Gonzi in the Middle

I think that Maltese politicians lack the ability to find a sweet spot in anything they do. And I really mean anything.
They can't find a sweet spot between promoting themselves and bashing the other. They cannot find a sweet spot between being humble and going way over the top. They cannot find a sweet spot between private and public.
More then anything, they cannot find a sweet spot between taking things lightly and taking themselves way to seriously.

And they really do take themselves too seriously. Just look at the current US Republican race  Belgian government crisis Nationalist leader election. Reading through some of the articles about it makes me chuckle, gag, and vomit a little in my mouth.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday called for a sincere verdict from the 800 or so PN councillors who later this month are expected to vote in a leadership contest that will likely only have him as a candidate. (source: Times of Malta)

"that will likely only have him as a candidate"... "that will likely only have him as a candidate".
Really, I can't stress that stroke of comedy genius quite enough. And funnily, (or should I say scarily), the Nationalist drones are still taking this whole charade seriously.
After all, why is he calling this election anyway? Any honest-to-self politician anywhere in the world would have immediately resigned once the parliamentary majority is lost. He has truly failed, miserably, at his job. Does he honestly think the country needs him so badly? Does he have such a high opinion of himself that he will contest an internal election for which he's the only candidate, North Korea style? 

The Labour in the Rye

I stumbled across this article on MaltaStar, the PL owned online news portal:

A Labour government would strengthen the stipend system

The Labour Party said today that the Prime Minister is being politically dishonest and resorting to the politics on the past when he spreads the lie that a Labour government would remove or reduce the stipends of university, MCAST, ITS and sixth form students.
Labour leader Joseph Muscat has insisted time and again the stipend system for students would not only be maintained but strengthened.
The Labour Party says that today there is no more place for this politics of the past using fear and lies. “Gonzipn is clinging on to power and is stuck in the past.” (Original Article)

 It's an interesting article for various reasons, I would say.

The first question that comes to mind when reading it is: How? How exactly would the stipends be strengthened Mr. Muscat?

This is a general feeling about the Labour Party which is unsettling. It seems that they are taking the word Opposition too literally. They seem to be obsessed with solely opposing the PN no matter what. I do agree that the stipend system needs to be revised, but if you want my vote, you have to tell me how.  It's not the first time they did this, in fact. They have rambled on and on how a Labour government would reduce the electricity bills, but stopping short of saying how. This led to this infamous Anglu Farrugia interview on Bondi+:

Now, let's face it, Anglu Farrugia isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He would be a genius if he was a plant, but he's not. In fact he's the deputy leader of a political party who's aiming at leading Malta starting from next year.

ACTA

I would like to start off my blog by discussing a very controversial issue: the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, better known as ACTA.

The Internet is overflowing with information about it, rage and ire abound and, as expected, a myriad of opposing opinions and views. As always is the case with such burning issues, however, is the unbelievable amount of misinformation being thrown around from both ends of the spectrum. With everyone so keen on voicing his or her opinions louder than the next guy, people forget that the strongest weapon to win an argument is to be informed about the topic at hand. This has left  many who had little information with several volumes of Encyclopaediae’s worth of information worth less than the flowery print on your average toilet roll.


So What is ACTA, really?

In short, it’s an international trade agreement that seeks to harmonise anti-counterfeiting measures around the world. The main concern many people have with this agreement is that it will threaten the liberties we currently enjoy on the Internet by allowing governments to monitor our Internet usage for illegal activity involving intellectual property. The official explanation provided by the EU is that this will not undermine the Internet or the individual’s online liberties, but on the other hand will secure jobs by shielding companies from piracy. Matter of fact is that there is an unusual air of secrecy surrounding its negotiations and details, which makes it hard to conclude what the reality is.

There is plenty of information online regarding the pros and cons of ACTA. In fact, you can read the official positions here, here and here, and get the anti-ACTA side of the debate here, here, here, here, here (etc. ad infinitum). Thus I do not want to turn this post into another source of (dubious) information and I just want to voice my opinion about it.