Saturday, 17th October 2009
A minister behaving badly
I remember that more than33 years ago when I entered the Malta Public Service, one of the veteran public officers gave me some advice which I have never forgotten. He told me that when one serves his/her country in the public service, it is essential that he/she does nothing which will reduce his/her impartiality when dealing with members of the general public in the future.
Likewise, one should avoid all familiarity with members of the general public because keeping one’s distance ensured objectivity, impartiality and fairness when taking decisions and in all other actions. As such, things like close friendship with certain members of the general public, the acceptance of small gifts at Christmas, the acceptance of small favours, etc., should all be avoided by the serious public servant.
Several years later, when I served in government departments where one had a great deal of interaction with the general public, I always remembered my old friend’s advice. I still remember how some businessmen used to try and strike up a close relationship with public officers in order to try and gain an illicit advantage from such a relationship. I had forgotten these experiences of those now distant days until, the other day, I read about the case of PN Minister Tonio Fenech.
I find it unacceptable that a government minister should accept to go abroad in a businessman’s private jet. I am sure that if a public officer had done the same thing, he/she would have found himself/herself under investigation for having breached his/her code of ethics.
I will not enter into the other issues mentioned in the media because it is true that these might entail simply throwing mud at a government minister. However, I believe that no defence can be mounted against one simple fact : Government ministers should keep a safe distance from businessmen and, as such, they should certainly not accept offers to fly in their private jets!
Tonio Fenech has made a serious error of judgment. I will not enter into the controversy about whether he should resign or not. However, please note that other opinionists and myself have now been proved right when we wrote about the Machiavellian Nationalist network of interests including top businessmen and captains of industry. The facts speak for themselves.
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@ Giov De Martino
The 1981 Results . MLP 49.1% 34 Seats. PN 50.9% 31 Seats.
The 2008 Results. MLP 48.79% 34 Seats. PN 49.33% 31 Seats.
Tell me now; if the 1981 elections were gerrymandered by the MLP to gain a seat advantage, were the 2008 Elections gerrymandered by the PN to give an advantage to the MLP as well?
Thanks mate you said all in your short comment!
Joseph made the first step to unite all our efforts to solve many of the present problems the nation is facing today. If Joseph’s offer of help fall on deaf ears I am most sorry to say that the present Administration will disintegrate more and becomes much more uncontrollable then it presently is! It is public knowledge that the bickering within the PN is making the present Administration weaker and weaker day by day. The weaker the Administration gets the more we ALL have to suffer.
Joseph’s genuine offer on Sunday should demonstrate if Gonzi’s electoral cry ‘Fl-Imkien Kollox Possibli’ was an Electoral gimmick or not! The next Budget will give us a true picture and tell us all!
The PL’s Leader has the right vision for a better future for us all. His repeated appeals to look ahead and embrace progressive policies should never fall on deaf ears! Let bygones be just bygones. Let us not repeat past mistakes and isolate those who repeat past dark history. Though all parties have their dark side let us concentrate on finding the best solutions to get away from the precarious situation we are living. Let us unite to solve the mountain of problems the nation is facing.
The insecurity and the arrogance of the present administration are definitely making matters much worse. The silly behaviour of a certain Cabinet Members both in parliament and outside parliament is weakening a very shaky Administration: an administration that lost its soul many years ago and now it is fast losing its body too.
It is a fact that the present Administration never enjoyed the backing of the majority of the electorate and imposing its wrong policies on us all is not only shameful but condemnable.
To be cont .....
@ Charles J Buttigieg
From what you say I conclude that:
1. Mintoff never attended the Seminary.
2 Archbishop Gonzi was never Rector at the Seminary.
3 That Mgr. Gonzi never went to England during the Integration negotiations.
4. That Mintoff and Mgr. Gonzi became 'buddies' while the MLP was still as anti-church as in the Integration campaign days. Some within the party are still so today!
5. At least we both agree that Mgr. Gonzi had a soft spot for the MLP despite the war between the two.
6 The Church issued a formal apology, not just regrets - the MLP never apologized.
7. The NP never had any involvement in the Church - MLP saga, never seized Church property, never attacked the Curia and never instructed its supporters to boycott the Church. The NP has nothing to apologize for. The MLP attacked the Church and never apologized.
You may not agree with NP policies, and that's your right and the remedy is very simple - persist in not voting NP in future elections - that's your right too and no one will paint, vandalize or fire-bomb your front door because you are a known Laburist!
Re the following:-
According to you,” Archbishop Gonzi bears the brunt of the Labour Party's wrath because he happened to be in charge of the Church in Malta at the time and it was him who, some say, disciplined Mintoff while he was Rector of the Seminary and Mintoff was a seminarian”. This doesn’t add up either.
You might be right on this one, I had misread your comment the first time, I got the impression that you wrote that Mintoff got his rollicking at the Seminary when Gonzi was Archbishop. This does not however confirm the rumour as I’m not in a position to do that or deny. The undeniable truth is that both of them were as stubborn as a mule.
@ J Martinelli.
According to you,” Archbishop Gonzi bears the brunt of the Labour Party's wrath because he happened to be in charge of the Church in Malta at the time and it was him who, some say, disciplined Mintoff while he was Rector of the Seminary and Mintoff was a seminarian”. This doesn’t add up either.
Michael Gonzi was Bishop of Gozo at the age of 39. He became Archbishop of Malta in 1944. Prior to 1944 Mintoff was already a qualified Civil Engineer and in 1944 Mintoff was at Oxford University reading for his MA.
Your very quote from ‘Conclusions of a Cabinet meeting Jan 11, 1972’ contradicts your earlier statement and acknowledged mine. After 1969 Mintoff and Gonzi became tolerant for each other and in 1971 they became good friends and sent flowers to each other on their respective birthdays. That explains Gonzi’s visit to London in late 1971.
The formerly unconsegrated ground at the Addollorata was and still is referred to as ‘Il-Mizbla’. The human remains had already been transferred to the consecrated area and the church declared all of Addolorata consecrated grounds.
Lord Strickland, Sir Michael Gonzi, Archbishop Mercieqa, Archbishop Cremona and the Labour Party had all, in different ways, shown regret for their past wrong doings yet the PN had always insisted that their past was beyond reproach and never ever shown any remorse for their violent acts. Doesn’t that tell you something before expecting the “PL making some right moves which may unite the nation...........”?
The term Anti-clericalism had been used sumptuously by the church and the PN to demonise Dom Mintoff and the MLP. In hard terms Anticlericalism opposes religious institutional power and influence in all aspects of public and political life, and the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen. It suggests a more active and partisan role than mere laicise and has at times been violent, leading to attacks and seizure of church property.
Violence, leading to attacks and seizure of church property is condemnable however I will not feel that I am a good Christian if I don’t oppose religious institutional power and influence in all aspects of public and political life and the involvement of religion in everyday of my life.
One of our progressive and leading theologians is on record for stating that in Malta you can’t be a good Christian unless you are ‘anti-klerikali’. I’m sure that the good theologian was not suggesting violence, attacks and seizures of church property.
@ Joseph Buttigieg Attard
Firstly when you address yourself to me please don’t be so patronising, you are not dealing with children in a classroom here. Secondly I fail to understand why you are arguing a point with me and at the same time endorsing my statement, which only stated the obvious, in that Malta was a ‘Priest ridden Society’.
I am still researching Archbishop's 'attempt at mediating' during the Integration period but in my search I found the following: 'Conclusions of a Cabinet Meeting - January 11, 1972, marked SECRET but obviously declassified since it can be found on the Internet (filestore.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pdfs/.../cab-128-50-cm-72-1-2.pdf )
"It was also noted that Archbishop Gonzi, during his brief visit to
London earlier that week', had expressed great anxiety about the
policies of the present Malta Government. His only suggestion,
however, had been that NATO's offer should be increased to £15
million a year, on the basis that if Mr. Mintoff refused such an offer
public opinion would compel him to abandon office. Our position,
including our unwillingness to provide any more cash ourselves, had
been made clear to him.
The Prime Minister, summing up the discussion, said that we
had made all the dispositions necessary to complete an orderly
Withdrawal".
This isn't 'weasel talk' - it is on record as minutes of the British Cabinet meeting of January 11, 1972.
With regard to the Mizbla, unconsecrated grounds are not mizbla, They're simply burial grounds like others on the island not blessed by the Catholic church.
Continued
So, according to you, the Jewish cemetery, the cemetery known as tat-Torok, Ta Braxia and many others are mizblas? Besides, I doubt whether any of those buried in unconsecrated portion of Addolorata cemetery were regular churchgoers! We know how many of the MLP's highest hierarchy avoided church services like the plague. And here I am not referring to Sunday Mass, but public ceremonies on special occasions at St. John's Cathedral such as Parliament Inauguration day and others.
I am not passing judgment here and to each his own, but please don't be so scandalized by the few (or many) who were buried outside the consecrated portion of Addolorata. There are two remedies here, now that the Church formally apologized and had removed interdiction many years ago; transport the remains to the consecrated portion or better still, the church could declare all of Addolorata consecrated grounds.
In the meantime, how about the LP making some right moves which may unite the nation and give less importance to who governs and who opposes?
Please note both of you that in most history books the population of S, Italy, Sicily and Malta was considered “ignorant, superstitious and priest ridden”!
Even in modern days, maybe not that ignorant, but many are still very superstitious and many are still priest ridden! So much so, that even nowadays in our Wonderful Gozo you still find persons (aged ones, though not that many, thank God!) believing that voting Labour will get you eternal fire.
Finally, the anti-clericals are those who portray hell as heaven to please their earthly goods! The present local hell we are living at the moment gives us a perfect example who the real anti-clericals are! Capish my friends?!!
Gonzi had a soft spot for the Labour Party? Sure he had, he also had a special place reserved for its supporters, Il-Mizbla at the Addollorata.
As to Gonzi’s intervention with Whitehall, when you give us the source of your information I might give you some comments. What was never kept a secret was Gonzi’s assistance to Mintoff during the defence\financial agreement negotiations in the 70s.
Yes Mintoff was very stubborn and a mega confrontationist, he was a rebel with a cause, a Revolutionary - these were his trademarks and our country gained a great deal by them.
@ J Martinelli Part One.
I’m not prepared to argue with you whether I am or am not anti clerical. Neither you nor any living soul has any right to judge my inner feelings. Having said that one doesn’t need to be unti clerical to conclude that until the 70s the majority of the Maltese clergy had a strong hold on the people with their vivid arrogance and despotic attitude. I’ve known priests who came from very poor family backgrounds, never done a spot of work which yielded a financial reward yet they lived like Lords in their manor and when they died they left an inheritance worth a king’s ransom. And we had plenty of them. You tell me where the windfall came from?
Your point about Mintoff and Gonzi’s old feud is purely ‘weasel talk’ and I shall not waste my time arguing a pointless notion.
Your comments belie your statement that you are not anti-clerical. Funny that when I read 'ridden', I immediately think of flea ridden dogs but certainly not 'priest ridden' nations!
Archbishop Gonzi bears the brunt of the Labour Party's wrath because he happened to be in charge of the Church in Malta at the time and it was him who, some say, disciplined Mintoff while he was Rector of the Seminary and Mintoff was a seminarian.
There was no love lost between Mintoff and the Archbishop and while Archbishop Gonzi would probably have forgotten the petty incident as he probably had disciplined dozens before and after Mintoff, the latter kept the bitterness for years and sought every opportunity to get even.
Even so, Mgr. Gonzi had a soft spot for the Labour Party and secretly intervened and tried to convince the British government to compromise with Mintoff during the Integration negotiations! This was revealed not so long ago when Cabinet notes from the House of Commons were declassified. How about some comments in this regard?
Mintoff's policy was one of stubbornness and confrontation - they are his trademarks and unfortunately the country paid the price!
2. The Holy Bible is the Constitution of Christianity, we are left free to live by it or reject its teachings. A Political Party’s Constitution has to be a temporal one as Politics and Religion do not mix.Politiceans are elected to take care of our temporal needs not to save our souls.
3 I pray to God to bless me with the spiritual guidance and comfort of one of his ministers now and more so when my end is getting close. I am not anti clerical. We do have good priests, what I’m against is the materialistic fibre the Catholic Church, as an institution, is made of.
4 In 1969 the Giunta Diocesana retreated when it failed its mission and had to dismantle after receiving the order from Rome. The Giunta’s mission was to eliminate the MLP from the political scene and it failed.
@ J Martinelli Part One.
1. Jesus preached against materialism and lived his life on Earth practicing what he used to preach. All Christian denominations preach spirituality and condemn materialism- do you honestly need me to prove to you that Christian Churches do not practice what they preach? Are you denying the fact that Sir Michael Gonzi and his hierarchy lived the life of Riley and kept the people in ignorance? Mons. Ignatius Panzavecchia, a 1920s Education Minister was actually against educating the working class as he claimed that with education they would lose their soul; he was also against social assistance as according to him workers would use that money to buy alcohol. It is true that the church also had Mgr. De Piro who inherited a bonanza and gave it all to the poor. How many De Piros do you know, I know a great number of Panzavecchias.
Since you refuse to answer my question, repeated twice, I take it that you refuse to answer and instead, you changed the subject in a subtle way, to other issues.
You described the MLP as," progressive movement that wanted to rid the people from the shackles of a materialistic church". I do not understand how the church can ever be described as 'materialistic' since it always preaches against materialism, unless the definition of 'materialism' you choose to spin according to your whims.
You criticize the NP's mottos - fair enough, although there is nothing wrong with them even if they existed since the party's inception. By your same argument, you can also criticize the Holy Bible on the premise that it was written almost two thousand years ago!
You complain about 'a priest ridden society' which your party made sure to do something about in the most dastardly way! I hope that when your time comes, as invariably it will, you shall not bother to obtain the comfort of one.
The Gunta Diocesana 'retreated' in 1969 for two reasons: 1. Its mission was accomplished, and 2. The splinter parties became unsustainable!
That quote is surely taken from Joseph Muscat' "apology" for Black Monday, when a mob of Socialist thugs tried to silence the only truly independent news paper in Malta by burning it down. That is a stain on Labour's record time cannot erase. Only a genuine and sincere apology by the Labour leadership can mitigate the damage done to the Labour Party. Very stupidly they are refusing to do that. So very typical of Labour.
Is that all? Where is your personal condemnation? As I point out, you and your likes behave according to the side of the fence you are! Your behaviour reflects all!
How pitiful!
A matter of national interest indeed. More like a matter of Nationalist interest.
The matter of national interest was about a struggle between a despotic church leader, who felt much more secure and tranquil with a PN Administration which motto was and still is ‘Religio et Patria’ – Nazionalismo e Tradizionalismo, and a progressive movement that wanted to rid the people from the shackles of a materialistic church. No I cannot quote you a single verse of any of GBO’s speeches as my data bank is not that sophisticated, however, I lived that time and for a while I also supported GBO.
You do not surprise me with your insistence that GBO was unhappy with that situation and he didn’t take the fullest advantage of a priest ridden society. Fact is that the PN lost their power base when the ‘Gunta Diocesana’ retreated in 1969.
U kemm wehlu nies ghal dan???? Wiehed jew hafna? U ghaliex wiehed biss?
Did you expect GBO to stay out in isolation in a matter of national interest?
GBO took no advantage. The advantage was conferred by the MLP by not seeking a compromise. Mintoff took the opportunity to get even with Archbishop Gonzi over an incident which had happened many years earlier at the Seminary when Archbishop Gonzi was the Rector. My uncle was a seminarian as Mintoff was in the 30s - 40s.
GBO never insisted that people vote NP because of the Interdett and I challenge you to quote one instance when he did. That is not taking advantage of the serious rift between Archbishop Gonzi and Mintoff.
You still have not answered my question about finally getting a formal apology from the LP about the atrocities of the 70s and 80s as opposed to the church's official regret and apology for being heavy handed in dealing with the MLP, which the Archbishop delivered some three years ago.
You and others insist that we bury the past, but your party refuses to do it by issuing an apology, which is long, long overdue.
Kollox possibli.
My judgment of the political parties is that one is worse than the other. I would say that 40 % of our MP's can run away with murder and still get elected. Some of today's MP's and MEP's only quality is that they manipulate the media , and their surnames on the ballot papers.
@ J Martinelli
GBO and his PN were part of the Political- Religious alliance, together with Herbert Ganado, Toni Pellegrini,Mabel Strickland and Ransley, the ‘Gunta Diocesana’.Their infamous mission was to crush Mintoff and the MLP. GBO had no difficulties to join Archbishop Gonzi and the other parties under ‘The umbrella’ to give his full support and allegiance to Gonzi. As a reward GBO and the PN became the main beneficiaries.
Seta kien RCC,Raymond Caruana, Karin Grech jew Wilfred Cardona ghalija vittma tal vjolenza pulitika li jien nikkundanna giet mnejn giet.
Looks like you are confusing the Quiroz case with Charles Mangion’s case. The prisoner in question served practically his full term. His prison sentence was due to expire two days after Christmas but the prison authorities recommended a few days earlier release to allow the man spending Christmas with his family. The request was accepted by the relevant civil authority subject to an endorsement by the Home Minister. Before putting his name on the dotted line Charles Mangion was supposed to notify the PM and his colleagues in the Cabinet of Ministers something he didn’t do because his Permanent Secretary failed to advise him. Like a true gentleman, Dr. Mangion accepted his political responsibility and submitted his resignation.
I wonder why you chose to mention the MIZBLA without the least provocation.
To answer your comment, anyway, I point out that:
1. Nationalist governments were never involved in the matter since it was a Church decision.
2. The Nationalist Party never liked the idea of the Interdett, publicly said so, and GBO always cautioned that this would be exploited to the fullest by the MLP - and he was right!
3. The events which followed, including after the 1971 Socialist win, more than earned the Church's wrath. Church property - grabbed. Church schools harassed. Curia attacked. Priests and churchgoers ridiculed. Parishioners instructed not to put money in the sasla and to this day, some still refuse to support the church even if they attend services.
4. The Church found enough courage to openly express regret because of its actions in the Interdett affair and formally apologized.
5. When will the Labour Party have the decency to regret its past and to apologize for all the misdeeds of the 70s and 80s?
Having a cute leader who, in hindsight and in passing acknowledges that those terrible events should never have happened, does not cut it!
Incident? There were hundreds of worst incidents. Click on www.maltapolitics.com/vjolenzanazzjonalista.htm to refresh your memory.
You just don't know what you're talking about. The whole situation was condoned by the Government. In 1971 il-MIZBLA saw its end. Don't try to justify what is wrong.
Socialists times? Before the Socialists times, when we had the PN in Government, Socialists who expressed their political views in public were buried in the 'MIZBLA' after they died.
But you are still living in Socialists times!
A word to Mr Demartino, one of many people who are doing their level best to push their beloved party to the Opposition benches: the people out there are living in the present, not in the past. Much as I, for one, suffered in the 70s and 80s, that is PAST and we are breathing the oxygen of the present. If you think that tomorrow's voters are going to vote in terms of the past, you are, oh, so very wrong that I pity you. You are doing so much harm to your own Party! You!
Do you differentiate between a self imposed code of ethics and the Civil service.Estacode?
Do you find it acceptable when members of parliament from the opposition do business with businessmen?
In my opinion all members of parliament-and to some extent election candidates- should follow the same code of ethics which the ministers have.How can I trust a candidate who will be a minister of finance if he is the notary of a group of companies? Wouldn't there be a conflict of interest?
Our politicians should play the ethics game on a level playing field . Does the LP have a code of ethics?
Rakkont fil-qosor ta’ vittma Laburista
I too have a personal experience which prompts me not to forget. On the night when the 1987 election results were out and the PN supporters took over our streets, a group of armed thugs entered the airport and identified me as a personal aide of the then Labour Prime Minister. A person known to me pointed a loaded gun while the others spat in my face and manhandled me. Two police officers just looked on with a smirk of satisfaction on their face. Thanks only to a group of Thompson arrivals who intervened, providing a human shield and transporting me home in their coach, I lived to tell the tale. The first day of the 1987 Nationalist administration marked the beginning of an ordeal of mental torture which became institutionalised and up to 1996 I was so badly discriminated against that our Constitutional Court found Air Malta, my former employer, guilty of inhuman and degrading treatment and awarded me financial compensation.
Charles J. Buttigieg
The Times 14.4.2007
Now Google.....Malta u l-Politika-Vjolenza Nazzjonalista.
www.maltapolitics.com/vjolenzanazzjonalista.htm
"Regarding the point brought up by Mr Giovanni DeMartino, thank God, we are not living in colonial times".
Almost right (again) but not quite.
Your statement would have made more sense if it read like this: "Regarding the point brought up by Mr Giovanni DeMartino, thank God, we are not living in SOCIALIST times".
AMEN to that!
GonziPN one iota or save your sinking ship!
Nor will it hide the mountain of political abuses and corruption we are witnessing now.
Nor will it help the insecurity of GonziPN’s Administration!
Nor will it divert us from your beloved party’s ‘back scratching’ policies.
Nor will it stop us all from calling GonziPN to fulfill its electoral promises!
Nor will it stop us all from making public the unlimited deceitful information your beloved party try to feed us.
Your ‘one sided past events’ will only help GonziPN to pack up as fast as possible and give the electorate a chance to solve the precarious situation we are living!
Yes that is the ONLY solution that any sane person is asking for!
We need stability, opportunities and effective price controls. We need a prime minister who is preoccupied by the problems in the country rather than the problems in his party.”
Gonzi cannot come to a decision because too many factors have to be taken into account to appease some of his ministers and his backbenchers.
And while Mintoff’s men were committing those crimes, the PN and its righteous supporters were taking it all in like the old Christians allowed the ferocious lions to chew on their bones in the Roman amphitheatre. Fanatiku nitfa zejda Giovan biex tipperswazi li tal PN vitmi,vergni u puri. One simple example...in your exhaustive list you reminded us when Coronato Attard was physical abused in parliament but you forgot to mention that the saint himself started that ugly incident when he attacked the PL MPs with a car battery copper lead.
One MP which I remember crossing the floor was Coronato Attard PN waving a car battery terminal lead in the face of a Labour MP. Yours is a selective memory Giovan!
Your and your likes differ when a wrong behaviour is committed. You behave according to the side of the fence you are on when that 'wrong behaviour' is committed! How shameful in the modern world we live in.
Watching pain drying is much more interesting then reading your most biased comments.