Backbenchers to be appointed parliamentary rapporteurs

Andrew Gatt

Mar 9th 2010, 21:20

@ Joseph ( Joey ) Grima : you say that you spent the finest, most unforgettable five years of your life assisting Mintoff. I have now been spending the finest, most unforgettable years of my life ( already more than 5 ) since your DOM is completely out of the local political scene - thanks to the greatest ever political leader/politician Malta ever had. Mine, yours and everybody's EDDIE !

joseph saliba

Mar 9th 2010, 20:20

@Joe Grima... Gosh you're a busy man... Just make sure you go to the right studio - One TV not Net TV... You seem to have got them confused in the past (and present!)...

C.camilleri

Mar 9th 2010, 20:15

@ Gianninu Saliba

So you are convinced that the backbenchers were given " sweets and ice creams" because they have been good lately?
If you were abroad, then welcome back to Malta:)

Joseph ( Joe ) Grima

Mar 9th 2010, 18:38

No time to answer PN apologists before I go to the studio for INKONTRI. Just a word for Gianninu Saliba who has created a scenario of the past that he is comfortable with but which is far removed from reality. Does Saliba remember the phantom budget passed by the last Nationalist Government before its defeat in 1971? Does he remember that the Labour Government did not find enough money in the kitty to pay its own employees? Does he remember the state of the economy as left by the Borg Olivier governments, cocooned by the Church and the British Government idetermined to win them elections? The failures that he ascribes to Labour were carry-ons inherited from Borg Olivier's decadent administrations. Labour's first five years were dedicated to damage control - that same damage inflicted on Malta by incompetent Nationalist governments. The rest we can discuss but not tonight. One last word to Gianninu. While your PM continues to flounder, Joseph Muscat's leadership augurs a better future, for Maltese and Gozitans -- a future built on meritocracy and inclusivity. That future belongs to you and to your children too..Turn your head around. The future is ahead of you, not behind.

C. Sapiano

Mar 9th 2010, 18:00

@victor laiviera

Gonzi a sheep?...he has been our Prime Minister for six years.

By the way those are not called dissidents but people who express an opinion (in a democratic party that is)

laurence schembri

Mar 9th 2010, 17:43

Gianninu, how`s the weather on cloud nine?

Victor Laiviera

Mar 9th 2010, 17:00

@ Mr C Sapiano

Alfred Sant obviously believed in the dictum "better one day as a lion than a hundred days as a sheep"

It seems that others prefer to last out a whole legislature as a sheep, rather than act like a lion and confront the dissidents,

Lawrence Fenech

Mar 9th 2010, 17:00

Back seat drivers ?

Jesmond Abela

Mar 9th 2010, 15:27

l-aqwa li kellna 380 miljun fil kaxxa u lanqas dawl, ilma ,telephone u LIBERTA ma kellna!!!!!! Shame on You...
Mr Laviera - What about Dr Sant as prim minister??? is it that possible you have so short memory!!!

Tommy Vella

Mar 9th 2010, 15:20

@ Mr Joe Grima
He seems to be very unlucky to find himself opposing the Labour stand.
When PL was against joining the EU he was all for it. Now that PL are accepting the fact that we should form part of the EU, he is seeing it as something negative and seems tyo be having second thoughts about it..

C. Sapiano

Mar 9th 2010, 14:37

@VIctor Laiviera

Weaker than Dr.Alfred Sant who lost an election after 22 months in government?
Weaker than Dr.KMB who never won an election?

Dr.Gonzi already won one election. Inform yourself from a historical perspective.

Victor Laiviera

Mar 9th 2010, 14:04

Dr Gonzi must rank as the weakest PM in Maltese Parliamentary history.

After losing his party its overall majority and scraping into power with a wafer-thin relative majority, he started the legislature by giving the demoted ministers and parl. secs an unprecedented and completely unjustified 18-monthy extension of their salary – a truly shocking decision which most people saw as a sop and an appeasement to persuade them to back him as PM.

There followed months of dissent and disgruntlement culminating in the St John’s development debacle when even our new Archbishop was naively manoeuvred into saving the Government’s face and a cherished and trumpeted project had to be abandoned.

Naturally, appeasement has never worked and never will. Emboldened by the ease with which they could bend PM Gonzi to their will, the disgruntled went as far as open revolt - witness how certain votes in the house went.

Now we have the latest act in the farce. Obviously, Lawrence Gonzi could not make the disgruntled ministers or parliamentary secs without a huge loss of face – so a new post was created out of thin air – and one suspects that that is all it is – hot air.

Joe Vella

Mar 9th 2010, 13:57

@ Joseph (Joe) Grima

I am Glad, whether intentionally or not, that you specified that the 380 million were in reserves. Those reserves were there to support the Maltese Lira and for no other reason the Government had no choice in this regards.. Joe Grima, if you dig a bit you will find that Malta's reserves prior to joining the EU was much higher then the 380 million you referred to. What the PN found in 1986 was not only an infrastructure deficit in every sense of the world, but also and the most sad of all the human brain drain as a result of the way the PL Government that you was part of left the state of the University in.

John Attard

Mar 9th 2010, 13:44

Looks like a certain PM is worried. Very, very worried.

Gianninu Saliba

Mar 9th 2010, 13:28

Mr. C. Camilleri is a true socialist. He does things for the wrong reasons. Children should only be given sweets and ice cream when they have been good and deserved an award. That's exactly what Dr. Gonzi has done. This gentleman must understand that the PN does not want its MPs to be quiet, on the contrary, they must be active and speak up.

C. Sapiano

Mar 9th 2010, 13:17

@Joe Grima

What about the funds that are coming from the EU. These are a reality and it is not only the 'select few' who are benefiting.

History shows that in many cases ( obviously not always) the left-wing Labour Party has been on the wrong side of history.

I am an objective commentator and not an apologist, and as an objective commentator I insist that you cannot be sure of a Labour victory as, again, history shows that it is the PN which has won most elections. I do not doubt that as a minister you did some good things but in general the PL has more to ashamed of. The protest in Valletta gave us a hint of what may be a negative reality in the future. The PL like many 'progressive' left-wing parties in Europe is not necessary a real alternative to a cente-right government.

Robert Agius

Mar 9th 2010, 13:16

@Gianninu Saliba

I think the darkest days started the moment we gained independence and left our fate in the hands of two parties. This country need a change in government. Not that I am expecting miracles afterward however.

I still believe that Full integration with the UK would have been a better option (I believe that that was Mintoff's idea). After all how can an overpopulated country with no natural resources be independent. Its not the most popular opinion I agree but I'll be happy if it just irritates a few people like yourself :P

C.camilleri

Mar 9th 2010, 12:55

All this reminds me, when I use to give sweets and ice creams to my children to keep them quiet.

Gianninu Saliba

Mar 9th 2010, 12:39

I do not blame Mr. Laurence Schembri for being afraid of the dark when he was a child. Thanks to Dom Mintoff we did not have electricity for three days a week. Joseph (Joe) Grima, that was one of the thing that you must be proud of. Well, to make you even more proud of your days in politics, Mr. Grima, may I mention that we also had no water for another three days of the week and to make it seven, we had socialist violence on the other day of the week. Here are af few more laurels for you Mr. Grima, grocery shops had empty shelves, private hospitals were forced to close, the same happened to private schools, our doctors were exiled, the courts were violated, the curia ramsacked, Nationalist MPs insulted and beaten regularly, unemployment was more than double to the highest number of unemployed under a Nationalist government, education was a disaster and finally, democracy was non existant.
Is this what you are proud of Mr. Grima? Maybe its Joseph's foresight... anti EU membership, anti Euro adoption, anti privatization of the dockyards, anti low cost airlines, anti SmartCity, anti the Marsascala plant, anti VAT and more.

ROBERT HENRY BUGEJA

Mar 9th 2010, 12:38

@ Gianninu il-blogger....
Keep spilling venom towards anything that is or is connected to the Labour Party and then complain if we will do the same when we will be in power after next election. Its you and your tribe of pitiful and frustrated PN bloggers which is fueling this trend of hatred and fear of the past. Il militant babaw li tghajjruna bih (u li kontu kreatu inthom stess) telaq but now has been replaced by something meaner and more dangerous...its called il babaw tal posta u ta l-ekonomija ghax mhux hofra ghamiltu izda CRATER the size of the moon in our economy and now in our bank accounts!!!

@ Joe Grima.... I agree with your reply to Gianninu perfectly. see you Joe

Jesmond Abela

Mar 9th 2010, 12:35

Mr Joe Grima - Kun honest mieghek innifsek u ghid meta il poplu Malti ghex zminijiet mil aqwa, trankwil u kuntent. Inutli li tghid li kien hemm 380 miljun fil kaxxa... meta il poplu Malti kien imdejjaq u imgewwah ghal hafna affarijiet. Hawn pajjizi kbar u anki girien taghna( u int taf ghal lima pajjizi qed nirreferi) li ghandhom fil kaxxa mhux 380 miljun, imma ferm u ferm aktar minn hekk pero il poplu huwa kuntent???? Il polplu mhux flus fil kaxxa irid imma opporunitajiet ta investimenti halli nikbru flimkien. Il poplu ridt sistema ta telekommunikazzjoni moderna , terminal ta l-ajruport modern , power station gdida , stabilita fil pajjiz , demokrazija ta vera , frastrutura ta toroq godda , liberallizzjoni fil kummerc , fil media u wkoll livell ta edukazzjoni mil aqwa. Bil flus fl kaxxa ma tgawdiex Sur Grima .... inutli ikollok il flus il bank u ma tqassamhomx ma wliedek, ghax tkun biss qied tidhaq bihom.

Joseph (Joe) Grima

Mar 9th 2010, 12:30

@ I have no intention of spending the day answering PN apologists. I have INKONTRI to persent and produce tonight on One TV and my direction today is concentrated on that. However :
@ C Sapiano. I did not support " many policies" of the PN. I wholeheartedly supported Malta's adhesion to the EU and, from my programme on Net TV, encouraged labourites like me to follow suit. There were no other policies. On that EU score I now admit that the information given to me about the EU at the time was more than gilded and that the end result of our accession has not been what I had originally expected. In fact one of my strongest post-accession fears has happened. From my programme on NET TV I repeatedly experessed the hope that after accession, EU opportunities would be open to all Maltese and Giozitans. The EU, like everything else under Gonzi's administration, is restricted to the few who control immense funds. To get in, one has to know a friend who knows a friend who knows a friend unless one is known for being a die-hard Nationalist, a ministerial bedfellow or a Gonzi acolyte..

Gianninu Saliba

Mar 9th 2010, 12:19

Joseph (Joe) Grima's tone in replying to what I said clearly shows that 'the truth hurts'. Yes, I did spell Dirghajn incorrectly, but if he wants to be petty, then I ask him: "Why did you put a question mark at the end of the following sentence: "And to answer your question as to why Dr Gonzi should take a leaf from Mintoff's book?" By the way, does he know that one does not start a sentence with the word 'And'?
Mr. Grima must understand that the one who really made our party stronger was Dom Mintoff and not Alfred Sant. Thanks to Mintoff, the PN obtained, for the first time in its history, the overall majority of the votes cast at the 1981 General Elections. Unfortunately for Grima, he was also party to the Nationalist success. Thanks to Dom Mintoff, the PN was in government within 22 months of losing to Alfred Sant. Again I would like to correct Mr. Grima, the PN will still be in government in a couple of years time. In three (not 2) years time , Dr. Gonzi will win the next General Elections... and we will continue on the 20 years of success.

Ivan Cassar

Mar 9th 2010, 11:59

And just how much of the taxpayers (i.e me and you out there) money will the salaries of these gentleman absorb?

James Grima

Mar 9th 2010, 11:59

@Joe Grima
"Sant's time is mercifully up and so will yours be in a couple of years time. You will be defeated and your 20-year-old factory of lies will be disimantled"
Do you think so? I, Gianninu, and all, are really confident that PL will lose again. It will be the last election that the PL will contest. You know why? Simple. Just look at surveys, talk to people( not to that roudy, rude, and arrogant mob of last Monday ta), and they will tell you. We are pleased with our government, and we have full faith in our Prime Minister. Again I say that the tariffs were there:
1 To tackle the recession,
2 To mend the repercussions left on the economic structure left by the Sant and co government,
So in my opinion you're wrong.

LawrenceCardona

Mar 9th 2010, 11:57

Dr Gonzi is involving himself in the film industries now? Austin Myers created mini me in one of his films and Dr Gonzi coppied that in parlament he created mini me's with the back benchers honestly how can some of them be happy when they where elected from 2 districts and that's all that he had to offer just a mini me job and what about the wage i think that is not that mini are they going to be paid or as they said they had that much to offer to the country that they are going to do it for free espacially Mr Arrigo Mr pulllicino Orlando and the rest how much is your price for this job bet you will never say or else we will never be told the truth my father use to say everyone has a price an other hole it the maltese box viva Malta Republika (skond ghal min imma)

mario gellel

Mar 9th 2010, 11:45

What nobody is mentioning here is that these backbenchers are not taking these post for the fun of it. But they are going to be paid an extra salary which runs in the thousands for just escorting their Big Brother(the Minister) to any Zigarella opening. That's the price they won for voting against the whole population.

E Gatt

Mar 9th 2010, 11:44

There is no proof that the prime minister is leafing through the Mintoff strategy book, just because Mr Joe Grima says so.

A quick internet search shows that parliamentary rapporteurs exist in other parliaments and indeed in the European Parliament (in other word’s Mintoff did not come up with the concept) - see http://www.aalep.eu/doc/resources/Rapporteurs%20in%20the%20European%20Parliament.pdf .
I am no parliamentary buff, but if the Cabinet and the backbenchers feel this will be a productive arrangement then the PM should go ahead.

True, not everything that Dom Mintoff did was bad but history will remember him as the man who had the power to call a snap election to solve the 1981 election results and he chose to hide behind KMB instead. This is why anything that is labelled Mintoffian is generally considered unsavoury.

laurence schembri

Mar 9th 2010, 11:22

Kevin Azzopardi, I totally agree with you. As achild I was scared of the dark, now that I`m older I`m back to my childhood.

Alex Tanti

Mar 9th 2010, 11:15

Glad for Hon Robert Arrigo's placing
win/win
for this official 'effective' placing

it would surely render a more effective understanding of what certain
financial decisions might/will bear on local entities....

other win...
towards better communication/understanding
between us and who is representing us -

at times without much listening/consideration.....

on the other hand feel that PL ought better be more proactive.....
and come out with what is/could be better for this island....

C. Sapiano

Mar 9th 2010, 11:09

Dont be too sure Mr.Grima.

Are you not the same Mr.Grima who supported many policies of the PN?...how come now you mention 20 years of lies?

Kevin Azzopardi

Mar 9th 2010, 11:08

For many reasons, it feels like we're back to the dark 80s.

Joseph ( Joe ) Grima

Mar 9th 2010, 11:03

@Gianninu Saliba. Your clownish efforts at belittling anything Labour make your contributions the joke of these columns. At least, before you write, learn your own language. That is not the way Dirghajn is spelt and it was not Dirghajn il Haddiem but Dirghajn il Maltin. The hofor you mention are in your imagination. The only hofra we certainly did not dig was in Malta's economy. We left a coffer with Lm 380 million in reserves to cushion the ecconomic well being of the Maltese people. Your governments made sure that those reserves disappeared in a couple of years. And to answer your question as to why Dr Gonzi should take a leaf from Mintoff's book? Easy. Dr Gonzi does not have one original political bone in his body. Why shouldn't he? One final word. Up to now Nationaliist apologists like you have revelled in the version of Labour's political history that Alfred Sant allowed you, indeed, encouraged you to write in his time as Labour leader just because he despised Mintoff. Sant's time is mercifully up and so will yours be in a couple of years time. You will be defeated and your 20-year-old factory of lies will be disimantled.

Dr Andrew Azzopardi

Mar 9th 2010, 11:01

The Constitution does not provide for 'parliamentary rapporteurs', therefore there is no legal basis for these 'appointments'.
If Gonzi is really citing Mintoffian precedents as models of Constitutional correctness, we have gone beyond scraping the bottom of the barrel!

laurence schembri

Mar 9th 2010, 10:04

Gianninu, the darkest days are back again, some in my household shouted only this morning; "Switch that light off"

Gianninu Saliba

Mar 9th 2010, 09:51

So Mr. Joe Grima believes that Dr. Gonzi was leafing through Mintoff,s strategy book. Why would he, Mr. Grima, why would he? If you really were lucky enough to have been 'twinned' with Dom Mintoff, I wonder if you were responsible or at least involved with, Diraghirn il-haddiem, bahhar u sewwi, xirka ta' ma nafx xhix. Mr. Grima, were you responsible to see that these workers dug the holes or was it your responsibility to make sure that they filled them again. I am sure that you remember that Mintoff insisted that "hekk hemm bzonn l-ewwel ihaffru hofor u mbaghad jimlewhom. U ghamiltu hofor taf... fl-ekonomija, fl-edukazzjoni, fis-sahha u fid-demokrazija. What surprises me, Mr. Grima, is that you do not seem to be embarrassed that you had a finger in the pie (or to be blunt and truthful, in Malta's darkest days).

Henry Tabone

Mar 9th 2010, 09:44

In my dictionary rapporteurs refer to persons appointed by a deliberative body to investigate an issue or a situation and report to that body. We all hope Jeffrey & Franco's sojourn in Castille will shed some light on what is wrong with the PM's mind or at least discover where he has buried his social conscience.

Joseph Portelli

Mar 9th 2010, 09:27

There is only one message here... Gonzi rewards those who cause him most trouble. The Prime Minister is proving to be a weak man.

laurence schembri

Mar 9th 2010, 09:25

One way to keep them quiet, I`ll make that seven Jags, seven drivers of the unemployment list, more Mobiles on the market....and a raise in salary?
Give me one tenth of that and I`ll keep mum.