Cabinet Decisions & RCC’s Head

The Labour party has finally found a way to get at Richard Cachia Caruana on something based on fact rather than on the irritation at an unelected person having a purported strong influence on cabinet decisions (pace Franco Debono). The accusation is based on Wikileaks that portray an active RCC (oh the heavy acronym) lobbying with the US for the reactivation of Malta’s Partnership for Peace membership. The buzzphrase on social networks this morning is : “Allura RCC ikbar mill-parlament?”

I’ve always found this fixation with RCC quite a curious one. The man obviously has much clout and his opinions seem (or seemed) to be highly valued within the inner decision making circles of government. That he might not be directly accountable for many a blunder might raise important questions about the structure of our elected elite. On the other hand there is a bit of an emptiness in the grudges that are held against the man. The business of government is one that does not only require elected politicians in their roles of PMs and ministers but also gets done with a caravan of policy advisors (at least we hope so) who come election day risk their position as much as the rest of the ministerial entourage. Feeble as it may be – it does give you an idea of a form of accountability.

Secondly, RCC might be counted among a list of a few intelligent persons upon whom the Gonzi cabinet depended for a long time as a sounding board as well as to prepare future policy objectives. Again the main caveat here is that I do not know the man from Adam except for the rumours within the halls of civil servicery that are not too kind on him insofar as temper and perfectionist tantrums are concerned. Be that as it may I still find the accusations of “unelected mandarin” rather feeble and populistic. After all what do you expect? Governments will lend an ear to whoever they believe are competent advisors – my only grudge here is that all too often it seems that this government depends on one channel of information without really viewing alternatives – but that is another story.

Back to the PfP issue. When the participation in the PfP program was finally reactivated in 2008 it was a cabinet decision. Not parliament mind you – cabinet. Whether the groundwork for this reactivation had been prepared by extra-cabinet members such as RCC is something one would hope for rather than condemn. Switch back to 1996 and consider Sant’s de-activation of PfP membership in the name of “neutrality”. Irrespectively of whether you agree or disagree with Sant’s interpretation of neutrality there is one point that sticks out on that day.

The seat at Castille had barely gotten used to the shape of Sant’s behind yet Sant via his cabinet took a decision to withdraw from the PfP. One could also safely assume (or, again, hope) that Sant was acting on the basis of advice from specialist persons within the field – unelected technocrats who participate in the work of government in order to facilitate its operation.

Is Sant greater than parliament? No. Neither is RCC. Nor is the cabinet. The fact remains that Malta’s original decision to take part in the PfP formed part of a wider EU participation program in an early nineties nationalist government. The withdrawal by Dr Sant was accepted as a legitimate cabinet decision by his government (based on an electoral programme promise) and the re-activation by the subsequent nationalist government was the result of another cabinet decision that itself was based on the fact that the nationalist party had never changed its policy on PfP membership (which is why I believe that it is correct in claiming that it did not need to include the re-activation in subsequent electoral programmes).

Whether RCC as part of the hidden machinery of government lobbied with governments and institutions or not is a probability that is now confirmed by the Wikileaks. We see no wrong in the fact that this occurred since the decision to activate, withdraw or re-activate lies purely within the power of cabinet and in this case RCC would be acting as the humble servant of the latter.

It’s either that or else we can safely say that both the Labour government 1998 and the Nationalist government 2008 acted as though they were above parliament. Which would not be such a great surprise but we’d rather stick to facts than speculation or misinformation.

 

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Show me the money

Dosh

Watching Chelsea replicate Internazionale’s catenaccio last night I could not help but wonder why I still harboured feelings of sympathy for the London club built to the tune of Abramovich’s millions. There is a general sense of resentment that is held against football clubs built with the money of tycoons and not with the sweat and capability of good planning – just look at the opprobrium that the City side of Manchester have attracted thanks to the millions thrown at them over the last few years.

The rules of the Premier league have evolved since Portsmouth went into administration under the watchful eyes of the management of the world’s most successful tournament. Anybody wishing to spend a few million bobs on his favourite toy will now have to bear the scrutiny of numerous tests aimed at ensuring that the provenance of the money is legit. Mr Madjesky of newly promoted Reading knows a bit about these tests as the proposed purchase of the newcomers by Russian family Zingarevic is on hold until the appropriate checks are made. The Premiership is no place for recycling money – that’s for sure and until Platini’s fiscal rules on club finances are activated the current rules will go a long way to avoid jackals spoiling the fate of historic teams.

Another man reported to have eyed investment in the Premier League was Emir Al Thani of Qatar. He was supposedly prepared to part with over a billion dollars to get his hands on Manchester United. The Red Devils are still owned by some US Emir Glazer but Al Thani has meanwhile been reported to have set his eye on investing his (country’s) billions elsewhere. Maltatoday reported that Qatar was eyeing up a €1 billion investment in Enemalta. Now it may be a far cry from dealing with Alex Ferguson but Al Thani and Qatar might have their reasons to be attracted to investing in the tiny island’s power grid.

The Maltese government is going to great pains to whet the Qataris appetite and has apparently got plans to set up an embassy in Doha. Which is good to a certain extent. There is nothing wrong with building good relations with some of the countries that seem to still have money in a world of begging bowls and bailout plans. There is a big but however – and not of the Sir Mix-a-Lot kind.

Friends United

While the Qatari government might have an impressive CV on its lap with regard to investment, future planning and whatnot (last night Chelsea faced a Barcelona team that featured the Qatar Foundation sponsor on its shirts) it does remain a country that, democratically speaking, is in the throes of early development. Babysteps. We are talking of an absolute monarchy and although elections are planned for 2013 the consultative council remains just that – consultative. As for the human rights track record, though we are not talking North Korea you may see more from this Amnesty International Report:

Women continued to face discrimination and violence. Migrant workers were exploited and abused, and inadequately protected under the law. Around 100 people remained arbitrarily deprived of their nationality. Sentences of flogging were passed. Death sentences continued to be upheld, although no executions were carried out.

Forget free expression or press freedom too. Which is a bit worrying. While the behemoth parties in Malta are currently engaged in a “Your Friends are Worse than Mine” battle regarding past and present relationships with illustrious leaders of the Libyan Jamahiriya or North Korea we have this kind of proposed agreement in progress. Our question is: How far does the “beggars cannot be choosers” principle apply? Just like Mintoff took the begging bowl to North Korea and China and shut his eyes to the desperate cries of oppressed workers in those countries (so long as il-Haddiema got their dishout of SAG weaponry) are we not committing the same error today?

I am not convinced that Emir Al Thani can become another Gaddafi but does this kind of international agreement not merit a better form of scrutiny? What policy should Malta have in this sense? If we were talking about a multimillion investment by a private company do we dive in blindly thanking whatever Madonna is currently in vogue for the windfall? In the case of companies there is a due diligence process that is (hopefully) conducted.

White Rocks

On a final note I notice that the ghost of the White Rocks multimillion sport investment has resurfaced conveniently in the run up to another election. We had not heard about the White Elephant for quite some time now – just as the trombones and trumpets surrounding SmartCity also went deafeningly quiet. Clyde Puli (another not too ubiquitous politician) has told us that “substantial progress” had been made in talks with investors. The figure of 800 new jobs was obviously mentioned but there seemed to be no more information forthcoming about what stalled the talks in the first place and why over a year after the initial brouhaha we are just able to talk about “substantial progress”…

Show me the money? And at what cost?

 
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Deconstructing Malta’s Architecture

Or rather its architects. An article on last Sunday’s Times “Property slowdown driving architects out of business” focused on the employment problems faced by architects today “with large architectural firms laying off staff due to lack of work”. It is not clear whether the article was prompted by a press conference or press release or indeed whether it is the result of a sudden decision to educate the employability of budding Renzo Pianos. The clips taken from the Malta Developers Association president (ex-Minister and MEPA pioneer Michael Falzon) combined with a similar article on Maltatoday (Property developers on warpath…) would lead one to believe that the Times’ effort is a failed attempt at transforming a drab lobby release into a news item.

What does jar however is the quality of the complaints by the “architects” who apparently are going out of business because of “exorbitant fees” being charged by the planning authority. The logic underlying the developers’ lobby is mind-bending. They cannot really complain about the construction free-for-all being reined in – not much sympathy there right? Instead the complaint is disguised behind the more human approach of “unemployed persons” – these persons being the architects who have been thrown out of the large architectural firms  after they “had been employed when the property and construction sectors were booming.”

Then comes the surprise admission:

One architect said the firm where he worked was moving away from simply designing apartments, maisonettes or villas and was turning to renovating vacant properties in an attempt to make them attractive to prospective buyers.

Really? Is renovating vacant properties rather than injecting more concrete into the earth a last ditch resort? Well I never. I’d have thought that the renovating bit would have automatically superseded the need to flood the market with new properties when even those available are having a hard time to sell.

If you go by the Maltatoday article then the other problem is the Inland Revenue valuation of apartments. A bargain buy means nothing when the IR inspectors value it at a much higher “potential” price. You do not have to be in the architecture business to be shocked by the IR evaluations – just watch it happen whenever somebody inherits a property or there is the division of a property between co-owners.  There might be a point where the tax on a sale is actually higher than the profit being made.

The question I have though is whether the business of unemployment of architects is really the heart of the problem. Could it not be that our “development industry” is based on a self-destructing business model that is also harmful to the nation? The warts of the system are bound to be exposed much further during a slump in the sales market but the whole wheels that make the system turn might be aiming in the wrong direction. A development industry that focuses heavily on constructing, constructing, constructing without diversifying into more socially friendly models (dare I mention CSR) will hardly find any supporters for its cause beyond the politician who is in dire need of their money. Ironically it is this kind of money that the constructors no longer seem to be able to provide – which bodes for interesting times.

Meanwhile spare a thought for the unemployed architects.

 

(check out Kunstler’s TED talk “The Tragedy of Suburbia” in the mediabox – that’s the top right corner)

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I.N.R.I – la tordue (maqluba)

The original song is in French (scroll below for video). I have tried my luck at translating it. Yep. Just for fun.

 

I.N.R.I – la tordue

kollu tort tiegħek dan
kollu tort tiegħek
dawk kollha li jiġu għandek
qatt ma jiġu lura

fik inwaħħlu ħabib
fik inwaħħlu
tiġġennibx hekk ħabib
tiġġennibx hekk

hawn m’għandniex tluq falz
l-ebda tluq falz:
tlett ijiem wara u tiġi lura
u tiġi lura

darba biss immutu aħna
aħna darba biss immutu
bla nejk ħabib
bla nejk

aħna kemm tmur għajna bina
u daqshekk inlissnu kliem
huma dawk ta’ madwarna
li jkollhom id-dwejjaq

aħna kemm nagħmlu ninni
fis-sodda tal-blat
(l-ebda relazzjoni tafx
ma dak is-Sur Xmun)

aħna nitilqu mingħajr ċerimonji
lejn dawk li diġa…
m’aħniex kollha xi tfal
ta’ missierek

pom,pom,pom…..

ibqa’ fuq is-salib qed ngħidlek
ibqa’ fuq is-salib
l-ispirtu s-santu hawnhekk
qatt ma hu se jaqbad

x’hemm daqshekk sabiħ fid-dinja l-oħra
qed nistaqsik hekk
u meta forsi nitilgħu…
aħjar bqajna ngħixu hawn isfel

jekk b’xi diżgrazzja
nasal għandek
jekk b’xi diżgrazzja
jekk b’xi żball
insib ruħi fl-ikħal
bi żball
allura nitolbok
qaddis allatwajjeb jekk
darba biss
mhux drawwa
jekk bi żball
niżbalja id-dawra
jekk bi żball
nispiċċa għandek
allura nitolbok
għall-aħħar darba…

ibagħtni għand boxxla xjaten

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Jeffrey “il-Matur”, Mustafa “Kemal” and the “Non-European” Turks

The Chronicle

On the plane back to Luxembourg I was browsing through the Times of Malta and got to read my favourite section (a section that is sadly not reproduced on the internet version). The “A Century Ago” corner reproduces randomly selected articles from the “Daily Malta Chronicle” edition a hundred years back. Yesterday’s selection was entitled “Maltese emigration to the State of Sao Paolo” and was basically an editorial comment on the emigration of a 100 Maltese who were moving to Brazil “in the hope of faring better there than they can now expect to do in their own land“.

Although the editorialist acknowledges the necessity for Maltese to look for brighter pastures he expresses more than a simple reservation about the cultural differences into which the Maltese are throwing themselves – particularly when they opt to move away from beneath the protecting eyes of the British flag: “because we know that there is no better flag for them to be under“. In fact the article advocates for easier channels of emigration to the likes of Australia and New Zealand and not to Brazil where “the second generation of even European born parents have not in Brazil either the physical, or the moral characters of their race“. If that is not enough to astound you just read the conclusion:

“The great drawback with regard to emigration to Brazil is that our people must, upon going there, be thrown in with blacks and half breeds”.

I kid you not. That was an article in a Maltese newspaper appearing on Tuesday, April 16th, 1912. It would be shocking today but I would hazard a guess that that kind of lingo was common parlance in the early part of the twentieth century – to put it in perspective Rosa Parks wouldn’t be born for another 10 months.

Kemal

Somebody who was already born by that time was Mustafa “Kemal” – a thirty year old Ottoman who was to become father of the Turkish nation. Over the next few decades the man who would come to be known as Atatürk would shepherd a nation and its people and transform it into a most modern of democracies (not without his share of controversies).

Atatürk (then) embarked upon a program of political, economic, and cultural reforms, seeking to transform the former Ottoman Empire into a modern, westernized and secular nation-state. The principles of Atatürk’s reforms, upon which modern Turkey was established, are referred to as Kemalism. – Wikipedia

Undoubtedly controversial, Atatürk supervised much of the modernisation of his nation and this included the strengthening of the language, an important emphasis on educational reform and an expansive arts and cultural program. Importantly Atatürk  made Turkey one of the first nations to recognise the importance of women’s rights and their emancipation. Furthermore he was adamant about the importance of a secular state . Here is Ataturk speaking in 1926:

“We must liberate our concepts of justice, our laws and our legal institutions from the bonds which, even though they are incompatible with the needs of our century, still hold a tight grip on us.”

For the first time in history Islamic law was separated from secular law.

Jeffrey

Mustafa was given the nickname “Kemal” by his mathematics teacher. It means “perfection” or “maturity”. His “reign” over the newly born state was not without controversy but there is no denying that post-Ottoman Turkish history can claim great parallels with those of other European states with its own lessons and mistakes. The unravelling of that history is of a fledgling democracy in the early ’10s that interacted with the other democratic (and non-democratic) realities around it. This account is also a poor one since it fails to acknowldge the huge role the Ottoman empire had in European politics for a very long time and it also neglects the geographic origins of modern Europe – both historically and spiritually.

What would the Greek states have been without Troy? Where would Saint Paul have wandered without Antioch and Ephesus? What of the Byzantine heart of the Eastern Roman Empire? Can Constantinople be erased with the stroke of a political pen?

Well Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando seems to think so. His emancipated, “liberal” statement that “Turks are not Europeans” gives me the shivers. If, as it seems, the Islamic creed of the majority of Turks seems to be one of the major hurdles that JPO has to consider than he really has no idea about who or what he is criticising.  This is an MP in a parliament that made divorce available to its citizens in 2011 and still has evident problems distinguishing between political obligations and religious proselytising. He is an MP in a country whose President is off to Peru on a missionary trip and where the Attorney General has no qualms invoking deities upon appeal from a court sentence.

And what is JPO’s major excuse? The Turks are culturally different. It must be a strange coincidence that the Times’ Century Ago piece reminded us that this kind of mentality – fear and snobbism in face of difference – existed in Malta in 1912. Thanks to people like Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando the front pages of our papers (and the red faces we should have when speaking to Turks) remain a stark reminder of just how little progress we have made in our interaction with the outside world.

With politicians like this you can only wish to hop onto the next plane to Sao Paolo, Istanbul or Luxembourg – there to submit to the “cultural shock” that the JPO’s of this world seem so intent to shield us from.

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I.M. Jack – The Saturday Protest Edition

Saint Julian’s

Paceville’s suburb and older neighbour is sending out an SOS for help. An Old Aloysian prefect of discipline has set up the SAVE SAINT JULIAN’S campaign after having noticed an alarming amount of planned projects concentrated within a small area between Balluta and Spinola. Yes, in many ways it could look like another NIMBY story that occurs when a community has had enough of concrete and high-rise. In other words it could seem to be another egoistic ploy to save one’s own corner of this rock condemned to unfettered development.

Walking through the backstreets from Sliema to Paceville yesterday I took time to snap some hipstamatic shots of architectural gems that might soon be relegated to the annals of history once a contractor gets his hands on them. The Torregiani Villas nestled among the hideous monstrosity of Le Meridien in Balluta are a clear testimony to all that is wrong with our planning sense. We need not even go into environmental tree-hugging mode to understand the brutality of pen-pushing administrative permits. Aesthetic considerations are close to nil. Kiosks turn into pavement hogging restaurants, old townhouses make way for obscene flats (with little or no car parking opportunities) and a refused application today is only just a hopeful window for an approval tomorrow.

So they want to build in the middle of Balluta valley. They want to choke Spinola and deliver the death blow to what little remains that can be described as picturesque. “Save Saint Julian’s” is less of a protest and more of an appeal. It is the kind of appeal that J’accuse takes to heart. Save Saint Julian’s are asking that the law be applied. Yes. It’s that simple. They are not saying DO NOT BUILD. They are not yelling NOT IN MY BACK YARD. They are painfully aware of the concrete reality that is the Sliema/St. Julian’s (forgive me for mentioning the two in the same sentence) front. They are simply calling upon the authorities to apply the law before which everybody should be equal.

It is useless giving permits to developers who will suddenly blame MEPA when their plans on paper turn out to be the hideous monstrosity that everyone else except the developers had seen (pace Albert Mizzi). It is useless “refusing” a permit if contractors feel invincible and go ahead anyway full knowing that the more development there is the more difficult will it be to refuse the next round of applications (see “Polidano can, if he thinks he can“).

On a day like today, PM Gonzi’s ears are best kept out of the kitchen and in Spinola Square. There’s a bunch of people who have something to say and would very much appreciate knowing that somebody, somewhere is listening.

 

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