Politics

Noti waqt elezzjoni tal-KSJC*

Kull sena meta tasal l-elezzjoni ghall-Ezekuttiv tal-Kunsill Studenti Universitarji nispicca nirraguna ma xi hadd dwar sistemi rapprezentativi u l-“winner takes all” tal-elezzjonijiet. Kull sena ma nikkonkludux wisq filwaqt li xi ghaqda politika minnhom “tkaxkar” is-siggijiet tal-ezekuttiv.

Dalghodu tellajt sentenza fuq facebook wara li rajt li kemm Luciano Busuttil kif ukoll Joseph Cuschieri kienu qed iheggu l-istudenti biex jivvutaw ghall-ghaqda PULSE. Ikkumentali Mark Vella u wegibtu b’serje ta’ kummenti li issa sincerament ghajjejt nirrepetihom. (*U wara li gibidli l-attenzjoni Philip Leone-Ganado indunajt li l-invit ta’ Cuschieri u Busuttil kien ghall-elezzjoni fil-KSJC – dan kollu li nghid hawn xorta japplika ghal KSU, fil-kaz ta’ KSJC hag’ohra, jiena nemmen li l-politika qatt ma ghandha tasal sa’ livelli post-sekondarji).

L-esperiment tal-istatut tal-KSU ma rnexxiex sa’ l-ahhar. Ma rnexxiex ghaliex l-indhil tal-partiti baqa jizdied u ma rnexxiex ghax l-immagni li tinghata hija wahda annwali ta’ xi glieda PLPN fil-mikrokozmu ta’ tal-Qroqq. Pero irnexxa f’hafna oqsma ohra. Kont fuq il-Kampus xi gimaghtejn ilu u rajt kampus  biezel – hafna hwienet vera – pero wara l-bibien tal-kuriduri t’isfel ta’ Dar l-iStudent smajt lil min qed ihabrek ghall-ghaqda tieghu, rajt noticeboards mifqugha avvizi u rajt hafna u hafna ideat iduru. Wara l-istorbju tal-influenza partitarja hemm hafna qed isir u dan ukoll grazzi ghal strutturi tal-KSU il-gdid (issa ghaddew 17-il sena imma ejja nahsbu li l-esperiment ghadu ghaddej) li bejn kontroversja u ohra hadem u halla lil min jahdem. Wara l-akkuzi u l-ghajjat ta’ partit u oppozizzjoni hemm min jibqa jtektek u ghaddej fil-hajja universitarja tieghu itella eventi u jirrprezenta filwaqt li jista jserrah fuq dak il-monolit li huwa l-eqdem kunsill raprezentattiv fl-ewropa.

Inhallikom bit-test tad-diskursata (vera iktar qisa monologu tieghi imma insomma), u nittama li jekk (bhal kull sena) ikun hemm x’tiddiskuti dan isir b’mod infurmat u minghajr wisq pregudizzji.

stipendjishah1

JRZ FB STATUS : Luciano Busuttil and Joseph Cuschieri would vote PULSE. Just so you know where your vote should be going …
#studentrepresentation #notomanipulation

MV Naħseb aħjar tikkampanja għal KSU aktar rappreżentattiv u mhux monopartitiku totalitarju kif inhu bis-sistema tal-lum

JRZ Perswaz li tahseb hekk. Kif ukoll perswaz li l-KPS hija manifestazzjoni cara ta rapprezentanza wiregha mahsuba ghat-trasparenza fit-tfassil tal-politika studenteska.

MV Ma nafx x’inhi l-KPS. Imma KSU ideali, bħal ma huwa Parlament ideali għalija, huwa korp proporzjonalment rappreżentattiv tal-ilħna kollha fl-Università, u mhux winner takes all li jispiċċa jirriproduċi l-partitokrazija ‘tal-kbar’.

JRZ Iva Mark, u bhalek hafna ohra ma semghux bil-KPS u xorta juzaw termini bhal “sistema monopartitiku totalitarju” u “winner takes all”. Il-verità (u l-ironija) hi li s-sistema mahsuba proprja fuq zewg principji importantissimi li huma ir-rapprezentanza u l-partecipazzjoni. Meta inhasbet is-sistema il-gdida tal-KSU, din kienet hsieb radikali u kienet mfassla proprju bl-idea li kemm jista jkun l-“indhil barrani” partitarju ma jibqax hemm, specjalment fit-tfassil ta’ kull politika li mahsuba li tirraprezenta l-istudenti.

Il-KSU ma hux biss l-ezekuttiv izda (u qed nghid dan minghajr ma nikkonsidra xi tbaghbis li seta sar mill-1996 ‘l hawn) huwa maghmul minn grupp ta’ organi rapprezentattivi – kull wiehed b’rwol car u specifiku.

Il-KPS (Kummissjoni Politika Socjali) thaddan fiha kull ghaqda u organizzazzjoni politika u mhux li hemm fil-kampus u ghandha rwol li tohloq u thejji pozizzjonijiet politici fuq kull qasam extra-kurrikulari. Meta thaddmet sew il-KPS harget b’pozizzjonijiet politici cari u determinanti (speci ta’ set ta’ principji) – ghadni kburi hafna bil-pozizzjoni li hadet il-KSU a bazi ta’ dokument tal-KPS qabel l-elezzjoni tal-1998. Huwa il-KPS li jiggarantixxi l-idea ta’ Parlament u li sahansitra lanqas ma hu proporzjonali fis-sens li kull ghaqda ghandha vot – jekk xejn dan huwa shortcoming illi kellu jiddahhal. Idealment jigi elett proporzjonalment ukoll organu bhal dan.

Il-KE (Kummissjoni Edukazzjoni) hija organu iehor li fiha tigbor awtomatikament ir-rapprezentanti akkademici kollha tal-istudenti (Faculty Reps u Senat u Kunsill). Ghal darb’ohra din tfassal politika li tirraprezenta l-wesgha kollha studenteska.

Ir-ras tas-sistema, kif ukoll il-magna hija l-ezekuttiv. Dan inholoq bit-tir li jhaddem politika maghmula mill-KE u KPS. Ma johloqx politika imma jwettaqa. Il-falliment tas-sistema kien (u ghadu) li l-organi ma jintuzawx kif suppost – b’mod partikolari l-ezekuttiv u l-elezzjoni ghall-membri tieghu. Dan jigri minhabba l-indhil tal-partiti politici li minghalihom qed jaghmlu xi gid meta jibdew idarru liz-zghar bil-metodi meskini taghhom. Ma tlumx l-istudenti f’ghaqdiet bhal SDM u PULSE illum li jaraw din bhala xi fast track ghal kandidatura jew xi post “fil-partit”. It-telliefa hija r-rapprezentanza studenteska iva. Mhux tort tas-sistema tort tal-“indhil”. L-istudenti ftit li xejn qatt irnexxielhom jeghlbu din il-gibda lejn il-partiti (zmienna kien eccezzjoni lampanti nahseb u malajr ghebet).

Illum ghandek lil Luciano u lil Joseph jtellghu fb status li kieku jivvutaw PULSE. Malli tellajt dan l-istatus jien gie retweetjat minn David Agius ghax minghalih li qed niehu sehem f’xi battalja diviziva u nilghab il-loghba tal-PLPN fil-grawnd ta’ tal-Qroqq. Dejjem jghiduli li diska mkissra din tal-PLPN, pero iktar ma jghaddi zmien iktar nahseb li hija realtà u qed ninghata ragun.

J’alla l-istudenti jivvutaw ezekuttiv kompetenti li kapaci johloq sinergija mal-kummissjonijiet u tabilhaqq jirraprezenta l-istudent l-ewwel u qabel kollox. U din ma hix retorika.

 

A fronte praecipitium

b84ea94709bbd73c53c3bccc7d69374b659589499-1346654486-50445116-620x348Ilbieraħ filgħaxija tajt daqqa t’għajn fuq ir-RAI wara li spiċċat il-logħba bejn Franza u Ukrajna. Kont ilni ma nara Porta a Porta u bqajt għal xi ħin insegwi il-programm li kien dwar it-traġedja li għada kif seħħet ġewwa Sardinja u l-ħerba li ħalliet warajha iċ-ċiklun Cleopatra.

It-taljani għandhom ħabta jissporprendu f’dawn is-sitwazzjonijiet – speċjalment x’ħin toħroġ dik il-mentalita simili ħafna għal dik Maltija li hija taħlita bejn l-istennija li “l-awtoritajiet” jieħdu ħsieb kollox u r-reazzjoni korollarja li twaħħal f’xi ħadd anki f’dak li huwa meqjus fil-ġiri tal-assigurazzjoni bħala “Xogħol t’Alla” (Act of God). Milux wisq li qorti taljan weħħlet pieni ħorox lil grupp ta’ meterjologi u sejsmologi li skond din il-qorti ma kienux bassru biżżejjed it-terremoti ġewwa l-Abruzzo.

Fuq Porta a Porta ilbieraħ laqtuni żewġ aspetti tad-diskors. L-ewwel waħda kienet proprju dwar it-tbassir. Fejn tobsor? U iktar minn hekk, meta tobsor? Bejn żoni akwiferi, xmajjar, terremoti u iktar, Lo Stivale huwa pjuttost lotterija tax-xorti f’dak li għandu x’jaqsam mal-possibilitajiet ta’ traġedji naturali. Kif qalu xi kelliema wieħed irid jaċċetta id-destin inevitabbli li xi darba jew oħra ser ikun hemm terremot jew kif sejħu l-alluvjoni – bomba tal-ilma. Iktar importanti huwa il-mument meta wieħed jitfa allerta (warning) u jibda jieħu miżuri preventivi immedjati.

U dan kien bużillis kbir. Ġewwa l-iStati Uniti nisimgħu ħafna bi stat ta’ allert fejn il-karozzi ma jitħallewx jiċċirkolaw u servizzi pubbliċi ikunu minimi. Jew isir evakwazzjoni jew in-nies jintalbu jibqgħu id-dar. Anki fi Franza, illum stess smajt bil-belt ta’ Saint Etienne li minħabba li kienet ġejja xeba’ borra tqiegħdet f'”Alet Orange” u twaqqfu bosta servizzi. L-Italja milli jidher ma jsegwux wisq dawn l-allerti u minkejja li kellhom bosta ħin jippreparaw għall-agħar minħabba li l-pulizija ċivili kienu taw l-allert bosta ħin qabel, komplew qisu xejn ma hu xejn.

Dan l-aspett laqatni. Sindku ta’ wieħed miż-żoni milquta staqsa jekk għandhomx iwaqqfu kollox kull darba li jkun hemm alarm. Skejjel, servizzi u toroq. Riflessjoni importanti din. X’ħin tqabbel mad-diliġenza Amerikana, Franċiża jew Tedeska din ir-riluttanza Taljana li jieħu passi preventivi kemm biex ma jtellifx ġurnata xogħol hija stramba wisq.

It-tieni aspett li laqatni kien li l-Italja, bħall Malta, għandha problema li ilha ġejja mill-ħamsinijiet. Jibnu fil-widien u ma jaħsbux f’riskji futuri.

Id-domanda tiegħi hi din. Apparti early warning system, issa li t-temp qed jiħrax (grazzi Mr Global Warming) u li l-possibilta ta’ ċikluni bħal dik li laqtet Sardinja olqtu pajjiżna dejjem se tiżdied, qed isir xi pjanar iktar konkret li jnvolvi ukoll edukazzjoni taċ-ċittadini? L-awtoritajiet lesti jibdew jagħtu parir biex in-nies jibqgħu ġewwa u jevitaw ħafna telf inutli ta’ ħajjiet?

Din m’hix kwistjoni politika. Dan bżonn uman u immedjat. Issa qabel ma nispiċċaw quddiem preċipizju b-lupu warajna.

A fronte praecipitium, a tergo lupi.

Tan-Numri

This blog never had aspirations to being a number cruncher and we always begin our budget-time assessments with a caveat the size of Manwel Mallia’s mattress. While I do not feel that the minutae of budget balancing is within my sphere of expertise (nowadays everyone seems to be an “expert” in something “f’hiex jifhem?”) I can and will assess the noise created by and around it.

It does not take much to see that as a general line the “state of the economy” bit of the affair tells us one simple message: that the economy was being safely marshalled by the previous PN government and that the PL financial gurus simply had to hold tight to the rudder and control an already steady ship. How does an ignoramus like me notice that? Simples really – there are no groundbreaking measures that would signify a sudden change in direction – little wonder that Muscat expects the Commission to approve his latest milestone in the mysterious roadmap.

When it does boil down to the nitty-gritty Muscat seems to be making much of the fact that he is putting his money where his mouth is. True, we are surprised in the sense that this is the first time that Labour seems to be actually acting in the manner it had promised before the election – and this with regard to one very particular item on the budget list i.e. the cost of water and electricity. Surprised we are because given Labour’s haphazard approach to accountability, environmental transparency, meritocracy etc we should not be blamed had we expected even the black and white promises on the utilities bill to be thrown out of the window.

In his intervention with the press, Simon Busuttil tried (rather vaguely in my opinion – could have been clearer) to explain how the money saved on electricity and water will be repaid threefold via the newly introduced or increased indirect taxes. That’s one for the number crunchers to confirm/contradict. If it is so (and quite frankly it must be so since the money must come from somewhere) then Labour’s deceptive basket of “cutting the utilities bill” will turn into a time bomb ready to explode when the voters realise that their pennies saved have actually transformed in pounds pinched.

What did jar insofar as the opposition reaction was concerned is the assertion that this budget contains no job-producing measures. Given the noise coming from other social partners this particular reaction might turn out to look like one of those that is simply “negative for the sake of being negative”.  The MEA (Employers), MDA (Developers), MHRA (hotels & restaurants), GWU (you know), and the Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise all seem to have hooked on to more positive aspects of certain measures in the budget including job-creation. Bar the angry nurses (MUMN), the FORUM seems to have had positive words for most of the budget plan, leaving Simon Busuttil and the echoes in a few blogs/columns sounding like lone negative voices.

I am (painfully) aware that the “negative” mantra is something close to Joseph Muscat and believe you me I am not using it in the same sense. Labour’s little measures (COLA, petrol prices, cigarettes, educational footballers) might have served as a little decoration around the most awaited measure of cheaper utility bills (let’s face it, it was the only thing most people were looking at this time round). Some other measures such as the incentives for first time house buyers will be warmly welcomed (for a better highlight of positives and negatives check out Mark Anthony Sammut’s early assessment).

Should Busuttil have focused so strongly on job-creation? I believe that the biggest flaw in Labour’s budget hype is the very fact that it is much ado about nothing. The bigger emphasis should remain on the citizenship for sale system that stinks from top to bottom. other than that Busuttil should have thanked Muscat for confirming that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the direction in which the PN was heading finance-wise and allowed this first Labour budget to shine by reflecting the light shone earlier in the year by its predecessors.

As for the cut in utility bills. While Muscat played his little fiddle in parliament last night, East Libya (the oil rich East Libya) declared an autonomous government and gunshots were being fired in Tripoli. Meanwhile we have obscure deals built on Chinese whispers and a not too tenuous link between the latter and our new citizenship scheme.

When it comes to surprises Muscat cannot be more of a jester than this.

 

God Help Us

There should only have been one verdict in today’s court case before Magistrate Farrugia and thankfully for those who have some residual faith in the system that outcome was confirmed. The Police Commissioner’s last ditch attempt to retain possession of Norman Vella’s tablet and phone was thrown out on the most basic of bases: lack of reasonable suspicion.

As we already saw in an earlier post (Persons of Interest) the whole farce that led up to Norman Vella’s detention was a transparent combination of abuse of power and prima donna reactions (yet again) from those among the Taghna Lkoll crowd who still cannot come to terms with the borderlines and ethics of being in government. As much respect as I have for Comodini Cachia and the rest of the Nationalist lawyers having a field day as though the ghost of 1984 was back, I must insist that much of this case depended on the litmus test of whether our courts still retained a modicum of sanity.

Thankfully they do. Magistrate Farrugia could not but see the obvious bumbling of a police force (or members thereof) eager to over-respond to a complaint by people “connected” in the corridors of power (Jesus Wept). As the drama unravelled we could see the tenuous allegations of crime become at worst jokes in a panto. “There was a photo” became “actually not really a photo at the airport and we are still combing cameras”. The best was the Commissioner’s excuse that he needed to keep the confiscated goods otherwise if he released them there would still be a shadow of doubt on Vella. See? The police confiscated the material TO PROVE HIM INNOCENT.

Not even the heady days of “moralment konvint” beat this. If I recall well Manwel Mallia recently mentioned an upgrading of the police academy to some sort of college where the police would learn the finer art of the law and how to apply it. That seems to be one hell of an uphill task given how the police manage to make a basic application of the most basic laws by a defence lawyer sound like the greatest twist in a John Grisham movie.

In normal democracies heads would roll. In the UK the head of the (insert region here) Constabulary would be constantly grilled on the media while an Independent Police Enquiry would be set up to see why so many police resources and hours were wasted simply because a couple of communications coordinators with delusions of grandeur called in to report their distaste at being photographed.

That’s a normal democracy. But this is not a normal democracy. In this democracy of ours the police are told that they were “doing their duty”, some people will point to the arrogant Norman Vella and say that he had no business (doing what exactly? no business not taking photos?). For heaven’s sake some self-appointed investigators will point to this mess and blame AD voters for the reason things have come to this, quickly forgetting that much of the blame lies at the feet of an unelectable incumbent last time round.

Whoever is to blame is not the point. The point is that our custodians have been hung up to dry and shown to be unable to think for their own and apply the law as the guardians that they should be. It should not have taken a Magistrate to confirm that there were no grounds for a crime.

Their motto is Domine Dirige Nos… God guides us. I guess God must be taking a break. Let’s hope he’s there to help us next time they go on some sort of renegade mission.

Muscat’s Going Medieval

It just occurred to me that we now have full confirmation that all the TaghnaLkoll talk of roadmaps and costings was nothing but an elaborate bluff. The information that we now have in hand regarding Henley’s role in the Passports for Sale scheme shows us that far from projecting Malta into the age of modern business as Muscat was so eager to highlight, we are witnessing a regression to Medieval business. Yep, that’s the Middle Ages – definitely before your grandpapa was alive.

You see, ever eager to make a quick buck, the current Maltese government has hatched a scheme that makes a mockery of the prized possession of Maltese and EU citizenship and all this simply to create a very-medieval scheme of exclusive monopoly. What was done by medieval towns is now being practiced by the dinosaurs in charge of our economy with more than a little connivance by those supposedly in charge of our safety and security. In the past Medieval towns would grant traders exclusivity over a particular merchandise and then take a cut on all the trade that occurs. Simples. No sweat, just a seal and a little tax.

Muscat could not exactly come up with some form of government approved monopoly in, say, colour televisions. Of course not. This is not 1984 (meh). He took one thing that could not really be commercialised (and this for obvious reasons such as national security and integrity) and changed it into a cheap trick available to someone who could relatively afford a mezzanine in Luxembourg’s outskirts. Nobody in his entourage could be trusted in selling this kind of merchandise so he found an outside company that will get a huge cut on every transaction. No time for niceties so the same company getting the cut will be trusted (please, stop laughing in the back) to vet applicants and possibly refuse a potential killing simply because it might develop a conscience and believe that Malta’s territorial integrity is at stake.

This medieval scheme is now having the not so welcome result that international agreements with states such as the US of A might be imperiled insofar as VISA waiver schemes are concerned. Would you blame them? They can tell a trojan horse when they see one – not that Muscat would know. He’s busy going medieval on our citizenship and transforming our nation into a peddler of the cheapest kind.


 

The Unbearable Schizophrenia of Being the PN

It’s a tough time for the opposition. That it is so is surprising since the Labour government is generously providing all sorts of opportunities for an alert opposition to be critical. Having said that, it is also true that the long-term effects of the Taghna Lkoll wave will continue to be sustained so long as the party in government acts and thinks as a party in opposition. Bad as it may be for governance (and harmful) it still seems to do the works in the perception polls.

Back to the PN. Their nominations for the MEP elections are shaky to say the least. It is hard not to look at the list of candidates announced up until now and not to think of them as a motley result of the push and pull of different inner strands of the party. Some are totally new to the field of politics (Jonathan Shaw or Helga Ellul) and still ride on the obsession of one part of the PN that still confuses corporate and political guile/power if and where it exists.

Bar the tried and tested Metsola who should hopefully make it back to Brussels to build on what turned out to be a positively surprising performance there is not much hope that shines out of the PN list. The list though is just made of people. It is the policies and politics that are still rather unfathomable – what kind of party will people be voting for?

Unfortunately for the men and women from Pietà there is no easy answer to that one. The PN still betrays signs of inner tensions. To begin with the party whose internal politics depends very much on the formation of factions has not managed to shed the inner fault lines that turn out to be debilitating in the long run. Add to that the fact that the party has still not managed to have a long hard think about its value base and what it wants to represent. Not a good place to be in when we are in the times of Civil Union Bills.

It is just such a bill that exposes the frailties of the PN as a party. On the positive side the political differences as to what position to take on various aspects of the bill are commendable. They are signs of a party that still has some vestiges of political thinking or ticking going on. Whether you agree or disagree with any of the factions is not the point – what is clear is that the PN has clear symptoms of multiple personality disorder verging on schizophrenia.

Without going into much detail as to the different sections themselves we can still see how the PN’s outside front can turn out to be shallow and non-committal.  A telling moment was when the PN managed to confirm that it would back the Civil Union Bill but then went on to say that it would propose amendments that would differentiate the Unions from marriage. The cake and eat it. It’s why it is easy for Joseph to go on riding the opportunist bulldozer and claim that the PN is being equivocal on this point.

The danger for the PN is that having so many different political backgrounds really means that the PN is constantly in the position of being more parties than one. There is a conservative strand and a social democrat style of Christian-Democracy that often swings to the left side of the spectrum. Unlike the PL that has reneged completely on any kind of association with value-driven politics, the PN is simply at a point of having to define its priorities and possibly decide whether the different strands can be accommodated in one monolithic structure.

Another aspect of PN’s schizophrenia is related to its having to deal with the past. The corollary to Muscat’s constant jibes at the PN’s history is that any new position by the PN has to take into consideration its very recent track record. A case in point is the Passports for Sale saga. The PN might have unearthed a Fenech Adami refusal to one such proposal in its early days of government but a simple search as to who the main protagonists in the new scheme are clearly indicates that Gonzi’s government might have had similar plans on the backburner itself.

These are tough times for an opposition still trying to get on its feet and one that is in search of a clear identity. I’ve written this before and don’t mind repeating it again now – before venturing to sell its message to the people the PN must first be sure that it knows what that message is.

Know thyself. Then go out and fight the behemoth that is threatening to run riot with this country.