant's understudy, Dr Muscat. No longer involved in the party administration, he claims that Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, the party's former president, has got away with hell. Speaking publicly for the first time after stepping down from the post, he said: "I was upset that I got all the blame and he (Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi) got away scot-free. Can you tell me why he was never criticised?" (The Sunday Times, October 11).
Adding more spice to this sordid affair, Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi, Labour's temp general secretary, declared it was his choice not to contest the (general secretary's) post next January but Mr Micallef told The Sunday Times: "He lied. I had made that condition."
Yes, there are many clashes in paradise between the top brass and their sidekicks. It seems that every time Labour moves on it immediately jolts backwards quick step. Labour's internal squabbles and cosmetic changes are not cataclysmic; neither are they of any value to our country's success.
The striking difference between the Nationalists and the Labourites is that the former glorify their past leaders, celebrate their achievements and continue cultivating the inheritance bequeathed to them whereas the leaders of the Labour Party, seemingly ashamed of their past leaders, insist on starting afresh, re-branding the product in an attempt to cleanse themselves of its past by repeatedly changing their image and renaming the party New Labour, Newer Labour, Progressive Labour etc.
As matters stand, this "shifting" movement is apparently regressing more than it is progressing and I humbly suggest Dr Muscat decides whether he wants to lead in a "new" way to please his supporters or adopt a more militant one to please Prof. Fenech and Co.
Hopefully, the PL leader will understand once and for all that he definitely cannot lead sideways. If he continues zig-zagging, as he has been doing so far, multiple cracks will continue to appear and the turmoil brewing underground will finally erupt!
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J Martinelli
Dec 5th 2009, 19:32
@ Ivan Grech Mintoff
"...they MUST be doing all this out of sheer and genuine concern..." WRONG!
Concerned with the LP's antics? We relish them for their consistent entertainment value. I just finished watching the latest episode of Xarabank and I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at Beddington's hysterical performance! As head of One News, he sure seemed afraid of hearing reason and instead he constantly resorted to interrupting the rest of the panel. Charlon certainly had a good teacher to learn from, or was it the other way around? Is that all Labour has to offer? And one must not forget, Glen was an MEP candidate! Can one imagine him in Brussels? WOW!
@ Emanuel Farrugia
" When a tramp tries to play the role of a prince, no amount of eau-de-cologne will remove the stench from under his armpits"!
Very well said indeed, but, can someone also give the tramp a cheap watch for Christmas? Maybe by the new year he will be able to tell time and arrive punctually for his appointments?
J Martinelli
Dec 5th 2009, 19:01
@ C.camilleri
I wish there was enough snow to build a snowman!
You truly break my heart because I know your hardships, while the rest of the world revels in all the riches one can imagine.
Having absolutely no taxes here, I cannot even begin to imagine how you can possibly survive with all you have to pay for using your 300,000 cars, put your lights on, pay taxes which in turn pay for 'free' Health care...
We have so much money left over here, that we do not really know what to do with it. We don't even have to worry about retirement because we know that we will not live long enough to spend it all!
Hallini fil-kwiet Sur Camilleri. Hu gost fil-vaganzi tal-Milied, u ccelebra mal familja tieghek u minghajr l-inkonvenjenza li jkollok issuq fil-borra biex izzur il-qraba.
C.camilleri
Dec 4th 2009, 21:57
@Martinelli
Another paternalistic lecture from abroad.
You lost all your credibility long ago with your usual sweeping statements against labour and in favour of Gonzi PN when while we are here feeling the pinch you are there probably building snowman in your front garden at this time of the year.
Give us all a break and concentrate on your life in Canada
Happy Christmas.
J Martinelli
Dec 4th 2009, 21:25
@ Joe Grima
Ever hear of the phrase, 'cannot see the forest for the trees'?
Take a quick look around you and you will understand what I mean!
Keep it up, Joe the LP needs more dinosaurs to add to the collection!
A. Zahra
Dec 4th 2009, 19:20
Why must you labourites be so very negative? Berta is a charming, attractive and very intellegent lady. I simply adore her contributions to the press. Well written Berta.
Muscat Pat
Dec 4th 2009, 18:59
@ salvu felice pace. With all this "research and innovation" Gonzi has put us on the map, yes the lunar map !
P. Schembri
Dec 4th 2009, 18:32
@Salvu Pace. Putting the country's interest before the Party. Tell me you're not joking because it's hurting so much with laughing. And then try to pull the other leg.
laurence schembri
Dec 4th 2009, 18:25
Sorry Joe, I`m not into fragrances, I still use a slab of green soap when showering. I`m not a leftist by chance, I`m a socialist by heart, no party has ever done a thing for my well being, so I do not owe any thanks to anyone. Believe it or not I do not even vote. My best friends are mainly Nationalists, when coversation flow into politics my answer is; I do not want to get involved and I stay stum. Religion and politics are one`s own ideals and i keep mine close to my heart. Anyway, have a good Christmas, for I`ll be away to my hideout in Bavarian Alps in a few days, flowing good beer, good food and fresh air. We will meet in the New Year, God willing.
Emanuel Farrugia
Dec 4th 2009, 18:18
@J. Martinelli " When one passes by a sewer, he cannot possibly mistake its odour for eau-de-cologne " When a tramp tries to play the role of a prince, no amount of eau-de-cologne will remove the stench from under his armpits !
Ivan Grech Mintoff
Dec 4th 2009, 17:52
It is (not) amazing that people who obviously love (not) the Labour camp are so concerned with its well being....! Come on guys! We all know how much Martinelli and gang love anything red, so they MUST be doing all this out of sheer and genuine concern.... Perhaps, though. one should sniff under ones own armpit... before being so wonderfully Christian and Democratic and commenting about "sewers"? ;)
Salvu Felice Pace
Dec 4th 2009, 16:51
I can't understand why people don't stick to facts. No one from the Labour camp has denied anything Berta Sullivan wrote. As whoever suggested that Gonzi is 'naked' because of whatever imaginary problems or real one he has, he must live in another world. Gonzi has saved Malta through the adoption of the euro, which you know WHO opposed. He has saved thousands of jobs through clever negotiating, without much fuss. He has brought huge investments when the rest of the world was collapsing around us. He is still enlarging our profile in the EU with bringing on our soil one of its major agencies. He has put research and innovation on the map - and the fruits are starting to show. He has increased the stay- on rate of students in further education and many qualified students are being helped to get further degrees. Naked Gonzi? - he has enough to cover himself with. The problem is that he puts the country before himself and the Party he leads. But then, that has always been what distinguished Nationalist leaders from Labour leaders including Joseph Muscat, who puts his ambitions first and then the national interest.
Joe Grima
Dec 4th 2009, 16:33
@ J Martinelli. We pass by sewers everyday. They are made mostly of contributions like yours. This is a game that the PN has lost four years ahead of time. So now it's time to break the legs of Opposition players and bedfellows in the hope of levelling the field. So out comes dear old Bertha, Daphne, Martinelli, Farrugia, Falzon and their ilk to whitewash the decrepit Gonzi regime, an administration by the few and for the even fewer. Rather than Labour watching and inventing scenarios, Bertha would be better advised to examine her own turf and see whether she can help in plastering over the severe cracks that both PN Government and Party are showing. Joseph and those who support him will wait out the next three and a half years and then it will be time for the big broom. So until then , do your damnest and your worst if it will make people like Bertha and her fellow travellers feel better.
J Martinelli
Dec 4th 2009, 15:38
@ Dominic Fenech et al
Until such time as the Labour Party REALLY cleans house, gets rid of old relics like yourself and others of the same vintage, issue an apology for all the violence including the burning of the Times by 'unknown' persons (aliens?), then your party remains relegated to the Opposition benches.
C Camilleri has a very active imagination, but even if half of his remarks bear any significance, they pale in comparison to the problems within the Labour Party! Maybe they should adopt a new slogan like 'New and Improved Labour Party" although it may sound too much like an 'improved' detergent whose only improvement is the shape of the container it comes in!
And, my dear Laurence, Berta is not "sullying anything that is a shade of pink". She is just reporting facts which even with your utmost vigour, you cannot contradict. When one passes by a sewer, he cannot possibly mistake its odour for eau-de-cologne!
C.camilleri
Dec 4th 2009, 13:59
Dear Berta,
Gonzi vs backbenhers
Gonzi vs Joe Borg
Gonzi kicks Dalli upstairs
PN president resigns
Dr.Portelli alleged corruption
Gonzi vs mepa auditor
POB sending e-mails to Jason Micallef
Runaway deficit
Lack of medicines
Inflation galore
Dark cloud over power station tender
Everybody is happily waiting for the STRINA presents of the new HIGHER water-electricity and gass tariffs.
Ministers on private jets with business men
And the list goes on, and yet Ms.Berta only finds time to write against Joseph Muscat and the PL.
Peter Falzon
Dec 4th 2009, 13:39
@Dominic Fenech:
Oh, I see. Whereas it seemed that the Labour Party was just a gaggle of squabbling, power-hungry intellectual nonentities, it turns out that they are indulging in a sophisticated exercise of constructive Hegelian dialectics. Pfff, what a joke.
It is a sad indictment on Maltese democracy that even with the government looking as tired as it is, the best the opposition can come up with is a confused sixth-form prefect of a leader and all his elderly uncles to give him advice.
laurence schembri
Dec 4th 2009, 13:19
How can we ever have unity in this coountry when we have people like Berta Sullivan sullying anything that is a shade of pink.
P. Schembri
Dec 4th 2009, 11:57
Ms. Sullivan, you'd better have a look in the PN's own backyard, then comment on the PL. While the PL is slowly is solidifying its base, not so can be said of the PN. Your party is full of fractures and holes, that your ship is sinking fast. Now after trying to calm down some of the vociferous backbenchers with titbits, and kicking somebody upstairs and out of the way, what else should there be in your beloved party. Cracks and getting bigger and more numerous. The PN's emperor is really without clothes. It's people like you who try to sell us the false image that the emperor has new clothes, but knowing that he's naked!
Joseph Buttigieg Attard
Dec 4th 2009, 10:39
Berta should try to help her beloved party from complete disintegration rather then trying to give a most distorted picture of the PL’s Leader in particular and the PL in general.
Berta should that those living in glasses houses are very careful when they undress! The disgruntled members of its own beloved party are increasing day by day and no manipulation of events or misinformation will save it beloved party from its complete disintegration.
Dominic Fenech
Dec 4th 2009, 10:17
You didn't get it Berta. We're sorting differences now in dialectical fashion, so that we'll be as one synthesis come the election.