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“So long as” and other impasses (UPDATED)

Euro(im)passe

At 10 a.m. the German Constitutional Court is expected to take a final decision on whether or not German President Gauck can sign the European Stability Mechanism and the European fiscal pact. German participation in the ESM has been described as crucial to the plans to “save” the euro and participating member states. Both agreements under court scrutiny had been approved by the German Parliament at the end of July (two-thirds majority in both cases). Still, the buck now rests with a court that has not shied away from putting its foot down previously. Notably, the Karlsruhe court spelt out its position very clearly in two human right related cases that have now become known as the Solange I and Solange II cases.

In both instances, while acknowledging the primacy of European law – as had been developed by EU jurisprudence – the court reserved the right to submit any laws and decisions to further review using the German standards of rights.  While the second Solange case was effectively a loosening of this “so long as it conforms with our national law” control there was still a postilla (as long as the European Communities, and in particular its Court, generally ensure an efficient protection of fundamental rights against the authorities of the Communities that is to be deemed equal in substance to the protection of fundamental rights inalienably required by the German Constitution).

In today’s judgement there could scarcely be space for any equivocation. The German government is expecting the green light to participate in both agreements (ESM & Fiscal pact) – anything else would be… well, let’s just not go there shall we? (UPDATED: We didn’t have to…)

THIS JUST IN

Electoral (Im)passe

It’s also time to look at the state of the nation insofar as elections are concerned. Franco Debono may have gone all trigger happy with his ever more popular blog (ah Alexa, sweet, sweet Alexa) but the question on many people’s lips is one: when shall Malta hold its next elections. Well, J’accuse has long gone on record that the beginning of the end of this legislature will be around the opening of the next parliament session. That’s earmarked for October. What laws (i.e. votes) could trigger the beginning of the end? Let’s see.

The Honourable Member from Ghaxaq has already prepared a motion relating to the use of certain types of fuel in Delimara. He intends to move that (or has moved it?) as a Private Members Bill.  He has filed the motion as a private member of parliament. The problem I see here is that this is a motion relating to expenditure and as far as I know (and I stand to be corrected by some Fausto, Franco or Erskine May himself at this rate) such votes cannot be moved by a private member so expect a ruling in this sense by Mr Speaker Frendo.

Franco has also been quite clear about his intention to move a motion of no confidence in Minister Joseph Cassar (nothing personal and all that). Now that is a motion that can be presented but that could also suffer the same ignoble treatment of hedging and agenda shifting that Mr Speaker is capable of if only to gain time.

Another bill that is on the frontburner is the doomed Cohabitation Bill. In this respect the pain in the government’s side is the Cohabitation Partner Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando (It’s Not a Coalition, Stupid). In this case an already botched attempt at drafting a common sense law leaves JPO with options wide open for him to be the one to bring the temple crushing down (and cock a snook at Franco). My guess (and this is a wild one) is that unless hugely reparative measures are made for the second draft following public consultation this bill will not make it in this legislature. Also, don’t forget the resistance that undoubtedly exists within PN circles against too much strengthening of same-sex couple rights. This is after all a party that is – on paper – against same-sex marriages.

Which leaves us with the budget. And I’ll leave you thinking about that one too…

Thou shalt not pass

What is all this criticism of Malta’s valiant 11 who battled the Iti’s? So bloody what if we gave them a taste of their own medicine and put down the chains across the harbour? Only a few days ago we celebrated Victory Day. 8th September 1565 – all through that Great Siege, the Grand Harbour was protected from incurring Saracen boats by a thick chain that crossed from fort to fort. This time the wall of intrepid defenders resisted most of the attacks from a formidable opponent – the Vice Champions of Europe nonetheless. That the goals came, when they came, from a quasi-offside and from a corner that never should have been given is a boon and boost for Pietro Ghedin’s side.

Catenaccio? Hello… this is not an Intercettati side claiming to be best in Europe or Chelski’s millionaires climbing the elimination stages with a defensive wall reminescent of Helenio Herrera’s worst. This was Hogg, Dimech, Borg, Schembri, and more…. standing tall among what are supposed to be the giants of football. Proud. Yep. Like Joseph Calleja, every one of those men on the pitch made us proud.

We also got the LOL moment when we finally realised that our neighbours don’t give so much of a fart about the tiny islands to the south. Unless of course we are sending on boatloads of refugees or immigrants then Malta is  “cavalieri”, “sole” and to some Paceville but nothing much more. What do you mean they don’t know we don’t give a damn about baseball? Hello Italia?

Giletti and other hoaxes

Finally spare a thought for the brains that came up with the wonderful Giletti hoax that had facebook buzzing a few hours before the match. I may have been guilty of spreading the link but I cannot claim to be the mastermind behind the actual creation. So a big round of applause goes to SL and RC for the technical side and content. And a little applause to the Times who did not bother with a denial this time round (unlike the time of the equally infamous “the pope is not coming” hoax).

If you have not seen the link here it is: Massimo Giletti claims Italy will thrash Maltese beggars . Read it, it’s hotter than a calabrian peperoni sauce.

Il-Patrijott u il-ġakbin

Fiż-żmenijiet ta’ llum fejn il-fruntieri huma anakroniżmu li writna mill-passat il-patrijottiżmu u n-nazzjonaliżmu qajla jagħmlu sens. Għallinqas hekk suppost. Speċjalment f’din l-Ewropa li suppost (suppostissimu) għandha t-tir li tfarrak, tkisser u tnessa dak li jifridna filwaqt li suppost (iktar suppostissimu minn hekk ma nafx) teżalta u tfaħħar id-differenzi li jsawru l-identitajiet pluralistiċi. Et pluribus unum. Safrattant kull stat membru xorta għadu jfittex simboli ta’ identita li jfakkruh fil-kapaċita ta’ niesu (ma ngħidux ġensna għax naqgħu naqa għan-nejk). Fit-“tempi cupi” ta’ kriżi ekonomika fejn il-kumpass morali iġġennen jaf jagħti wens sens ta’ identita. Cerco un centro di gravita permanente.

Illum il-ħdax ta’ Settembru. Nine-eleven. Kienet laqtitni ferm l-espressjoni spontanja madwar id-dinja ta’ solidarjeta mal-vittmi ta’ dak l-attakk skifuż fl-2001. We are all Americans now. Avolja qatt ma nista inħossni Amerikan, lanqas fl-estrem kapitalist materjalistiku tiegħi li jimmanifesta ruħu kulltant, xorta fhimt x’riedu jgħidu. L-empatija, is-solidarjeta kienet fi bżonn ta’ twaħħid ta’ identita. Anki fin-niket kien hemm bżonn rinfurzar ta’ dik l-identita. Dakinhar, f’rokna imbiegħda ta’ moħħi ippermettejt li għal ftit mumenti u għal skop preċiżisimu tittajjar l-iStar Spangled Banner. Oh Say Can You See By The Dawn’s Early Light?

Titwieled u jeħel miegħek timbru. Malti, Lussemburgiż, Amerikan (għax mhux Statunitens?) jew Taljan. Trid jew ma tridx int wieħed minnhom. Ċirkostanzi storiċi setgħu ikkontribwew biex dan it-timbru ivarja ftit saħansitra tul ħajtek. Kien hemm il-Franċiżi ta’ Lorena li saru Ġermaniżi ta’ Lotharingia qabel ma reġghu saru Franċiżi. M’hemmx bżonn immorru daqshekk il-bogħod. Saqsi lill-Kossovari li dil-ġimgħa saru sovrani. Kemm minnhom kienu ukoll Jugoslavi qabel ma inħallet ix-xema ta’ Tito. Imma b’mod ġenerali nistgħu ngħidu li min jitwieled Malti ma jmutx… jien naf, Ingliż.

Mindu insteraq is-sigriet tan-nar mill-allat ta’ l-Olimpu, il-bniedem beda tellieqa teknoloġika li għada sejra sa’ llum. Sar-rinaxximent kull avanz kien ikun ġeneriku – ma tassoċjaħx ma bniedem imma ma’poplu. Jiġuni f’moħħi iċ-ċiniżi u l-ġigġifogu. Imbagħad bdejna nassoċjaw invenzjonijiet ma persuni. U kull nazzjon kburi mal-persunaġġi tiegħu. Il-kult u l-mit tal-kapaċita nazzjonali jissawwar madwar il-varji persunaġġi. Larger than life.

L-apiċi tal-miti nazzjonali għalija narah meta naqra dwar ir-Renju Unit fil-ħamsinijiet. Kien għadu jħoss ruħu kbir. Coronation. Il-konkwista tal-Everest, il-kanal ta’ Suez. Trabbejna f’Malta li xi ftit jew wisq wirtet dan il-mod ingliż ta’ kif issawwar identita. Dan l-aħħar erġajna rajna revival. Bejn il-Ġubilew tar-Reġina u l-Olimpijadi l-Ingliżi skoprew l-kburija f’pajjiżhom. Tfasslu eroj ġodda. Olimpiċi u Paralimpiċi. Rule Britannia once again. Imma dawn ma rebħu l-ebda gwerra. Kienet iktar qisha xi Britain’s Got Talent imma ta vera. U minn Stoke-on-Trent sa Weston-Super-Mare inħass it-terremot ta’ kburija. Proud to be Brit.

Imbagħad rajna lil Joseph Calleja. U xi uħud tkażaw b’kemm fraħna kuntenti u kburin li dak il-ġuvnott libes it-tshirt bis-salib tal-kavallieri u tela fuq palk dinji. Malti. Malti bħali. Qalulna li bla sens nifirħu għax dak wasal hemm bil-ħila tiegħu mhux għax Malti. Seta twieled l-Azerbaijan. U mhux hekk nibqgħu. Iva mela, kullħadd jasal fejn irid jasal b’ħiltu. Jekk hux Tiffany Pisani timmudella jew Joseph calleja ikanta, jew William Chetcuti jispara… kollha stinkaw personalment, m’għandi l-ebda dubju. Pero qiegħdin hemm imgeżwrin bil-bandiera tagħna, għax hawn twieldu u huma ukoll ulied din l-art. Għalina li nehdew bis-suċċessi tagħhom… forsi għax nafu kemm hu diffiċli iktar li toħroġ minn ġo din il-gabuba minn fost il-baħar għira u li tasal x’imkien.

Mhux talli ma nara xejn ħażin li niċċelebraw suċċessi personali ta Maltin oħra u li nikkapparawhom anzi naħseb li għandhom jiġu eżaltati. Għax nazzjon irid ix-xempju, il-mudell. Biex forsi minn għada ikun hemm ħamest itfal oħra De La Salle li jridu jikkuppjaw lil Calleja. Hu kellu biss lil Mario Lanza x’jemula. It-tifel li minn għada se jipprova jintona żewġ linji mit-Turandot għandu lil Joseph x’jirringrazzja. Standing on the shoulders of giants.

U fl-aħħar hemm it-tim nazzjonali. Dak li għadu jkaxkar miegħu memorji ta telfa 12-1 ma Spanja avolja dan l-aħħar ħabbatha tajjeb ma min hu daqsu. Għalija tim nazzjonali hu reliġjon indiskuss. Ibleħ trid tkun biex tgħid li ma tifhimx fil-futbol imma mhux se żżomm ma Malta. Patrijottiku? Forsi. Loġiku, iktar u iktar. Tistħi tgħid li int Malti? Forsi għalhekk qiegħdin fis-sitwazzjoni imnejka li ninsabu fiha. Għax forsi il-kburija, the pride, ilha li saret skarsa. Minflok nistmerru, nitkażaw u nitnejku. Narak tiela l-fuq u dlonk niġbdek l-isfel biex ma tmurx issir aħjar minni.

Statistikament it-tim nazzjonali Malti jirbaħ biss b’miraklu. Soccernomics jgħallmek dan il-fatt. Imma l-kburija li tkun Malti u tħoss l-identita li twaħħad poplu kontra l-avversita u li tiddefinih tmur oltre l-istatistika. Din hija identita li ssilitna għaliha. Mhux kif jgħallmuna l-għażżenin ta’ l-istorja… mhux li xerridna demmna għall-barrani. Le, jien nippreferi nara sens ta’ kontinwita fid-destin ta’ nies din il-gżira. Issilitna dejjem għalina u iva, jekk trid għal uliedna. Survival.

Illejla m’hemmx kummiedji. Illejla m’hemmx ġakbini. Illejla, ma’ l-ewwel noti ta’ l-innu ta’ Robert Sammut konvint li inħossuna kburin li fuq dik il-biċċa ħaxix ġo Modena hemm biċċa minna ukoll. Ħdax-il raġel lesti jagħtu li jistgħu u jagħmluna kburin li aħna Maltin.

Forza Malta!

(Don’t) Kill Bill

Mark Anthony Falzon penned a piece in today’s Times called “Kill the Cohabitation Bill” in which he argues that the best thing to do with the cohabitation bill is to dump it or kill it.  “The Bill proposes to give rights to people who don’t need and/or want them and deny them to those who do. It is quite simply an ass’s ass.” – Mark Mark’s words. I don’t agree with Mark. I don’t agree at all. The fundamental difference between what Mark is advocating and what I have been advocating from this little corner of the punditry universe is that Malta needs a Civil Partnerships Bill.

Thing is that what Malta also seems to be ready for is legislation allowing Same-Sex Marriage. There’s more to it. What happened in Malta is that we trod down the path towards a law regulating Civil Partnerships only as a result of a sort of compromise between the legislators and LGBT lobby groups. That is why we are hearing all this talk of “the Cohabitation Bill is not what we were led to believe that it would be”.

So yeah. Killing the Cohabitation Bill because it fails to take the same-sex marriage issue by the horns is a bit like wanting to shoot down a bill aimed at improving conditions for cyclists because such a bill discriminates against motorists. I’m not a big fan of the cohabitation nomenclature and would have much preferred a Civil Unions Bill or something similar. What’s in a name and all that? More crucially I believe that with some bona fide tweaking the bill that is currently on the table could become a valuable legal instrument that could be useful to quite a few citizens – by filling important lacunae that end up being uselessly discriminatory.

As for “intended” or “promised” bills relating to same-sex marriages. Well the enactment of a Civil Unions Bill should not in any way preclude serious work and progress in a parallel field of legislating same-sex marriages. Free of the contorted compromises and half-baked solutions, a draft bill with clear and concrete position on same-sex marriage and ancillary rights is not only the correct basis for proper decisions but also benefits all parties concerned.

Such a same-sex marriage bill would also oblige the shufflers and equivocators within the traditional party system to stop fence-sitting and get down to concrete action. Joseph Muscat will finally have to bear the decision making responsibility and stop faffing around with rainbow coloured flags while going nowhere. Same goes for any other politician who thought he could pull a smart one with the LGBT community by promising some half-baked bill (the legislative equivalent of promising with fingers crossed behind their back).

Meanwhile the serendipitous package of rights that is developing around what is currently called the Cohabitation Partnerships Bill deserves more respect from all parties. It does not need any killing or euthanasia attempts. It needs the right attention from the right parties.

Don’t Kill the bill.

90o Minuto, calciopoli u Moratti

Jekk kien hemm bżonn li jiċċaqlaq xi ħaġa biex forsi (forsi) tibda toħroġ il-verita dwar l-akkaniment strutturali u medjatiku kontra it-trentakampjoni fl-aħħar dik iċ-ċaqliqa waslet. It-tribunal li ta’ raġuni lil Bobo Vieri u ikkonferma l-attivita ta’ spjunaġġ kondotta mill-Inter u TIM ma kienx tmiem ta’ saga iżda l-aħħar ħolqa ta’ xibka ta’ provi li ser juru fiċ-ċar kif fl-2006 l-ikbar tim taljan kien vittma ta’ komplott dirett lejh maħdum fil-kuriduri ta’ Milan u moħmi iktar fil-kmamar baxxi tar-Ruma ta’ Baldini. Quddiem dawn il-fatti l-għama tat-tifo jirrendi ruħu redikolu u għalxejn tixxejjer il-mantra ta’ ħallelin.

Korruzzjoni lampanti, applikazzjoni perversa u selettiva ta’ liġijiet u prinċipji ad hoc u tranżitorji. Dan kollu frott tal-għira u rabja għal tim li deher li kien se jiftaħ epoka sabiħa ta’ rebħiet u li minflok ġie ikkundannat jiġġerra minn Rimini għal Crotone jistenna il-ġustizzja li bħal Godot ma tasal qatt.

Sejjħulha jekk tridu fissazzjoni. Jekk ma jogħġobkomx taqrawx (jgħid hekk anki Franco) u jekk ma tridux taqraw bis-serjeta dwar dik li wara kollox, iva hija logħba imma hi ukoll dixxiplina, allura taqraw xejn – probabbli anki t-tifo tagħkom għall-benjamini tant puri hija frivola. Araw ftit kif qed tinkixef il-borma li ħadmu tant sew dawk il-menegini misħuta lejn il-bidu ta’ dan is-seklu.

Trenta sul campo.

(artiklu deher fuq www.tuttojuve.com)

Dal caso Vieri alla vergognosa pagina di Calciopoli

Sandro Scarpa

Oggi molti sportivi italiani hanno letto della condanna dell’Inter, obbligata in primo grado a risarcire il suo ex-giocatore Christian Vieri con 1 milione di euro, in solido con Telecom Italia, per spionaggio illegale. Bene, visto che Gazzetta, Corriere dello Sport e altri quotidiani non sportivi, così attenti in passato a sviscerare le tardive e ondivaghe confessioni del Non Piu’ Credibile Carobbio, pubblica la notizia sganciandola dal quadro complessivo di quella (ennesima) stagione farsesca della Giustizia Sportiva, ci pensiamo noi a fare un breve riassuntino della vicenda.

E’ acclarato che l’Inter utilizzava Telecom (sponsor col patron consigliere Tronchetti Provera) per pedinare non solo suoi giocatori (Vieri, tra gli altri) violando la loro privacy, ma anche (lo sapremo tra pochi giorni) arbitri come De Santis, e dirigenti avversari comeMoggi e Giraudo. Nel 2007, con le stesse notizie di reato, la FIGC archiviò invece la posizione dell’Inter (rischiava penalizzazioni pesanti..e ci ricordiamo nel 2007 chi allenava l’Inter e quanto ha vinto..). La Procura (sempre Palazzi) si espresse in questo modo:

“Il Procuratore federale, esaminata la relazione dell’ufficio Indagini sugli accertamenti richiesti dalla Procura federale in ordine a numerosi articoli di stampa riguardanti il comportamento di dirigenti della società Internazionale nei confronti dell’arbitro Massimo De Santis, dei calciatori Christian Vieri, Adrian Mutu, Luis Ronaldo Da Lima Nazario, Vladimir Jugovic e del tesserato Mariano Fabiani, ha disposto l’archiviazione del procedimento, non essendo emerse fattispecie di rilievo disciplinare procedibili ovvero non prescritto.

Procedimento archiviato dunque, la Gazzetta, sospetto per chi maneggia bene la nomenclatura giudiziaria, titola “la FIGC assolve l’Inter”. Quanta differenza con i titoli “Salvi Bonucci e Pepe” a fronte dell’assoluzione in 1° e 2° grado dei due giocatori.

Procediamo. Quei pedinamenti e quello spionaggio industriale ai danni di dirigenti di altre squadre, in altri sport (vedi Formula 1) ha indotto altre Federazioni coinvolte, multe di svariate centinaia di milioni. Nel 2007 (coincidenza) alla McLaren viene infatti comminata una multa da 100 milioni di dollari (basterebbe quasi a far fallire l’Inter?) oltre alla perdita di tutti i punti del campionato precedente. E questo perchè alcuni ingegneri McLaren avrebbe sottratto file e mail secretate di colleghi Ferrari. L’Inter invece, da quanto risulta nei processi in corso, intercettava e pedinava direttamente i dirigenti della Juventus, soffiando notizie relative a strategie commerciali e di mercato. Vedremo come andrà a finire in un tribunale ordinario.

Sappiamo cosa è successo invece nell’ampio quadro di Calciopoli. Le telefonate più scottanti e le intercettazioni più “scandalose” (Moggi che si lamenta con designatori..) operate da quella branca occulta della security Telecom che faceva capo a Tavaroli e operava per conto dell’Inter, in qualche modo arrivano al nucleo dei Carabinieri guidati dalColonello Auricchio (un pc di Tavaroli fu rinvenuto negli uffici dello staff di Auricchio). Così Auricchio e i suoi cominciano a loro volta a pedinare Moggi, Giraudo, designatori ed arbitri. Primo alt: ma perchè Auricchio non denunciò innanzitutto le operazioni illegali Telecom? Proseguiamo. Auricchio e i suoi intercettano, ma omettono le intercettazioni traFacchetti, Moratti, Galliani ed arbitri, che verranno fuori molto tempo dopo. Particolare importante: non ci sono chiamate tra Moggi e arbitri, ma solo ai designatori.

Al tempo stesso, stralci di quelle intercettazioni arrivano “casualmente” alla stampa romana(Il Romanista, Panorama). Ci arrivano precedute da due particolari: il colonello Auricchio è grande amico del dirigente della Roma, Baldini; lo stesso Baldini, intercettato a sua volta al telefono con alcuni esponenti FIGC diceva in quei giorni:” vedrai che farò il ribaltone nel calcio italiano”.

A seguito di queste pubblicazioni illegali, frammentarie e parziali di intercettazioni iniziate in modo illegale (anche se non si ha ancora la certezza), iniziò quindi nell’estate del 2006 il processo sportivo, Calciopoli, definito con ammissione di colpa non indifferente “sommario” dallo stesso Abete solo qualche mese fa.

Nel processo vengono coinvolte, tra le altre, la Juve, la Fiorentina, la Lazio, la Regginae in seconda battuta il Milan, per alcune intercettazioni riguardanti l'”addetto alle relazioni arbitrali” Leonardo Meani. Ma in quel processo non ci fu traccia del coinvolgimento dell‘Inter. Come commissario straordinario della FIGC, chiamato a governare il caos e fare “piazza pulita” venne nominato Guido Rossi, ex-consigliere d’amministrazione ed ex e futuro Presidente Telecom. La storia delle sentenze e della condanne sportive è cosa ampiamente nota. Rossi e gli altri “massacrano” la Juve, inventandosi il reato di illecito strutturato e appellandosi non già alle prove ma al sentimento popolare. La Juve non ricorre al TAR dopo i tempi minimi del processo sportivo per non rischiare radiazioni e per supina accettazione.

Nel frattempo parte il processo ordinario, in cui si scoprono clamorosi errori nelle accuse basate su articoli sportivi errati, calcoli su somme di ammonizioni illogici e altre chicche del genere. Il PM Narducci (assoldato in seguito dal Sindaco De Magistris come Assessore, e dimessosi poche settimane fa) col valido aiuto del Colonello Auricchio (anch’egli assoldato da De Magistris con alti incarichi pubblici, anch’egli carriera fulminante) per anni proclamato il celeberrimo “piaccia o non piaccia, non ci sono telefonate dell’Inter”.

Poi, a spese non dello Stato e delle autorità preposte, ma del cittadino Moggi, negli anni vengono acquisite e sbobinate tutte o quasi le centinaia di migliaia di intercettazioni del gruppo di carabinieri di Auricchio e saltarono fuori clamorose chiamate di Facchetti ad arbitri e designatori, con interventi diretti di Moratti, oltre ad altre inedite chiamate che riguardavano Milan ed altre squadre. A quel punto si disse che le telefonate non avevano rilievi penali –anche se poi Moggi viene condannato in primo grado per “potenziale rete di contatti atta ad alterare il campionato” soprattutto per quelle intercettazioni per delle SIM svizzere attribuite in modo artigianale ad alcuni arbitri e mai intercettate (anche se era possibile farlo) mentre la difesa di Moggi dichiara che erano SIM usate come anti-spionaggio (quanta verità!). In ogni caso, Narducci e i suoi non scoprono, in mesi di pedinamenti e intercettazioni dirette, prove di qualsivoglia alterazione e anzi tentano di ricusare il giudice (strano da parte del PM!).

Tuttavia quelle telefonate interiste (e milaniste) avevano ed hanno valore sportivo pesante e avrebbero portato, se uscite nello stesso periodo di quelle di Moggi, ad una pesante penalizzazione dell’Inter e ad un appesantimento della penalizzazione al Milan che, ricordiamolo, riuscì a beccare una penalizzazioni di punti idonea a non perdere la qualificazione in Champions, poi vinta quell’anno. Lo stesso PM Palazzi, sollecitato dalla Juve (e non dalla FIGC!) a fare chiarezza, nel 2011 sente Moratti, non convocandolo in Procura FIGC, ma incredibilmente andando a trovarlo a domicilio, nel suo ufficio nerazzurro.

Poi, con estrema lentezza (ca. 18 mesi) per sentire il solo Moratti ed analizzare una decina di intercettazioni (quanta differenza rispetto ai processi sbrigativi e fallaci di questa estate con 2 gradi per decine e decine di tesserati in poche settimane!) Palazzi arriva ad una relazione in cui accusa Inter (e ancora Milan, oltre ad altre squadre) di aver evidentemente messo in atto comportamenti atti ad alterare il torneo, attivando di fatti un illecito sportivo (accuse peggiori o quantomeno simili a quelle a Moggi, per la quale era stato “inventato” ex-novo il reato di illecito strutturato..).
A quel punto quindi l’Inter, per quei reati per i quali dovrebbe comunque difendersi in un processo sportivo (abbiamo visto quali armi spuntate hanno gli accusati) meriterebbe la retrocessione, oltre ovviamente alla revoca dello Scudetto tolto alla Juve e magari la revoca di qualche altro scudetto.

Ma, come tutti già sapevano, i reati sono prescritti, per pochi mesi. Palazzi avrebbe potuto fare in tempo -lo sapeva- eppure lascia trascorrere i termini e, non solo, invece di deferire l’Inter e Moratti, i quali a quel punto avrebbero potuto appellarsi alla prescrizione ( o rinunciarci andando a processo per chiedere l’assoluzione, anche in nome del compianto Facchetti), Palazzi indica i reati come “prescritti” già nella sua relazione. E Moratti tace e acconsente, dichiarando però ai giornali: “Le parole di Palazzi sono infondate, pericolose e stupide“. Non si ricordano interventi di Petrucci a difesa del Procuratori.

Ciliegina sulla torta: la prescrizione per questi reati sportivi è cambiata subito dopo Calciopoli, accorciandosi ovviamente.

Non ricordiamo poi cosa è accaduto in FIGC quando Andrea Agnelli ha in sintesi rivendicato, vista i reati prescritti all’Inter, quantomeno la revoca del famoso Scudetto di Cartone (o assegnato in Segreteria, che dir si voglia): la FIGC si reputa incompetente nel decidere cosa fare e comunque scopre che non c’è alcun atto di delibera di assegnazione dello Scudetto all’Inter, ma solo un comunicato all’UEFA con la nuova classifica, al netto delle squadre squalificate.

Ieri la giustizia ha condannato l’Inter per Vieri, una piccola piccolissima notizia, una faccenda quasi insignificante. Eppure il destino della Juve dai 91 punti e dagli 8 finalisti di Berlino (più Ibra e Nedved), l’epopea dell‘Inter del triplete, del Milan vincitore di Champions, e in definitiva la storia recente del calcio italiano germoglia da lì, da quelle piccole faccende.

Ma ci si interroga più volentieri se ad essere epulso doveva essere Danilo piuttosto cheBrkic.

The PM & the Black Knight

Appreciators of that fine vein of British humour that is the Monty Python collection will surely be familiar with the persona of the Black Knight that makes a fleeting (and diminishing) appearance in the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail“.  For the unfortunate few who are sadly unaware of the existence of such sublime sketches let me just say that the ridiculous Black Knight appears in a short sketch (see video below) in which he duels with other knights in order to fulfil his destiny ensuring that “None shall pass”.  While battling the hero of this epic (Arthur) he ends up losing limb after limb but insists on continuing to fight (“’tis but a scratch). Hopping on one leg, armless he still manages to yell “I’m invincible” – a state of absolute comic denial as to the reality of his hopeless situation.

I was reminded of this sketch this weekend when I heard the PM insist that there was no problem of governability in one of his meetings with the people. Crisis? What crisis? The government has survived all assaults on its position (read: votes of confidence in parliament) and therefore after 4 and a half years it will not accept any talk of crisis. The government, you see, is invincible. Now a   great philosopher had once mentioned something about not being able to fool all of the people all of the time and this quote has been doing the rounds in some Labour quarters for quite some time.

PM Gonzi need not bother with the weekly maquillage any longer. If anything, last nights summary termination of all things Franco within the PN should have (as if it was necessary) given the game away to any doubters. The government lost its position of being able to horsetrade away any possibility of surviving votes of confidence towards the end of the last parliamentary session. At that point, Dr Gonzi and his staff knew full well that the business of government was to be punched in on borrowed time. Come October (if we are to wait till then) there will not be much stretching and pulling left – and no amount of distractions such as half-baked civil union bills, sudden illuminations on the censorship issue that never was or even IVF roundabouts will be able to pull off any reprieve of governance.

The difference between the situation today and the situation, say, in May, is that while it is true that for a long time the main trouble with the system of government was that “provoked” by backbenchers, the government had found a way of compromising with the troublemakers : right up to the entente pas trop cordiale reached in the Cohabitation Pact with JPO. Such compromises allowed Gonzi’s government to try to promote a business as usual attitude against all odds. That possibility has now all but waned away.

The inclement weather of the past few days allowed for more of the gemgem and placing of blame at the government’s doorstep. We even had the Msida mayor calling for more funds from government to maintain two resrvoirs at the end of valley road and to clear the tappieri. We wonder why the country gets flooded every year around the same time with uncanny regularity that Arriva can only dream of when the real culprit is the national mentality of “I’m alright so f-you Jack” that leads to clogged arteries and escape routes for the water that will still come down from the sky no matter who is in government.

Here is your check list before the election becomes the here and now: 8th September festivities with accompanying press releases and exchanges of witticisms. 21st September celebrations with similar exchanges followed by 22nd September mass meeting by Labour on Il-Fosos. A short session of “my mass meeting was bigger than yours” chivalric beatings followed by the results of (a) Labour’s Congress about the Future and (b) PN’s budget projections/electoral document.

Then Bob’s your uncle. We’ve gone on record stating that “In this country we don’t solve problems, we nurture them”.

Either that… or we deny they exist.

ADDENDUM :

I had only just posted this on J’accuse when I checked the latest news on the papers. Here is the Times reporting that “PN sources” seem to believe that Gonzi is still eyeing an early 2013 election (do note that it is not an official position – just “sources” – another way of putting out feelers?). Meanwhile MaltaToday tells us that Debono is toying with the idea of a motion of no confidence against health minister Joe Cassar. As we could put it so succinctly in the vernacular: aħdimha! (Work it out!).

 

I.M. Jack – It never rains

Blogging being the very private enterprise that it is (and the one-man exercise too) there are times when the frequency and immediacy of posts is not exactly up to scratch. That this week has been one of those times is the result of a combination of circumstances that are best not delved into (especially since they involve exposing the lazier side of me). Having said that much has been happening that deserves the J’accuse once over and it would be a shame not to at least give the past ten days or so the I.M. Jack treatment.

1. What’s so gay about marriage?

We have to begin with the number one pet peeve that J’accuse has had all this week. If I was to pick it up from its backside then I’d say the whole issue is about gay marriage – or to give it the politically correct moniker: same-sex marriage. We have seen the protests, the rock stars (!) gone political, the pressure groups getting miffed, the supposed civil rights groups getting hoity toity and the inevitable bandwagon politicians yelling “What-ho” and all that. Why? Well apparently Minister Chris Said, is guilty of not having introduced same-sex marriage or a legally decent equivalent when he produced the Civil Partnerships Cohabitation bill (or whatever its name may be) out of the Nationalist government’s pre-electoral hat.

Really MGRM? Say what Aditus? No same-sex marriage eh? How horrible. Devastating. The only problem is that the bill intended on putting civil unions within a more sound legal framework was never intended to introduce gay marriage. What various pressure groups were “given to understand” is legally, constitutionally and politically irrelevant. A cohabitation bill is a cohabitation bill is a cohabitation bill. Across Europe one can witness a variety of do-it-yourself models of civil partnership laws. They are all intended to be a sort of package of rights for people who live together but who DO NOT WANT TO or CAN NOT get married. Siblings living together is the least controversial of examples.

Not gay marriage though. It has absolutely nothing to do with it. Of course you can site examples of countries where short of obtaining the ultimate (and most obvious) solution of legally sanctioned same-sex marriages, the nation has settled for a similar package of rights that does not go by the name of marriage but gets rather close to it. This was never the case in Malta. At least not from a legislative point of view. Civil unions, cohabiting persons or what have you – the idea is to get this set of persons a bundle of rights under Maltese law.

Same-sex marriage has nothing to do with this. Neither does the concept of family which the Minister was drawn into commenting upon. All the ruckus about discrimination within the context of “marriage” is a false alarm. Now if we were talking about a bill to introduce same-sex marriage in Malta. Now that would be another thing altogether – and J’accuse would be right behind the inevitable process where persons of the same sex are allowed to tie the knot and have that union recognised as a marriage under civil law.

2. So what is the bill about?

Sadly for the nationalist party it is beginning to be a bit of an enigma what the bill should really be about. This blog still sticks by its theory that the bill is being forced through because of a pre-electoral pact struck hurriedly around 2008. As has rightly been pointed out in other quarters (MaltaToday methinks), the inability of the conservative elements of the party to come to terms with the liberal content of this kind of legislation has led to a half-baked law that manages to insult sectors of society by treating them as second class citizens. Even without the useless conflagration about what constitutes family, the nationalist government could not really believe to get away with a law that blatantly discriminates between classes of citizens when defining the same right.

It should have been so simple really. A clearly defined framework of rights that would be available to any two persons entering a civil union. Property rights, fiscal rights and social service rights to begin with. Issues of gender would have been cleanly skirted and most controversy would have been set aside barring the few nitpicking details. That we are where we are – and that controversy has not only not been skirted but is dancing naked on the tables of Said’s ministry – is a clear indication of the Faustian pact entered into before last election. The gay sector is very obviously (and rightly, in an opportunistic sense) up in arms. On the one hand it has every reason to do so given the bumbled manner in which the law discriminates between types of partnerships and on the other it is taking advantage of the sudden outburst of public sympathy to drive same-sex marriage into the agenda even though it was evidently not the original aim of the bill.

Just what the doctor ordered innit?

3. Joseph and the Rainbow Coloured Fence

Muscat is having a hard time disguising his glee at the PN’s latest faux pas in the world of gays, lesbians and other happy people. He should be careful. The MGRM community is thankfully not headed by a bunch of gullible sods who will drool at every ambiguous word thrown at them by politicians. I am sure that by now they can tell a bandwagon riding politician (and party) when they see one – even if it flies the rainbow flag on party HQ on gay pride days. What the MGRM could do is try to take advantage of the apparent openness of someone like Joseph Muscat – and boy would they be courting trouble.

Take his declaration yesterday when he stated that politicians have no right to decide who is a family. Would you really yell bingo? Is this really as liberal as it sounds? Let me spell it out for you: it is about as liberal as the pope’s underwear. What this is, in fact, is a declaration of yet another open season of fence-sitting by dear Joseph. Just like in the divorce debate, Joseph plans not to lead but to fence-sit and declare “free vote” season again. Joseph is correct when he says that it is not a politician’s right to determine who forms a family.

Joseph forgets a second, more important, and responsible corollary though : that it is a politician’s duty to listen to the needs of society – the interest of the common good and the rights of minorities – and ensure that these needs are properly safeguarded by participating in the enacting of laws to that effect. A same-sex marriage law will not write itself while Joseph, Owen and Varist are busy waving rainbow flags in some protest walk. A same-sex marriage law will be drafted, presented and voted in by responsible politicians who responsibly read the signs of times and legislate the obviously inevitable. Something tells me it won’t be Inhobbkom Joseph.

4. Franco rebutted

Before I start the usual rant about Malta’s unpreparedness come the first storms let me just point out that this evening’s rebuttal by the PN executive of any Franco attempt to get reinstated onto their list of candidates is just par for the course according to J’accuse’s pre-estival predictions. The time-table has long been set and parliament does not have a very long life beyond the opening session once summer recess is over. Trust you me… the PN is not counting on Franco voting for any bill and Franco knows this only too well hence his latest private members’ bill regarding fuel oil – a bid to get voters for his inevitable splinter “party” come next elections.

5. It never rains…

Xita happens. Nuff said.