PM reacts to Moody's, Franco Debono

Mr Chris Vidal

Feb 15th, 01:12

And do you believe in all these financial institutions???? and what they say? this is all part of a game with the aim of using people's money to get rich themselves within the legal framework. People must be aware that their salaries are deposited into the banks not for their own good and convenience but for these banks to make money from them. If everyone has to go to the bank to take his / her own money at the same time, the whole system will collapse for the simple reason that your money is not there but invested somewhere else. wake up people and do not believe them and the politicians.

Joseph Grech Attard

Feb 14th, 23:54

The PM and his party are no longer credible. Ours is a repetition of how Berlusconi, Papandreus, Zappatero, etc reacted when their countries started being downgraded. We cannot escape reality! We are in a mess, whether alone or with others. We joined the EU and the Euro zone to be better and not to join a disaster, which had already started when we joined! Things do not happen overnight. We were mislead! In the early 70's the then prime minister told us the truth and we had to tighten our belts, despite him becoming unpopular;. We are passing through a similar situation but the present administration is finding all excuses for its bad governance. The President spoke the truth when he asked the Maltese to cut in spending and save. That's what the PM should be doing at present and not give us a false picture that all is well. That is a lie. Not only things are unwell, but the future looks even worse and very bleak. For God's and justice's sake, tell us the truth and show us the real way we should be going! We just cannot live in lies and false projections any more. Obstacles can be met only, if the real truth is explained to the people. Do not leave it too late so as to try and win another election. Let us not pass through the suffering of Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, etc. "Hares Mulej kif dejjem int harist!" should be our prayer.

susan matrenza

Feb 14th, 20:13

Dr. Gonzi, if the problem is the euro zone crisis, then how come not all countries in the euro zone have been downgraded?
As far as I know Moody's only downgraded a few countries.
I wonder how Dr. Gonzi will solve the economic crisis when he did not solve the political crisis on his benches yet.

A. Schembri

Feb 14th, 17:19

Ftakru li jekk emm xi 4 jew 5 pajjizi aghar minna emm ghoxrin sejrin ahjar...u alfej malta la sejra daqsekk tajba niqaw nqabblu lilna ma dejjem listess pajjizi, grecja u l italja li sejrin estrem hazin..

Jekk sejrin tajbin ejja nikomperu ma pajjizi ohra u kif sejrin maghhom mux nifirhu ax ahjar mill grecja ax qas li mux ovja ahjar minnhom!! tifmuniex hazin..

Nahseb li l gvern qed jibza jqabbilna ma pajjizi ohra fl opinjoni tijaj u jekk hu ekk sewwa amlu l moodys

Mr ALBERT LEONE GANADO

Feb 14th, 15:00

We should not read too much in Moody's downgrade and consequently adopt a doom and gloom attitude. Yes it would have been nice if we did not suffer the same fate as the other downgraded countries. Fortunately it will not have the financial reverberation and result in costlier government borrowing which is the immediate effect in other countries. The acid and more important test in our case is whether the local public will continue to have confidence and willingness to invest in local government paper. This downgrade must however serve as another warning call to redouble efforts to cut down unnecessary spending and waste in non-essential public initiatives. Austerity and sacrifice in areas where global circumstance deem it necessary to be borne coupled with bold investment in current employment and future prospects is the way forward.

George Cremona

Feb 14th, 14:53

Mela nsejtu li tal-PL kienu jghidulna li ahna l-Maltin u l-Ghawdxin makku? Ghaliex issa qed jistghagbu bid-'down grading' tal-Moody? Ma nzilniex inqas mill-gganti avolja makku, qeghdin fl-istess livell taghhom u f'hafna kazi ohra qeghdin ahjar minnhom, hafna ahjar minnhom

Wally Vella-Zarb

Feb 14th, 14:53

Jiġifieri, jekk nissellef xi Miljun Ewro mingħand ibni minflok mingħand xi ħadd barrani, jien ma nkunx midjun???

K. Vella

Feb 14th, 13:50

All Labour moaners, switch on your TV on Euronews, CNN, SKY and CNBC and just have a look what is happening outside SUPER ONE TV studios.

I suggest not to watch NET either....

You can come to some tangible conclusions.

Carmel Zammit

Feb 14th, 13:26

Dr Gonzi said that Malta did not have the debt problems of other countries since borrowing was almost totally local and bond issues were oversubscribed

I wander what led to Dr. Gonzi's assertive statement. Are servicing obligations any different just because the debt is almost totally local? Does the fact that the debt is almost totally local mean less obligations pinch on the government? How do our borrowing rates compare with those of Germany, France and Italy and are commensurate with our Malta's grading?

carmel muscat

Feb 14th, 13:25

mur emmenk sur mario spiteri mela hawn malta hawn xi hadt li ma ghandux partit insaqsik jiena hahahahah - - - - - - - -

James Tyrrell

Feb 14th, 13:23

For a long time now we have heard the same calls from PN supporters in the press asking what the Labour Party is going to do once in power. I think it is high time Gonzipn came to the realisation that they are the ones presently in power and informed the people of exactly what they are going to do to solve the present problems. Even if Malta's financial situation were in sterling shape which is unfortunately not the case a strong swimmer can still be dragged down by those around them. Gonzi cannot continue to bury his head in the sand like some demented ostrich and tell the people that he can't see any problem!

Mario Spiteri

Feb 14th, 13:01

Hey guys...I'm neither a "nazzjonalista" nor a "laburista". I watch and observe and try to decide what's the best for my family and my country whenever I go to vote. I just try to use my brains instead of my heart.

This party in goverenment is by no means perfect, and an alternative would be great for Malta.

Rhetoric is heard all the time from all sides, including the government, but I haven't heard a single tangible alternatives and, most importantly, proposals for Malta's future, come from any quarter.

Last and not least, I neither follow Net nor One.

GEORGE CUTAJAR

Feb 14th, 12:45

Moody's downgrade does not mean that the end is here. In actual fact many do not realise that these credit rating agencies are partly to blame for world wide economic disaster when they failed to indicate the problems in the sub-prime market in the States.

Once the PL tells us what it intends doing if elected than we might start taking them seriously. 51 hot air balloons will not help the economy as will not likening our political scenario to a Tom & Jerry race.

Mr Andrew Camilleri

Feb 14th, 12:39

What amazes me is how this PM and his Cabinet keep on spending as if there was no tomorrow. I have just read in another section of the press that Minister G Puilicino has employed a 62 year old architect on contract for four months at a hefty €6000 per month plus car and mobile allowance. His work? Apparently nothing specific in his contract - just to stand by and take the Minister's orders. These guys are just incredible. How right Franco Debono is to say that the Ministers do what they like without any accountability.

P Buħaġiar

Feb 14th, 12:34

At the moment Franco Debono is the new Prime Minister. Franco play the music and Our Far id-Dejn Fl-Għoli PM dances according to Franco Music. We are living the biggest real farce of All time.

Carmel (Nenu) Aquilina

Feb 14th, 12:31

Tgħid dawn il-Partitarji Laboristi huma kuntenti daqshekk li Malta ġiet dawngraded ma dawk il-pajjiżi ġħafna akbar minnha?

Mela għalikom Malta ma għadiex ta' l-ewwell u ta' qabel kollox?

Fuq kollox meta ser tgħidulna s-solluzzjonijiet biex insalvaw lill-Malta mill-għerqa li qed tixtiequ, jew tbasru.

Għalhekk poplu Malti għoqqod attent, għax dawn tal-lejber il-poter iriedu f'idejhom, imma kif ser imexxu ngħidulkom wara,, imbgħad naraw kif nillapazzaw.

Għax daqsxejn l'hawn u daqsxejn l' hemm imbgħad nippruvaw nirrangaw!


Maltin u Għawdxin, tibdlux iż-żiemel waqt din it-tiġrija, għax jiddispjaċikom!

Ftakru dejjem li Gonzi PN huwa l-aħjar biex nirbħu din it-tiġrija għall ġid tal-Maltin u l-Għawdxin kollha.

B Ellul

Feb 14th, 12:29

hbieb! When JM will be in power all our problems will be resolved.... imnall ha jkun hu ghalina. Will be calling him the new Saviour after Mintoff.... hehe

John Zammit

Feb 14th, 12:27

The Prime Minister this morning failed to mention the most important thing Moody had said that the outlook os negative which in short the Government is doing nothing to improve the situation.It's useless to point at other EU states if you keep your head in the sand pretending that all is well Where are The PAR IDEJN SODI ??

j brincat

Feb 14th, 12:13

@John Scerri

"Dr.Gonzi is at present MALTA 's PM... every day ....and must take decisions every day until the end of his term"

That's why we have PMs to battle the waves and not for ribbon cutting ceremonies and photos!


(jb)

j brincat

Feb 14th, 12:10

@CHARLES PISANI

"i used to remember dr alfred sant always saying ' no comment' to journalist...now taste your own medicine"

And I thought that the PN is built on dialogue!



(jb)

j brincat

Feb 14th, 12:09

@joseph saliba

"I am getting the impression that some of Gonzi's woes are arguments like j brincat's"

Boqq?????


(jb)

John Azzopoardi

Feb 14th, 12:07

How naive can people be if they think we will escape the EU problems. However, let's face it. Our situation is not as bad as Greece, Spain or Portugal.

Irene Forster

Feb 14th, 12:07

How much longer can the country rely on "local" borrowing? Oversubscribed or not most of this "local" borrowing is persons repatriating money from abroad to make it clean. It will have a finite limit as most of the countries holding such money abroad are coming under scrutiny from national governments for tax evasion purposes.

Marija Falzon

Feb 14th, 11:27

Kulhadd jghidilna li bil-mod qed ngherqu, u dan il-bravu jghidilna li sejrin tajjeb.

Carmel Cilia

Feb 14th, 11:12

Mela skond Gonzi ghax id-dejn qieghed mal banek lokali u mal pubbliku in generali mhux ta min jinkwita fuqu. Ghala mela behsiebu jiehu xi passi biex jiffrankah jew. Mela behsiebu jaghmel xi taxxa tajba fuqu. Jekk le ghalfejn qal hekk mhux xorta dejn. Nispera li mhux jehwden li jaghmel xi bicca.

j brincat

Feb 14th, 11:11

@Mr Joseph Vella

"Kieku kellna upgrade x'kien jghid il-PM?"

He would have called a press conference and allowed journalists to ask questions!


(jb)

j brincat

Feb 14th, 11:09

@John Scerri

"Dear Peter ...'Gonzi knows all the answers but its the questions he doesn't know!....

I like this one....and Joseph Muscat knows all the questions but has no answer to any of them"

But does Dr Gonzi know what has hit him lately because the woes do not seem to go away, as much as he tries!


(jb)

Victor Vella

Feb 14th, 11:05

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning that Moody's downgrade of Malta's credit rating was an unfortunate consequence of the austerity measures being taken by some European countries, but Malta remained on the right course to further narrow its deficit and reduce its debt.

Another big lie of Gonzi. Moody`s downgrade Malta`s credit rating and not the European credit ratings. Gonzi is giving the impression that his par idejn sodi are unbeatable and without him Malta`s economy will be free from the world`s shocks. He is divine and nobody can surpass his divinity. All the world will kneel down because he is omniscient. Halluna tal-PN nghixu .

Mario Scicluna

Feb 14th, 11:05

'Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning that Moody's downgrade of Malta's credit rating was an 'unfortunate consequence of the austerity measures being taken by some European countries, but Malta remained on the right course to further narrow its deficit and reduce its debt.'

Is this guy for real?!?? Is he blaming other countries for the PN govt. deficencies and mishandling of the economy , lack of job opportunities and fairytale projects? What about the largest austerity measure taken by GonziPN in Malta's political history, the water and electricity bills? Ah yes, he said it was an incentive for PV panelling! DEBT is 5,000,000,000 and rising!

'Asked to comment on Franco Debono's speech in parliament yesterday, Dr Gonzi said he viewed the speech as a positive contribution by Dr Debono. He had made several valid points which the country needed to concentrate on.'

Is this guy for real??? no. 2

We have a crisis of all sorts in this country, wether Gonzi wants to call it 'skalda' or 'sfida', thanks to the dissent and quarrels IN HIS OWN party! The PM should have LISTENED ages ago what Franco and other backbanchers were saying, not calling them 'traitors' and urging his PN media and staunch supporters to vilify them! Issa jrid jisma il PM as he no longer has majority in Parliament?

Carmel Grima

Feb 14th, 11:04

Fl-opinjoni tieghi, jekk il-prim jirranga l-affarijiet bhall ma qed jissuggerixxi Dr. Debono, il-PN jerga ikun fil-gvern, ghax il-floater jerga jahsibha u jirrevedi hsebijietu; sa issa il-PL qieghed fuq l-offensiv, kritiku fi kliemu u fluwidu wisq biex jipperswadi lil-floater

A Dimech

Feb 14th, 11:04

NO Credibility!! Dr Gonzi should call it a day!!

Debono told him that he is driving in potholes. Gonzi says that Debono made valid points!!! which means that it is true that Gonzi is driving in potholes!

m. borg (slm)

Feb 14th, 11:03

Who the hell are MOODYs to contradict our beloved PM .
.
If Dr Gonzi says we are doing real fine in all sectors, then that is bible truth no one has the right to dispute Dr Gonzi's satements of Malta's well being.
.
As regards the matter of the maverick mp looks like it's ice-cream all round.
.
How shallow can one get to remain hanging onto power.
"Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me.”
Napolean Bonaparte

Mr Joseph Vella

Feb 14th, 11:02

Kieku kellna upgrade x'kien jghid il-PM?

j brincat

Feb 14th, 11:02

Dr Gonzi said that Malta did not have the debt problems of other countries since borrowing was almost totally local and bond issues were oversubscribed.

Yes, but Moody's still downgraded us whilst such countries like Germany, Luxembourg etc.. remained untouched. Also, we still have a national debt exceeding 4 billion euro - and this excludes debt to government entities. Debt servicing now amounts to €600,000 a DAY!

Certainly not something to write home about!

"Dr Gonzi said he viewed the speech as a positive contribution by Dr Debono. He had made several valid points which the country needed to concentrate on"

Isn't this a little late in the day? When will Parliament pass a money bill to show that the government does not need the casting vote of Mr Speaker, to save its face!




(jb)

Peter Murray

Feb 14th, 10:56

Just one final point.It should be recalled that one month prior to going belly-up Moody's gave a TRIPLE A (AAA) credit rating to Lehman Bros.Food for thought!

William Massa

Feb 14th, 10:53

Dr. Gonzi cannot repeat cannot reduce his deficit if he continues to bless his Ministers decisions to employ people with a hefty sum of money as salary. Just imagine 6000 Euro a month plus other benefits and at the same time calling on other ministers to cut on overtime. This does not make sence to me. You can never make ends meet in this manner so please take note and adjust.

pat muscat

Feb 14th, 10:40

So now debt is a problem! So the money no problem is catching with us, and its going to get worse! So what is GonziPN doing about it? Well, building a Parliament-which is surplus to requirements, and a roofless theater: that's Gonzi's way of solving (and adding) to this problem! Indeed, the 40 million of Euro cuts imposed on us by the EU Budget Surveillance committee, is an other problem which GonziPN is facing. How is it solving it ? Abracadabra, hide the problem and wait until June!

Edgar Azzopardi

Feb 14th, 10:38

Quote : Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning that Moody's downgrade of Malta's credit rating was an unfortunate consequence of the austerity measures being taken by some European countries......unquote. So I ask, why is it just 11 countries ?

Imma kif , it's always somebody else's fault, hux?

Gonzi's statement makes Clilnton's' "It's the economy, stupid ' like the most economically enlightened dogma ever cited !!!!!

Joseph Camilleri

Feb 14th, 10:37

This is becoming unbearable. The extent of hypocrisy; appreciation for the positive contribution being made by the very valid points raised by Franco Debono, is just laughable.

Our Prime Minister is acting like the proverbial ostrich. He will not throw in the towel as a statesman would in such an untenable situation. He will hang on to power at all costs, including humiliation.This is such a sorry state, one that embarrasses me as a Maltese citizen. The "national interest" cited by the PM on many occasions, is a mirage. The only interest is "power", and hanging on to it, come what may.

I sincerely thought that Dr Gonzi would sooner or later come to terms with reality, and as a gentleman, ask the President to dissolve Parliament, in view of the permeating electoral enviroment, and the lack of a majority in the House of Representatives. But it seems that this does not even feature as a remote or last resort in the Prime Minister's mind.

Truly, I am saddened.

Gordon Farrugia

Feb 14th, 10:35

"but Malta remained on the right course to further narrow its deficit and reduce its debt."

I can't see that when you are adding some EUR200 million to Malta's total 5000 debt each and every year!! Playing the advocate role won't work with statistics.

Lawrence Fenech

Feb 14th, 10:35

Farfar fuq haddiehor bhas soltu Gonz hadd ma jifhem hlif int.

Peter Murray

Feb 14th, 10:35

So its simply because of other countries problems within the EC that this happened to Malta and we are merely suffering from collateral damage then ? Gonzi knows all the answers but its the questions he doesn't know!

Charles Micallef

Feb 14th, 10:30

Asked to comment on Franco Debono's speech in parliament yesterday, Dr Gonzi said he viewed the speech as a positive contribution by Dr Debono. He had made several valid points which the country needed to concentrate on................................. why put it on the country when it was Gonzipn who was elected to concentrate on these issues, the country can only concentrate on things that they can action, like elections and referendums!

Charles J. Buttigieg

Feb 14th, 10:19

Lip service and total inaction.