It started with a plagiarised electoral slogan but now the idea of plagiarising is taking on monumental proportions chez the nationalist party in Malta.
Both Austin Sammut and Simon Busuttil have recently heaped praises on the superior quality of the PN candidates. If the PN spin were to be believed then the list of candidates encompasses a group of reliable experts who know what they are talking about when it comes to the EU. They were never euro-sceptic and – bonus points – they have a strong pro-EU infrastructure working within a big EPP party that gives them all the right credentials to represent you and me.
Above all as Austin and Simon both will tell you. PN candidates have a mind of their own and do not have any threats of fines hanging on their head should they speak their mind. So what is it that the expert candidates have to say to promote their cause? Let’s take a look at what SuperCandidates David Casa had to say in today’s Independent.
Always the perfect free-thinker, Casa themes his article on the lines of the party campaign: job creation. Luckily for him this is also the day that the EU announces a shrinkage of 4% of the EU economy for the coming year. Forget that though, the full text of the Casa article may be found by clicking here.
What Casa forgets, alas, is that we are on the verge of Wolfram-Alpha – the new computational search engine. Until then, a combination of J’accuse and Google will examine the article for voters and let them draw their own conclusions. Apologies for the length of this post but I am sure you will be grateful by the end of it.
Here is Casa’s introduction:
Faced with a future of increased global competition, an ageing society, continuous technological development and environmental challenges, the European Union is reinforcing its policies to increase individuals’ adaptability, promote enterprise in areas affected by economic change and to assist regions in anticipating restructuring. With a wide range of EU measures to limit the negative social consequences to workers, the European Union is surely responding to economic change within the sector that hits home … the employment sector.
Well, I will soon be forgiven for attributing ownership to Casa. Just scoot over to thepage on the Commission website entitled Responding to Economic Change. Don’t forget to scroll down. Now where have you read that before?
Then comes Casa’s bit about the European Employment Strategy:
(1) The European Employment Strategy has been developed in order to encourage exchange of information and joint discussions by all Member States, thus trying to find solutions or best practices together which could help creating more and better jobs in every member state.
(2) Adapting to change and ensuring the correct matching between labour market and supply is crucial if EU countries want to remain productive and competitive. The rapid change implies that EU countries have to become pro-active and be able to anticipate in order to be better prepared for future challenges.
It’s my numbering and I’ve done it for a reason. To read the original paragraph (1) click here (European Employment Strategy – Commission website). For paragraph (2) click here (New Skills for New Jobs – Commission Website).
Which brings us to the bit about to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund. This you will find word for word in both Casa’s article and the Commission page on the subject.
Now for the fun part. While getting carried away with the previous paragraphs I obviously wondered whether at least Casa could strum off his own few lines about the special relationship with the European People’s Party. So I googled this last paragraph:
For the European People’s Party, the creation of new jobs is a core priority. Only if we manage to reach a high level of employment will we be able to safeguard prosperity for everyone and assure the future of our social security systems in the context of demographic change. The top requirement is investment in human capital in order to establish a well-trained and highly motivated work force.
Wonder of wonders the results came as follows:
- 1st Place: David Casa’s article on the Malta Independent
- 2nd Place: EPP Warsaw Document (Creatng Prosperity for Everyone)
- AND (drum roll please)
- 3rd Place: PN MEP Candidate Vince Farrugia’s article in MaltaToday in March 2009
That’s one fifth of the PN candidates happily snipping and glueing. So much for experts. No wonder the PN can allow the candidates all that exposure. At most they could win a prize for recycling. Remember the Pippo Psaila cut and paste job? Seems like it is a popular pastime with the SuperTeam at Dar Centrali.
So here is part of Casa’s conclusion for you to savour:
The above is just a preview of PN’s proven track record of job protection and creation with the sole target of retaining Malta’s competitiveness.
With an original track record like that who needs to elect alternatives?
4 replies on “PN/EPP – The Cut & Paste Way”
You are truly a pain in the collective arse of the Pippo Psaila School of Politico-Journalists!
PS: I imagine your suspicions are raised when the English is a bit too flowing and coherent albeit in a super-clunky EU-jargon kinda way, right?
Have you given some thought to the possibility that Mr Casa could be the victim here and that the Commission is copying him? He might have emailed his thoughts to somebody by mistake (it happens you know)…
The blog post title should read:
COPY AND PASTE SPECIAL
Casa the victim? you’re right!! Oh yes but you may have thought that he would have done the same mistake as his party’s General Secretary Dr Borg Olivier did….oh yes of course these things happen amongst people who are carless enough noe to check their work and on the verge of an election no one is so insane not to have someone check his/her work…The truth is that this is a recurrent act from Central Home (sounds like an old people’s home) and nothing new!!