In his closing speech at the recent PN General Council, Dr Gonzi admitted that the PN was still fresh from the 2008 General Election victory when the dark clouds of a worldwide recession could already be seen on the horizon. So why, despite this looming recession, he still gave the go-ahead for the €600 weekly pay rise to himself, his ‘limited ability’ Cabinet ministers, as well as his parliamentary secretaries? Was this a lack of foresight, bad management, a fair adjustment of ministers’ salaries or simply just a greedy mistake?
In the same speech, Dr Gonzi again emphasised the fact that he always strived to be honest and truthful in every political issue. Was he honest and truthful when he increased his salary and that of his resignation-resistant ministers and parliamentary secretaries by €500 weekly? He certainly hid the truth from one and all simply by saying nothing at all! A ‘good example of bad practice’ if ever there was one! Here it’s pertinent to point out, that Dr Gonzi always insists to be judged not only on what he says or fails to say but also on what he does. But one thing is sure, this maxim at times can go astray and when it does, it goes awfully astray.
Lately, our Prime Minister has discovered another of his hidden talents, namely that of quiz master. He can really go berserk asking question in quick succession to which he rightly expects satisfactory answers. However, it seems that Lawrence Gonzi doesn’t like being on the receiving end. He doesn’t like to taste his own medicine, which is that of answering questions himself. According to a report in The Times of 18 November 2011, the government or GonziPN, by now they’re one and the same thing, has repeatedly refused to give clear answers to 12 questions put by the same newspaper regarding the ministers €500 weekly pay rise, in the light of the recent Auditor General’s report on the matter.
The common Maltese worker would never even dream of getting a phenomenal €500 weekly pay rise; imagine receiving it in reality! In every yearly budget, the COLA mechanism yields meagre results for the common worker. I really wonder what kind of surreptitious mechanism was used to determine the €600 pay rise to our Prime Minister, ministers and parliamentary secretaries. Indeed, the other slogan that ‘together everything is possible’ sometimes really works wonders for the chosen few, to the extent of fulfilling even their wildest dreams!
The following is a true example of how one of these chosen few defended tooth and nail his €500 pay rise. One Saturday morning – 19 November 2011 – I intervened by telephone in the discussion programme Ghandi x’nghid on our national radio station, where the guest speaker was none other than the Hon. Tonio Fenech, Minister of Finance. When I commented about the glaring difference between the minister’s €500 weekly pay rise and the €4.66c pay rise of the common Maltese worker, Tonio Fenech suddenly got quite edgy and revealed that his pay rise was really around the €380 mark! This, for me and perhaps for most of the station’s listeners, was indeed a first, I knew about the original €600 increase, which was later reduced to €500, but now this €380 was really news for me! I kept asking myself if this sum would dwindle further as the general election draws nearer? And hey presto, I was proved right because some days ago the sum dwindled down to zero. Then Tonio Fenech continued with the usual blah, blah, blah in defence of his weekly pay rise. I wonder why Mr Fenech accepted his ministerial post in the first place, when he knew quite well that by so doing he had to forfeit his job as accountant and auditor. He also advised me to run for the general election so that if I am elected, I would stand a chance of having that lucrative €500 weekly pay rise myself. A clever piece of advice wasn’t it? This can be verified by logging on the programme’s website and listening to the programme aired on Saturday 19 November 2011. For me, this is sheer arrogance and acrimony coming from a person who, like many of his honourable colleagues, is standing on a high pedestal from where everything and everyone else looks small indeed. In time, I’ll probably take Mr Fenech’s helpful advice, but not before I get my MPHU degree − Masters in Political Hypocrisy and Unaccountability – from the University of Maltese Politics!
In the meantime, Mr Fenech must always keep in mind that politicians are like migratory birds. Today they’re here and tomorrow they’re off, down and out. Every five years, they become fragile and exposed. So dear minister, enjoy it today, while you can, because tomorrow could perhaps be too late!
Charles Cirillo
HAMRUN