Charles Flores writing in today’s Independent, for more of the drivel click here:
Today, it is acknowledged by most well-meaning citizens of both the Right and the Left – as well as that important minority at the ill-defined centre of Maltese politics – that what did it for the party in government was the habitual influx, from across the water, of the blue brigade of expatriate Maltese. These people live overseas, particularly in Europe, and quickly grab the cheap, don’t-mind-if-we-don’t-make-a-profit Air Malta ticket on offer and take time off from their politically-sponsored, safe jobs on the Continent to take part in a confidence trick that so obviously works when the other party has, for some reason or other, not garnered enough support to activate to the desired degree an electoral swing.
It’s Labour… Daphne style. J’accuse feels personally involved, so here are a few comments from an expat member of the “blue brigade”:
1. Fairy Tales
Flores claims of stories abounding of people wanting to find a place on the subsidised flight who were first refused then allowed on to what turned out to be a half-empty flight. Is it possible these persons are nowhere to be seen or heard? Or is it like his colleague Gino Cauchi writing in yesterday’s Times claiming that he could not find someone to go to Court and bear witness against a member of his own family who had come to vote from abroad? Continues…
2. Blue is the Colour
Once again we ignore the fact that even if the totality of expats were ‘stupid’ enough to vote “blue” they would have every damn right to do so. What Charlie should be complaining about, as J’accuse has done over and over again, is the fact that because of the PLPN entente cordiale when it comes to marshalling voters (as sort of Geneva Rules of War regulating the use of white phosphorous) we still cannot vote at an embassy.
Of course what really bothers Charlie is the fact that when the majority of intelligent expats are allowed to go ahead with their right to vote and to do so in an embassy they would still prefer the PN to the PL (again, in their majority). Whether voting by mail, via plane ride or in an embassy, Charlie readily admits that the PN seems to enjoy a comfortable margin among the expat community. He does more than admit though. He complains. Imagine I had to complain that the people in government estates in, let’s say, Ta” Xbiex, should not be allowed to vote because they tend to vote Labour. What a load of hogwash.
3. Politically-sponsored, Safe Jobs
And again. The levels of intolerance of others people’s voting habits (no matter how blinkered) are incredible. Even assuming that ALL the expats vote PN (which they don’t) or that the majority do so (which could be, but not in the large numbers Flossie seems to be thinking in), Flossie has it wrong. A large proprotion of the people flying back HOME on those flights are workers with the EU institutions. To get into an EU institution you have to sit for what is called a concours and fight off the competition of hundreds of others for the same place. Thankfully for free-thinking, non-party-card carrying citizens like myself party fidelity gets you nowhere on the “Continent”. What does help is good qualifications and a thinking brain – something that is probably beyond the level of understanding of Flossie who betrays strong signs of thinking in terms of Mintoffian give-aways or the Nationalist close-an-eye mentality.
The few of us who are not chosen through an exam – like myself for example – are chosen on the basis of their knowledge in the field and believe you me it would be hard for a laggard to stick out five years as a referendaire with colleagues including academics and professors. Waving a PLPN flag would not help me in the least. In case Flossie is wondering, I also successfully sat for a concours and am a fonctionnaire for all intents and purposes. Because of the non-long term nature of my main job I can fall back on the ” safe” job of jurist linguist any time.
Now it is evident that Flossie is speaking from his backside when it comes to this matter (and that explains J’accuse’s ire) but he probably had in mind the various assistants in Parliament who are drafted and paid for by our valiant MEPs. They require no other qualification than being good, faithful, servants of the MEP concerned. Then again it ain’t such a safe job since it tends to be quite terminal should the MEP not get re-elected.
So what world is Flossie coming from? It is the world of “ghira” (jealousy). The world that wants to bulldozer all differences between cittadini and make us all equally stupid, incapable of competing with the rest of Europe for proper work places that have no sponsor of any sort. He probably resents the existence of people like myself who do not feel lke we OWE our vote to anyone. Like Daphne, but from a different perspective, he cannot take how horribly arrogant we can be when we decide to use our vote for the party we actually think is saying something that tickles our neurons and not regurgating the hogwash that he so evidently feeds on. Well, in that case, I am proud to be an object of hate.
3. Who’s on the plane anyway?
And finally Flossie. Before you go on whinging about Labour’s relative lack of muscle, like your colleague Gino Cauchi, about who gets on the plane and how, allow me to remind you that after the last elections it was not Lawrence Gonzi who tabled a list of citizens’ names in Parliament. It was Alfred Sant (the same one who spent part of his formative years in a comfortable, safe job in Brussels then wanted to deny everyone else the same experience) who somehow had a list of Airmalta passengers at his fingertips. Where was the Data Protection Gino Cauchi whinged so much about yesterday? Where were you Flossie? Still gnashing your teeth at this ridiculous constitution that allows people to vote for parties you do not like?
I should damn you Flossie. I’ve wasted a good fifteen minutes of my Sunday morning pointing out your hogwash argument. Instead I thank you for the stark reminder of how horribly blinkered the products of PLPN can be. Your political methods of conviction are incredible. I am sure Mintoff and Kim Il Sung would be proud.
I’m much more motivated to find place on the plane now. And if I don’t I will not be thinking in terms of Flossie and blaming one party or another. I will be thinking what a shame of a democracy I live in that does not allow all its citizens normal access to voting and reduces a normal democratic activity to a lottery scramble for places on a charter plane.
21 replies on “Hogwash – the Flores way”
Flores would probably be glad to know that this presumed blue-eyed expat won’t bother to vote. It’s practically impossible – to exercise my right to vote as a Maltese citizen I would need to pay full-price flights for my two children, and probably make them miss several days of school, while all non-Martian European citizens need to do in order to vote is drive over to their respective embassy. So, instead, on Euro-election day I’ll enjoy a day-long picnic in my garden.
Flores`s main point holds – that thousands of, mostly Nationalists, are shipped in on cheap flights to vote in elections they should have no right to vote in. If you live in mainland Europe then vote for your MEP in mainland Europe. What right do these people have to make decisions on behalf of a country they do not live in? Vote where you live. Period.
Brian. Or should it be Brain? The only period is in your head. Your neo-fascist remarks are interesting. By your ‘nationalist’ gripe I can only assum you are an illuminated labourite. You might like to know that the situation of expats voting for their home country is not unique to Malta but is NORMAL in many other countries.
As I said to Flossie I will say to Brainy. Your gripe is not that people should not be allowed to vote for their own country’s representatives but rather that these expats do not vote for the party of Brainy or Flossie’s choice. Now that is not really what we expected from New Labour.
If you really care about wasted money then, like myself you would be pointing out that a vote in embassies would be more efficient and less costly. But then again that would probably mean that the “thousands” of Nationalists would get to vote… and you do not want that do you????
U hallina.
Ed. Note: Comment typed while on hold with AirMalta offices. We have just been informed that the lines are open for bookings on the wonderful election flights. Thanks again PLPN.
Still haven’t got through. I am faced with the sad dilemma of foregoing a possible chance to get a place on a charter flight in order to get some lunch. Sic Transict Gloria Melitae
Cheap insults won`t help you win any argument.
Of course there are valid circumstances where expats should be allowed to vote. If you are a diplomat, a student or otherwise overseas for a short, fixed period then no-one can argue with your right to vote.
I am sure there are other valid circumstances but should it be a “free for all” for anyone with a Maltese passport? And no, it isn`t a “free for all” in other countries either though I am sure that politicians in other countries play the system to maximise the expat vote too. That doesn`t make it right. In fact it just makes a joke of democracy. For your information, I don`t agree with droves of Nationalists going to their embassies any more than planeloads of Nationalists being flown in. I just disagree with outsiders having a say in the democratic running of the country where I live.
If you have left a country solely to improve your own living standards and salary and no longer pay tax here or contend with the issues that affect the people living there then what gives you a say so in how things are done?
I won`t demand a right to say who should run the country you live in, so please don`t try to justify the right to say who runs the country I live in. There are real issues here and real families struggling to survive. If democracy is to have any value or scope it can`t be treated like an occasional cheap and jolly weekend outing for disinterested hobbyists.
Leave the democratic process to those of us who actually have to live in the country for the duration of the electoral mandates. The people who live here are affected by the issues and understand them. You don`t.
Don’t get so worked up Brian: yours is not even a losing battle it’s a lost battle. “Contend with the issues that affect the people”? That’s what the Court decided in 2003 when the Electoral Commission tried to strike off Cassola from the register and that was why Cassola’s name stayed.
On the tax matter, on which you (and Flores) seem to be poorly informed, the EC Treaty allows all its employees to choose their place of fiscal domicile. Most choose their home country.
A lost battle? You must be a lawyer because only a lawyer could be so filled with the conclusive moral certainty of a legal ruling.
Because of an Arnold Cassola court ruling you consider the moral right for outsiders to be flown in to vote people into power in a nation where they do not live to be sacrosanct and beyond discussion.
The suggestion that all those who are jetted in to Malta pay taxes there is a big joke.Sure,some may opt to pay Maltese income taxes when that is the cheaper option but this is not and has never been a requirement in any form – which it should be, at the very, very least. Besides, income tax is only one form of taxation.
The fact remains: if you don’t live here, don’t understand the issues, are not affected by them and have no intention of living out the consequences of your vote in the country where you cast it then you do not have any right to that vote. No Arnold Cassola court ruling can change that fact.I don’t have a right to vote in the country where you live so why should you vote in the country where I live?
This is apart from the fact of the government offering the bribe of cheap weekend holidays as an enticement to help keeping it in power.
And he insists.
Only a non-lawyer would confuse moral certainty with the law. Which probably explains Alfred Sant and his “konvinzjoni morali”.
Brian. You have a problem with a simple principle that is accepted all over the EU. You have every right to hold that opinion – good for you. I disagree wholeheartedly. Plenty of my fellow expats and myself, feel much more affinity with our country (malta) where we will return in all probability than with our country of temorary domicile. The EU recognises that, most (probably all) its member states recognise that. You don’t. Point taken.
I still believe that this kind of issue you raise is rooted in frustration. A frustration betrayed by the likes of Gino Cauchi and Flores who prefer to attempt to strike people off voting lists than convince them to vote for their party of choice. As I said before, my vote is NOT automatically Blue, Green or Red – and frankly it is irrelevant what it would be. I believe in the right to vote in EP elections for all expats.
Like you I think it is a waste of many peoples money and of our time to have to shuttle to Malta to vote. Unlike you I believe we could do so very practically in embassies. There is a much simpler reason for our vested interest in who represents us in Brussels. It’s called animus revertendi… I’ll let you figure that out.
And here’s a little question for you to tickle your brain with:
What makes your moral conviction regarding the flights and votes better than Fausto’s or mine?
Have a little guess on how the law would get involved on this one.
Reading aids:
Finnis: Natural Law and Natural Rights
H.L.A. Hart: The Concept of Law
enjoy.
Brian etc, is it not implicit that anyone who would bother to go to an embassy to vote has an interest in the good governance of Malta?
I recognise that it is not that simple, but some examples make it clearer. Jacques has used the animus revertendi argument.
Now let’s test your argument with an example that might irk a Labourite. If a political party wished to withdraw Malta from the EU or limit the rights and obligations of Malta (and hence its citizens), does this not affect expats? In some ways it affects expats more immediately than it does people who remain resident in Malta.
Or perhaps an example that will irk a Nationalist will be more congenial to you. If a political party proposed that European law should make the law applicable to divorce that of one’s nationality/citizenship rather than that of one’s habitual residence, would that not affect an expat more than a person residing in Malta?
I recognise that there is an argument for the imposition of some limits, but Jacques is right to say that your argument is most certainly not self evident.
Just a correction to what Fausto Majjistral said. Cassola was allowed to vote because he swore(yes under oath) that he had “lost” the passport that indicated how much time he had spent in Malta in the previous months and also (always under oath) that he had “forgotten” what he hd said during a press conference held 3 days previously.
I have to agree with Brian on this. People should vote where they live. There is no possible way (except for arbitrary laws which could have had god knows what motivation) you can justify anyone voting on issues that are not going to effect him or her.
A point in support (ad absurdum perhaps):
1) I live In Mosta but still maintain a very live and active interest in my home town – Paola. Should I have the right to vote in both in the local council elections?
On a practical note, Jacques and Justin, do you find it acceptable that the allocation of “cheap flights” should be controlled anonymously and internally bi Air Malta who’s chairman boasts of being a member of the PN Strategy Group?
Don’t you find that something like that makes a mockery of all the fines sentiments you are enunciating here?
If we are to keep this silly system of flights instead of postal voting, oversight from the Electoral Commission might help to ensure that nothing dodgy happens (not that there has yet been even an ounce of proof that any MLP supporter has ever been denied a cheap flight or that PN supporters have been preferred to others).
That said, the real issue remains that funding flights rather than accepting postal voting is plain silly and our MPs need to grow up and sort this out.
Samethoughts exactly (as last post by JBB).Although I think that postal voting would be toomuch to handle for the likes of Anglu Farrugia or Jason Micallef.Embassy votes would be a good enough first step.
It wasn’t Jason Micallef who sent an email to the very last person on earth he would have wanted to see it, Jacques.
(Not that I think Jason is any great shakes, mind you – I think it was a major error not to kick him out immediately after the elction.)
@Ettore Bono
Here’s the text of the Cassola judgement. Read through and you realise that the whereabouts of Cassola’s passport had nothing to do with the deliberation and the final decision. Here’s the highlight:
Residenza, kwindi, ma tirrikjedix presenza kontinwa fil-lok ta’ dak il-pajjiz, imma wahda abitwali skond ic-cirkustanzi tal-kaz ta’ dik il-persuna. Sta ghall-Qorti tiddeciedi, skond ic-cirkustanzi tal-kaz partikolari, jekk l-assenza tal-persuna minn Malta kinitx daqshekk kontinwa u permanenti li twassal ghall-konkluzzjoni li dik il-persuna qatghet kull kuntatt ma u interess fil-pajjiz fejn trid tivvota.
It is truly sad and unfortunate that Cassola’s sloppiness with official documentation (like Harry Vassallo’s) gave Labour the opportunity to spin yet another one of its urban legends.
@Ettore Bono
The political views of the AirMalta chairman is hardly proof that the system was manipulated. It is significant that while in the “votes for cash” case Anglu Farrugia could, at least, muster the “evidence” of a crook nobody has yet been forthcoming on this matter.
As to the system being administered by the Electoral Commission as the recent events have shown they can hardly be trusted to manage the electoral register let alone an airline reservation system.
I have an even simpler solution (in lieu of postal or embassy voting): end cheaper flights. If expats have a strong interest in what’s going on in Malta, the criterion that keeps them on the electoral register, they should have no problem in paying full fare.
Dear Fausto, in real democracies, as opposed to the mickey mouse or banana type, a conflict of in terest is resolved without the requirement of proof that it has been translated int misdemeanour.
Is a brief and generalised opinion from one judge enough to negat the constitution? I thin k not.
And the poont is that the court could not “tiddeciedi, skond ic-cirkustanzi tal-kaz partikolari, jekk l-assenza tal-persuna minn Malta kinitx daqshekk kontinwa u permanenti li twassal ghall-konkluzzjoni li dik il-persuna qatghet kull kuntatt ma u interess fil-pajjiz fejn trid tivvota.” because, since the PN scrapped the boarding cards, the ONLY WAY that the court could have enough info to determine this was by examining Cassola’s passport – which he declared (under oath) that he had lost.
Try agaion.
Me “try again” when it’s Labour that has a problem with the status quo? What do you reckon is their problem? They can’t find expats who know where they have left their passports? Or expats whose fiscal domicile is not Malta? Is that what’s keeping them from taking their case to another judge?