The challenge has been launched. The gloves are up and the million dollar question has been put on the table (and is now a guest at the myriad “talk shows” on our TV’s and radios). Joseph “Inħobbkom” Muscat has put an end to his party’s reticent “cards-to-the-chest” policy and finally announced the 51 proposals that are described as “positive and concrete”. It’s all down to a game of numbers – Gonzi asks 10 questions – he gets 51 answers. Beat that Gonz.
Woe betide he who decides to actually read through the 51 “proposals” and tries to make out how this can be the blueprint for an accountable plan for managing Malta’s future. This is a list that lies long and thin.
Lies – because the sum total is proof that it is marketing above substance, a clumsy attempt by “think tank” apparatchiks to sound sophisticated and clue-full.
Long – because in the mistaken belief that the long numbered list will be enough to con even the intelligent observer, it is evident that whoever sat around the table to pow-wow this thing went through great lengths to add as many “proposals” as possible.
Thin – because the depth of thinking required to come up with this kind of pie-in-the sky ideas belongs somewhere down the evolutionary scale between the amoeba and the sponge.
If you find me insulting then you have not read the proposals yet. Why 51? Easy because 50 would be too obvious… they probably think that 51 sounds like a number casually reached. A while back I got think-tank man Aaron Farrugia in a twist because I criticised the tautological vision of Joseph Muscat about university’s role in society (something about how a university should be a centre of learning). I spoofed it with “Sajjieda ghandhom jaqbdu hut frisk u bdiewa ihawwlu frott tajjeb“. Aaron “unfriended” me for my efforts. No big loss. Then came “Proposal 45” – “Importanza mistħoqqa lill-biedja u sajd“.
Declaring your belief in Airmalta (35) is not a proposal. respecting Maltese and Gozitan “investors” (30) is not a proposal. Youth before bureaucracy (26) is a bumper sticker gone wrong but not a proposal. Promising not to give out government contracts that do not respect worker’s rights (16) is not a proposal – (a) it should be implied in any government, and (b) there are laws and directives that prevent this happening anyway. “Gvern li jkun safe ghal businesses u negozji” (5) is not a proposal, it’s sounds like an advert for companies to store their cash in some government vault. Citizens getting a good and timely service from the courts is not a proposal if you don’t say HOW and WHY you will bring this about (47). Idem Better security in entertainment areas (49).
It doesn’t end does it? These are not proposals for a government in waiting. They’re proposals from another planet. Planet 51.
And if for one minute you thought that the 51 proposals make sense and are a credible plan for electing Labour. Then you deserve a Labour government.
That’s the beauty of democracy – you get the government that YOU deserve.
Planet 51 (Trailer) from Roberto HG on Vimeo.
16 replies on “51 proposals from another planet”
“Gvern li jkun safe ghal businesses u negozji” Bis-serjeta?
51 proposals… Priceless. For everything else there’s Mastercard
lol
‘Promising not to give out government contracts that do not respect worker’s rights (16) is not a proposal – (a) it should be implied in any government, and (b) there are laws and directives that prevent this happening anyway’
That would be nice, but it does not happen in the real world, not even in the public service.
Owkej the Planet 51 reference is classic!
But my question is would you be open to giving the man a break? I mean, the document is just a simple list hot off the presses (as they used to say when presses actually got hot). The PL website does not even mention this (or provide any policy document whatsoever under it’s ‘Documents’ section for that matter). Perhaps, they just have not had the time to publish the detailed explanation yet. So how about firing off a quick email to the man himself, asking for details, making it amply clear that you’d reserve the right to publish the correspondence on your blog? Muscat’s replies to specific queries (or lack thereof) would make VERY interesting reading.
What I would ask for specifically would be 4 items per proposal: timing/schedule for implementation relative to his getting into office, benchmarks/targets/deliverables (numeric were relevant) by which to judge actual implementation, ideological/policy rationale, basic sub-steps to achieving goal. I think it is reasonable for PL to yet have complete economic plans for each item at this time. Additionally I would ask for a chart/graph explaining the inter-relatedness of the individual proposals and of these to the basic PL ideology.
Before dissing me off as naive for expecting political parties to actually have any deeper thoughts behind their sound bites, let me put it this way: I don’t expect acceptable responses at all, but the process of revealing that void in excruciating detail is a worthwhile endeavour.
http://www.azzopardinicky.com/2011/11/how-to-sound-pathetic-51-times.html
It is my firm belief that if you are the prime-minister-in-waiting you truly need to know exactly where you are in the space-time continuum.
The PN has already stolen these 3 points from the PL 2013 electoral manifesto. Please note these were not in the 2008 manifesto:
1) Divorce
2) give right to police to join a union
3) extension of maternity leave
Next it will wait for AD (cover Malta with solar panels party) to come out with its electoral manifesto and in the last 3 weeks before election date it will come out with “its” manifesto (25% income tax) – obviously not one question asked about its implementation, we’ll just take whatever the PN presents as a FACT.
Jacques is AD proposing to convince me to vote AD ? Solar panels, wind power, high energy tariffs ? BULLSHIT
Wake up Briguglio!!!!
sorry typo…. I meant what is AD proposing ?
Forgot the 30km/hour speed limit ? What a ridiculous twerp this Ralph Cassar.
Without descending into the domain of insults “ADpfff” I don’t think that I said anywhere that your scrutiny can not and should not extend to the third party. My point however is that just because the PL is a government-in-waiting and not a government does not make it any less liable to scrutiny. Hell, in most cases it is deserving of much more scrutiny than it would expect or like to have.
Talking of scrutiny, insults….. Joseph “Inħobbkom” Muscat.
Alternattiva Demokratika – 3810 votes after 20 years! What a sick joke. What is AD’s plan for Air Malta ? Covering the planes with solar panels ?
I’m quite confidnt that GonziPN is the only party able to solve the AirMalta’s problems. Wara kollox min sajjar il-froga jaf x’tefa fiha!
I don’t see how this article has suddenly become an AD bashing exercise when AD have not one single mention in the article. As for PN stealing Divorce off the PL electoral manifesto … you must be joking … the divorce issue was about as pleasant for PN as crapping the proverbial watermelon … although I did love the fence-sitting exercise on the other side … As per your statement of a 25% income tax rate, from a layman’s point of view I would have though that that is one proposal that doesn’t really require yards of “implementation” don’t you? Amendment to the law, bish bash bosh, government suddenly has a lot less income (if you were in fact referring to the top income tax band being lowered). If you were actually thinking about (or hoping to refer to) the impact on government spending that such a proposal would have then that’s another kettle of fish. But speaking about impact, I think the list of 51 changes would require a document of biblical proportions, if we were really asking for an impact assessment.
As to giving the man a break? I have no particular objections to doing that on the basis that he does, in the very near future, come up with the things mentioned i.e. what are you actually going to do … anyone could run for government on the back of empty promises without a clue as to how to deliver them, one would hope that the country would deserve a bit better than that before it is asked to make its decision – then again I could be wrong.
Thanks “Il-Galea”. To put things into perspective for ADpff let’s just say that 20 years ago if someone like tal-Farfett came out with an idea like “I will put toilets on every bus” or “Ruth Amaira for President” we all laughed because we instantly saw it was not a feasible option. Nowadays Joseph Muscat runs off a list of 51 proposals and we take them as read? Because it’s Joseph? Bah.
Let’s put things into perspective shall we ? Michael Briguglio, son of Lino Briguglio… dak li xeba jiehu kuntratti ta’ konsulenza minghand GonziPN. Mur u zarma, isma minni.
Long live Harry Vassallo.
He came, he exhaled gases worthy of the stalest anuses, he left.
Sic transit ADpfff.
[…] else to urge the people to feel uncomfortable about – then they would mumble something about 51 proposals from another planet and everyone would think all would be hunky dory under Joseph. J’accuse never fell for that […]