Two leaders. One goose-step.

By
2019-06-10T07:29:52+02:00Mon, 10th Jun '19, 07:29|

Remarks by the two party leaders yesterday had one common underlying theme, if you look close enough. They both want us to march in their platoon, but it’s really one tune they’re playing. Consider how Joseph Muscat yesterday said he was worried dissent within the PN might mean he would not secure the two-thirds majority [...]

THE SUNDAY TIMES: Party forever

By
2019-06-09T14:35:32+02:00Sun, 9th Jun '19, 14:35|

From my article in The Sunday Times today: "The Partit Nazzjonalista has no exoskeleton. Its ability to communicate with the outside world is limited and its efforts to look any better than the blubbery mush we can all see make it frankly more pathetic. "The similarities with the state of the Partit Laburista exceed the [...]

When is a university not a university? (4)

By
2019-06-07T18:35:25+02:00Fri, 7th Jun '19, 16:17|

This is the fourth part of a series arising from an interview with an ex-staff member at the AUM. Part 1 is here. John Ryder, Provost at the AUM, is, according to the ex-staff member interviewed, ‘making a shitload of money.’  A shitload of money was certainly invested in the AUM project which began to [...]

GUEST POST: Wake up, will you?

By
2019-06-07T09:48:27+02:00Fri, 7th Jun '19, 09:48|

Sent in by a regular contributor to this site: I find myself frustrated. A section of PN supporters I speak to keep on insisting that being critical of the party at this moment is giving Labour an advantage.  How’s that for the epitome of heads in the sand syndrome? Wakey, wakey! Labour HAS the advantage.... [...]

When is a university not a university? (3)

By
2019-06-06T12:47:51+02:00Thu, 6th Jun '19, 16:17|

This is the third part of a series arising from an interview with an ex-staff member at the AUM. Part 1 is here. ‘Whenever a theory appears to you as the only possible one, take this as a sign that you have neither understood the theory nor the problem which it was intended to solve.’ [...]

What is Adrian Delia trying to prove?

By
2019-06-06T13:39:21+02:00Thu, 6th Jun '19, 13:39|

Xarabank have announced that Adrian Delia will tomorrow be the star gladiator where the champion will face Franco Debono, David Thake, Wayne Hewitt, George Tabone tal-Gram Jewellers and someone Jeremy Camilleri who apparently worked at the General Workers’ Union. In what I hope is a fit of acid irony, Lovin Malta described this as a [...]

Top twenty

By
2019-06-06T12:25:00+02:00Thu, 6th Jun '19, 12:25|

It's time to very briefly look back. Here are the top 20 most read stories on this blog in the last 6 months: 20. Add this to the case for an independent inquiry 29 January 2019   19. ‘Erba’ biċċiet bloggers’ Or ‘Stand by your man’ 3 January 2109   18. Bend the knee 11 [...]

Two years

By
2019-06-06T11:47:08+02:00Thu, 6th Jun '19, 11:47|

On the 6th of June 2017, I started this blog. It was the Tuesday after the general election and I started out writing a Facebook post about what I thought were the causes of a general election result I did not predict but wanted to understand. Wanting to understand is my first reason for writing [...]

ECJ dismisses John Dalli’s claim Commission, OLAF acted illegally when he was fired

By
2019-06-06T10:31:18+02:00Thu, 6th Jun '19, 10:31|

The European Court of Justice has dismissed a claim by John Dalli that the European Commission or its anti-fraud agency, OLAF, acted illegally when he was fired for corruption. John Dalli was fired by Commission President Manuel Barroso from the post of EU Commissioner for Health on 16 October 2012 when OLAF reported his side-kick [...]

GUEST POST: The Sword of Damocles

By
2019-06-13T15:34:44+02:00Thu, 6th Jun '19, 10:12|

Sent in by a regular contributor. The Nationalist Party is living out Mary Shelley’s horror story. Like Victor Frankenstein, they have created their own monster despite having had the benefit of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s foresight. Now, this monster haunts the party and ravages all that the Nationalist Party stands for. How will they deal with [...]

GUEST POST: The Good Surgeon

By
2019-06-06T10:04:48+02:00Thu, 6th Jun '19, 10:04|

Sent in by a regular contributor. Whether they like it or not, the Nationalist Party is stuck with Adrian Delia’s clan like the paralysed side of a stroke patient. Adrian Delia will leave on his own terms, when he wants to, not when 100% of the Nationalist electorate tells him to. It’s useless for the [...]

Justice Commissioner demands Malta consults Venice Commission on justice reforms

By
2019-06-06T09:51:30+02:00Thu, 6th Jun '19, 09:51|

Photo: Leo Cavallo/Alamy Live News European Commission sources have told this website that Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova has “stressed the need to ensure the necessary checks and balances” in Malta’s planned justice reforms and that Malta’s government is “to consult the Venice Commission”. Commissioner Jourova’s remarks were made in a meeting in Brussels [...]

EU Commission studying CoE report on Malta “in detail”

By
2019-06-06T09:33:06+02:00Thu, 6th Jun '19, 09:33|

Frans Timmermans (left) at a PL event in May The European Commission is “currently studying in detail” a report adopted by the Committee for Justice and Human Rights of the Council of Europe that recommended that EU institutions act on the breakdown of rule of law in Malta if Maltese authorities continue to [...]

When is a university not a university? (2)

By
2019-06-05T16:19:30+02:00Wed, 5th Jun '19, 16:17|

This is the second part of a series arising from an interview with an ex-staff member at the AUM. Part 1 is here. According to the information originally published on its website, the American University of Malta ‘was officially born on 16 September 2016’ although what it was actually doing at this time is open [...]

Trolled by future generations

By
2019-06-05T16:13:32+02:00Wed, 5th Jun '19, 16:13|

Or at least by their advocate. Maurice Mizzi, holder of what I have described as “the most pompous, highfalutin, bombastic balderdash of a title ever awarded to anyone by a republic” or “Guardian of Future Generations” should be in a spot of trouble because of his bigoted, racist, islamophobic remarks made in a recent interview [...]

GUEST POST: Valuable factions

By
2019-06-05T15:32:42+02:00Wed, 5th Jun '19, 15:32|

Sent in by someone known to me that goes by the name of 'Libertas'. When discussing the current political scenario it would perhaps entail taking a back seat and possibly be as objective as possible. The absence of mature political thinking (ideologies is a big unedifying word) in all parties could be an offspring of [...]

EU Commission to Malta: “Strengthen the independence of the judiciary”.

By
2019-06-05T15:33:43+02:00Wed, 5th Jun '19, 15:18|

The need to fix Malta's governance framework was 1 of 3 priorities identified by the European Commission for Malta to deliver on the "stability program" as an EU member state. The stability program measures compliance with economic policies of the countries in the EU and identifies weaknesses that need adjusting to ensure economic stability into [...]

Listen

By
2019-06-05T15:06:55+02:00Wed, 5th Jun '19, 15:06|

Leaks happen when the plumbing is not working well. Somewhere in the flow of information and decision-making things are getting stuck, pressure behind the blockage mounts and vulnerabilities and risk end up gushing out of unintended openings. People are admonishing some PN MPs and officials — some who have resigned and others who haven’t — [...]

Go to Top