Is he a hero or traitor?
Residents of Jeffery Pullicino Orlando’s hometown of Żebbuġ are torn.
The minute you step into a bar or a club and utter the MP’s name, people’s faces either light up or shut down. “He’s a traitor,” some spit with disgust. “He is a hero,” others cheer.
It is a village divided: for the Nationalist supporters, his resignation from the Nationalist Party is “unforgivable”. For Labour supporters, his actions stem from his “honesty”.
At the PN club, the mention of Dr Pullicino Orlando is met with a dead silence: glasses of whisky are slammed on tables. “We don’t mention that name in here,” one barks.
Finally, a man from the far back table speaks out: “He’s a traitor. That’s what he is.” There are nods all round. The mood is sombre.
A pensioner downs his beer. He asks to see our press cards and then says: “I can’t believe I voted for him at the last election. When I saw him on television, with tears streaming down his face, I felt really sorry for him. It takes a lot for a man to sob like that.”
He now feels betrayed by the man he voted for, his fellow Żebbuġi.
“He forgot all about those tears now, it seems. He forgot all about the 5,000 people who voted for him. How can we forgive him?”
Outside, on a bench in the village square, a group of pensioners’ immediate reaction is: “Don’t mention his name here.”
Ninu Baldacchino, 66, a former canvasser of his in the electoral campaign of 2003, says: “I completely don’t see eye-to-eye with him now.”
He prefers to talk about Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi: “We have a Prime Minister who doesn’t give up easily, a real leader, who keeps taking the best decisions for the country.” He believes that an election should only be held at the end of a mandate.
His friend, Carmelo Agius, 62, says he is hopeful that Dr Pullicino Orlando will keep his word. “I would like to believe that, from now on, he will vote with the government,” he says.
In another band club, a group of six pensioners are sitting round a table discussing the political issue.
“To me he is a traitor,” Gejtu Bugeja, 65, declares, “because of all the stuff that he brought up.”
Across the table, George Attard, 65, loudly disagrees: “To me he is one of the best gladiators this country has ever had. He had the courage to take the Nationalist Party by the horns. He is the most honest politician there is.”
Mr Bugeja, snorts: “I’ve still got to come across one... from either side.”
The debate becomes more animated, there is a lot of slamming on the table and colourful expletives are bandied about.
But, in the end, they all good-naturedly agree to disagree and order another round of drinks. Dr Pullicino Orlando is just a good excuse for a lively debate.
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41 Comments
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Ramon Casha
Jul 22nd 2012, 06:29
Is he a hero or traitor?
That depends on whether his loyalties are to the people of Malta, to his party, to his voters or to Gonzi and co.
Evarist Saliba
Jul 21st 2012, 20:00
Does the statement that "Siggiewi is a divided village" reflect truthfully the findings rep[orted here?
All nationalist supporters are quoted to say that, putting it very mildly, they disagree with Jeffrey Pullicino's antics.
Only the Labour Party supporters, very few in numbers, who want to bring this government down, had a good word for him. What a discovery!
Michelle Buhagiar
Jul 21st 2012, 20:08
It's "Zebbug", not "Siggiewi".
Evarist Saliba
Jul 21st 2012, 21:26
Thanks for the correction.
thomas dimech
Jul 21st 2012, 19:56
I dont understand this hatred for JPO, what has he done wrong? Did he undermine the goverment ? no !
He believed that EVERY goverment employee, being whoever, should honour the parliament and not go and make arrangements behind its back. JPO resigned from the PN, but he still said that he will support the goverment to continue its mandate. So how is he obstructing the goverment in any way?
Or maybe is it true that RCC is that man behind the shadows who really call the shots, and thats why there is all this hatred for JPO after he forced RCC to resign with his vote?
Francis Grech
Jul 21st 2012, 17:54
At least he stuck to his word not like that Paroli si Fatti no Franco Debono,good on you JPO you are an honourable HERO, to a lot of people.
Henry S Pace
Jul 21st 2012, 17:27
' Is he a hero or traitor? '
JPO is poitically disordered and unstable.
He said that he want to be faithful to his voters BUT this t has come to late.
He should resign his parlaimentary seat.
V Caruana
Jul 21st 2012, 16:49
JPO was a hero in 2003. He victimized himself for the sake of Alfred Sant who was demonized for the second campaign in a row. He is not a traitor as his views are concrete and well known facts like Austin Gatt being called the other PM. I would rather say that he is a REFORMIST. It's up to the Gonzi-PN to decide for reformation.
anthony sultana
Jul 21st 2012, 16:40
her is a hero
Kenneth Galea
Jul 21st 2012, 16:38
JPO will be just history in few months time. He will not be in Parliamnet whether PL or PN wins the next general election and most probably will be stripped off the various ranks he occupies. In the long run I doubt if the Maltese people will entrust JPO with their vote should he ever run for the general election.
JPO said he feels liberated when he resigned from the PN but I think we feel liberated most, I am glad he will not be in Parliament in the next legislature whether PL or PN is in charge.
vella m
Jul 21st 2012, 16:21
He is a HERO and for sure not a yes man, like the rest of those out of touch parliamentarians.Jeffery be strong and Don't let others decide for you.Anqas temmen kemm għad hawn imħuħ fid-dlam hawn Malta.
Alfred Falzon
Jul 21st 2012, 16:08
JPO is neither a hero nor a traitor for some...
Depending from which Party the diehards hail ...
PL or rather former MLP hardliners led by Dr Alfred Sant may not share the same opinion as those who are now backing PL leader Dr Joseph Muscat...
Some PN Party supporters think that he has now "crossed the red line"...
And what about the poor, insignificant, lonesome floating voter?...
He or she must be suffering from a bout of amnesia, the aftermath of mental short-circuit!!
Alfred A. Falzon
stephen koludrovic
Jul 21st 2012, 15:42
JPO traitor or hero? similar to Dom Mintoff, a traitor to one half of the country and a hero to the other half.
The positive side of JPO is that notwithstanding the opposition from his own ex party, he was capable to bring forwards the divorce bill, which brought this country in line with the rest of the civilized world.
Another collateral effect of this is the cohabitation laws {rights of children born out of marriage} gay and lesbian rights,and IVF.all these laws are next in line.
JPO has also directly and indirectly broken the marriage of connivance that the PN had with the church.
JPO might be considered as a traitor to some Zebbug PN supporters, but to quite a few others passing through a difficult time in their lives he is definitively a hero.
Alfred Falzon
Jul 21st 2012, 16:18
@ stephen koludrovic
I tend to differ when it comes to the comparison with former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff!
It was Dr Alfred Sant (in 1998) who insulted Mintoff, labelling him a "traitor" during a Party meeting in Birgu, that same Alfred Sant who is still today an active PL member of the Opposition!
The result?...A humiliating defeat at the polls for Sant and his acolytes!
Was it then half the country that called Mintoff a "traitor"?!!
Alfred A. Falzon
Angelo Vassallo
Jul 21st 2012, 15:33
@ Victor Vella
"He is not a licker"
TICCAJTA !!!!!!!!!!!! u anki BIKKEJ u NEWWIEH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Antonia Vella
Jul 21st 2012, 15:07
Li hadem al ligi ta divorzju f post bhal malta li ghadu hafna religjuz diga huwa hero kbir
Reinhard Azzopardi
Jul 21st 2012, 15:46
Hero kbir? Dak ghax riedu hu! Ara kieku kien mizzewweg kuntent, stajna indumu neqirdu ghad-divorzju ghax minghajru konna nibqhgu. Issa jien wiehed minn dawk li ivvutajt favur id-divorzju ta pero bl-ebda mod ma ghamiltu hero. Kont naf li iridu hu u kif jghidu bl-ingliz, I jumped on the bandwagon. Pero m'inix se nbuslu l-qiegh ta saqajh ghax naf bic-certi li iggieled ghad-divorzju minhabba li kien jiswa lilu u lil hadd aktar.
O Kassar
Jul 21st 2012, 14:35
Those who voted for these traitors (JPO, Franco Debono and Jesmond Mulliett) have every right to react. These people trusted these traitors with their vote just because they thought they would represent the PN and its line of politics. Democracy means "abiding by the will of the people who voted for you" and not "abiding by your own free will". The latter is the wrong concept of democracy that JPO and Franco are trying to put forward because they still want the cake and eat it. Where a member of parliament does not agree with the line of the party that he represents, he should not only resign from the Party but also from Parliament. I'm sure this will not finish here and PN supporters will continue to demand this until the very end.
Joseph Grech Attard
Jul 21st 2012, 15:31
"Those who voted for these traitors (JPO, Franco Debono and Jesmond Mulliett) have every right to react. " Excuse me, so those who have not voted for them have no right to react? That would be a very dangerous situation!!
O Kassar
Jul 21st 2012, 17:53
Mr Grech Attard, don't be so naive. My comment was made within the context of this article which, it seems, you haven't read.
Joseph Borg
Jul 21st 2012, 14:04
A politician is neither a traitor nor a hero. A politician is just someone who wants power to be able to use it for his own needs.
Reinhard Azzopardi
Jul 21st 2012, 15:46
Nail on the head!
stephen koludrovic
Jul 21st 2012, 18:20
Did not Gonzi also renegade on some of his electoral promises? So should he also be branded as betraying his followers and resign?
Kenneth Williams
Jul 21st 2012, 13:33
A pensioner downs his beer. He asks to see our press cards and then says: “I can’t believe I voted for him at the last election. When I saw him on television, with tears streaming down his face, I felt really sorry for him. It takes a lot for a man to sob like that.”
He now feels betrayed by the man he voted for, his fellow Żebbuġi.
“He forgot all about those tears now, it seems. He forgot all about the 5,000 people who voted for him. How can we forgive him?”
MELA MA SMAJTUX LI DAK ID DMUGH KIEN FABBRIKAT.....MIN PEPPI AZZOPARDI U RCC. U bil haqq fejnu peppi.....kieku kien il labour kien jghamel programm specjali ta Xarabank... imma issa skiet perfett....
Victor Vella
Jul 21st 2012, 13:28
He is not a licker.
Mr Ernest Vella
Jul 21st 2012, 13:05
He is a traitor not because he turned against Gonzi but because what happened a year ago with the Members Private Bill. Before the elections he said and wrote against divorce...and for that he is a traitor. I don't mind what he thinks or says...he thought he could laugh behind our back, but he is wrong. Shame on JPO...it was better for him if he stayed a part-time farmer or journalist than enter again into politics.
George Cutajar
Jul 21st 2012, 12:58
The anti JPOS comments from the Zebbugin are more than understandable. Indeed they would be the same in respect of Debono had The Times gone to r Mqabba.
These feel, and rightly so, betrayed by the MP's to whom they gave their vote and in whom they put their trust. Nobody in Zebbug voted JPOS in to push the Divorce referendum or to bring down RCC. Nobody in Z Mqabba voted for Debono to bring CMB down and to threaten the PM.
What both MP's simply do not understand is from where these Zebbugin, and Mqabbin Nazzjonalisti came from. They fail to appreciate what they went through during the seventies and early eighties when being a Nazzjonalist meant you had to suffer beatings, frame-ups, threats and more.
These towns were always honoured to have as their elected MP's people of stature who were loyal to them and the party. These towns gave the party the likes of Louis Galea, Ninu Zammit, the late Not. Philip Saliba, the late Dr. Carmelo Caruana and above all the late Dr. George Borg Olivier.
Prof. de Marco, although never having contested on any of these towns, held them very close to his heart and that feeling was always more than reciprocated.
It was thanks to all these are many more that the PN managed, over the years , to establish a stronghold in Zebbug and Mqabba and JPOS and Debono have tried to undo all the hard work and suffering that went into creating these strongholds.
Both were elected on the PN ticket and the only decent thing they can do is simply returning their seat to the people who loaned it to them. Coming up with mantras that once elected and MP should seek what he feels is best is simply not on. An MP is elected on the basis of him being a party man and honouriing the mandate given by his constituents. Once unable to fulfill that mandate he has no other alternative but to return the seat to it's rightful owner - the constituents who voted him in.
Anthony A. Mifsud
Jul 21st 2012, 13:18
George, take it easy with the grapes, as the story unfolds the air tends to push the Gonzipn deeper in dire straits !
1.Gonzipn screwed up when, he took part in that set up, tal Mistra
2. Gonzipn, should have cleaned his party before he cried "Wolf"
Hence, your party are as guilty as the clan, that took JPO to Xandir Malta
In my humble opinion
Ninu
mario genovese
Jul 21st 2012, 14:04
What you failed to elaborate on is the fact that JPO's 'cherry on the cake' was his issue with RCC who we all know and perhaps admire for his overwelming credits to being super intelligent. I may also agree that he is one of the best disciples of Machiavelli, but there again as an ex Air Malta employee I ask, how come such a high reputable person agree with other board members to accept the purchase of the RJ aircraft without evaluating the final and binding contract (including the famous clause) or so has been alleged in local papers.
In my opinion JPO has been very lenient with those who whipped him without cause - it is a known fact of life that people choose friends and colleagues whilst trying hard to dispose of others considered to be undesirables.
At the end of the day JPO simply wrote another phase of our political history according to his political principles.
Joseph Cauchi Senior
Jul 21st 2012, 12:47
According to PN voters, JPO was dishonest and a traitor to the PN cause!
JPO should not only have resigned from the PN, but from Parliament – so that a true and honest PN representative would honour all those PN voters – (and NOT USURP the parliamentary seat for PERSONAL interests) - !
5,100 voted for a PN representative to carry the cause of the PN and not as a vehicle for SELF-AGGRANDISEMENT!
Such an MP cannot be called Honourable!
JC.
VINCENT WILLIAMS
Jul 21st 2012, 12:43
Those red-headed Nationalists supporters who are saying that the ex-PN Member of Parliament, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando is a traitor for resigning from the PN (Partit Negattiv). Most of them after the general election will admit that they and GonziPartitNegattiv were wrong. They will also admit how correct were John Dalli, Franco Debono, Jesmond Mugliett and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. They will also admit how correct were those PN Members of Parliament ( Arrigo, Farrugia) who at one time criticised also GonziPartitNegattiv for his undated and failling policies and arrogant behaviour.
aldo Attard
Jul 21st 2012, 12:23
On my voting document I could have voted for 8 in No candidates.
I could have placed my preferences No 1 on blue, No. 2 to 7 on green and No 8 on red.
If all of these candidates were to be elected to parliament for I made my judgment on meritocracy, who of all these servants to the people actually represented me.
Did I have any principles when I voted so? Or I would have been called a nationalist, a laborite or a green party supporter? And that's is all! Or what?? !!!!!!
Toni Borg
Jul 21st 2012, 12:18
The TOM online should run a poll
D. A . Agius
Jul 21st 2012, 14:44
Oh yes... a very scientific and precise solution to the issue.
The only poll needed is slightly different. Funny when seeing that Labour wants to go to it as fast as possible, Nationalists want to avoid it and AD can't be asked as they know the voting system here is a sham.
It's only a good excuse for swapping chairs and doing whatever "Government" wishes for the next 4/5 years.
More non-partisan direct democracy is needed, but the Alcoholic definitely would not ban alcohol, would he?
aldo Attard
Jul 21st 2012, 12:18
On my voting document I could have voted for 8 in No candidates.
I could have placed my preferences No 1 on blue, No. 2 to 7 on green and No 8 on red.
If all of these candidates were to be elected to parliament for I made my judgment on meritocracy, who of all these servants to the people actually represented me.
Did I have any principles when I voted so? Or I would have been called a nationalist, a laborite or a green party supporter? And that's is all. Or what? !!!!!!!
J. Abela
Jul 21st 2012, 12:04
When four years ago I saw tears streaming down JPO's face, I said this man is a dishonest and opportunistic man. My family said the same. Needless to say, although we all gave the other PN candidates a vote we gave him nil. We were surprised after we heard the results that other PN voters didn't see through this man.
Mariella Caruana
Jul 21st 2012, 14:07
dmugh tal kukkudrilli - hekk hassejt dak il hin!
Joseph Cauchi Senior
Jul 21st 2012, 12:01
“Is he a hero or a traitor?”
Oh, what an easy question!
To be a hero, he should resign from parliament and not only from the party!
5,100 voters want a PN representative in Parliament (and JPO is NOT)!
JC.
Edward Mallia
Jul 21st 2012, 11:48
According to a person in a Haz-Zebbug band club, JPO "had the courage to take the Nationalist Party by the horns". Surely "courage" does not come into this. It was JPO who put the (political) cuckold's horns on the PN in the first place "with tears streaming down his face. It takes a lot [ what of?] for a man to sob like that" said another man at the Zebbug PN club. The "courage" involved is the same as that of a matador facing a heavily-drugged bull with jablo horns and sponge hoofs.
The only real benefit that the country may derive from all this is an electorate slightly less inclined to give blind support, although going by the hyperactivity of party hacks on both sides this too seems like a forlorn hope.
Emanuel. Vella.
Jul 21st 2012, 11:31
HERO.
Anthony A. Mifsud
Jul 21st 2012, 13:09
Agree. Punto e basta.
Please choose the reason of your report below: