'PN is Christian democrat in values, but liberal in policy' - Tonio Borg

@Briffy Ma tiflahx taqa ghan-nejk iktar milli qed taqa'. Jien ghandi erbghin sena ul-generazzjoni tieghi trabbejna taht it-tmexxija tal-Perit Mintoff. L-iskola kienet obbligatorja u l-maggoranza tan-nies ta' dik il-generazzjoni tghallimna l-edukazzjoni, hdimna u konna u ghadna nies responsabbli. L-injoranza intom u shabkom tal-knisja tiehdu pjacir biha ghax tmexxu l-poplu minn imniehru. U jekk qed tghid li l-livell ta l-Ingliz nizel fost iz-zghazagh naqbel mieghek u nzid nghid li qed johorgu ammont ta zghazagh mill-iskola illetterati!! Pero' irrispondini din.... min mexxa l-gvern f'dawn l-ahhar 23 sena? Ma nahsibx li z-zghazagh tal-lum tghallmu taht it-tmexxija ta Mintoff.........ilu li rrezenja minn P.M. mill-1984 u mill-parlament mill-1998 u tajjeb li tinnota li m'ghamilx lilu nnifsu President bhal siehbek. U jekk qed tghid li Mintoff kisser l-edukazzjoni mela sehbitek Dolores Cristina x'inhi taghmel? Staqsi liz-zghazagh li tellfithom il-programmi tal UE? Staqsi lil dawk li ghandhom it-tfal u dis-sena bellawlhom il-benchmarking ha jghidulek kemm hi sistema tajba? X'ghadek issofri ghax kecca l-Blue Sisters? Mur sptar privat jekk trid. Rigward il-qasba ul-huta, siehbek mhux talli ma jtihomx qasba lanqas huta ma jaghti. Fejn qatt fi zmienkom qabel Mintoff stmajtu l-haddiem u ghallimtuh? Il-haddiem Malti fi zmien Mintoff kien l-ghira tal-barranin ghax biezel u kapaci ara issa l-Ministru siehbek ma jridx Cuc Malti imexxi l-Airmalta, kumpannija tezor li waqqaf Mintoff u mxiet il-quddiem bis-sahha tal-haddiema. Ghamiltu zmien ilbistu l-libsa ta haruf fejn taparsi kontu t-tarka tal-haddiem u rnexxielkom tidhqu bi whud pero issa il-libsa nehhejtuha u kulhadd induna li intom ilpup. Mhux dawk li ngannajtu biss daru kontrikom imma anke nazzjonalisti akkaniti li qatt ma holmu li xi darba jaslu biex jghidu kontra l-gvern taghhom. Aqra l-gazzetti kollha mhux in-nazzjon biss ha tkun taf!!!!

Nah --- even a circus crew are more professional and organised. Mind you, we've seen some consciences juggling ~ and after the referendum result some of them had to eat the fire but alas could not swallow it.

'PN is Christian democrat in values, but liberal in policy' - Tonio Borg ------------- Is the Deputy leader been appointed the role the "Court Jester" as well in this conclave? Roll in the Clowns and acrobats and a nice tent to house such a Circus!

"Christian democratic values were always in its DNA" - straight from a party whose brand of Christianity is psychopathic (symbolised by the systematic & routine Christ crucifixion during mass) and whose brand of democracy is about walking all over the wishes of the electorate in the name of PN- branded ‘truth’. Does this give you any ideas how you might update your soul ?

Sandy...Jekk Mintoff falla f'haga wahda, kienet fl-edukazzjoni. Kisser l-iskejjel, hawwad il-kulhadd, qata' l-ezamijiet, ghamel rebus mill-iskejjel ta' l-istat u mbaghad ipprova jkisser l-iskejjel privati u tal-knisja. Kecca it-teachers barranin kollha, is-sorijiet tal-Blue Sisters. U b'hekk ghadna nsofru sal-lum. Il-livell tal-Ingliz tant nizel baxx li llum hafna zaghzagh l-anqas jafu kelma bl-Ingliz. Imma t-tfal tieghu baghthom l-iskola tal-Ingliza f'Tal Handaq imbaghad baghthom f' Universatijiet Inglizi, f'Sussex University. Mintoff mhux hmar; jaf li meta wiehed ittih dar u job tkun xtrajtu ghal-ghomru.. Mintoff ha l-art bi ftit flus minghand il-privat u veru taghhom lin-nies tieghu bi ftit flus. Allura x'gara, nies li ma kellhomx edukazzjoni saru home-owners u bdew ihossuhom importanti ghax saru mittelkklas, imma baqghu bla edukazzjoni u gralhom bhal dak li liebes qalziet l-ewwel darba. Peron hekk kien ghamilhom fl-Argentina, Eva kient twaddbilhom il-flus mill-gallerija tal-Palazz, u dawk kollu jitqatghlu biex jahtfu kemm jistghu. Imbaghad dawn kien jiggieldu ghal Peron. Il-poplu trid tedukah, tghallmu jistad u ttih qasba mhux ittih huta.

@briffy "Jidhlu ghal xi loan biex jixtru dar b'sitt ikmamar". Dazguuur skond int in-nies ghandhom jghixu go gorbog kif kienu fi zmienkom qabel 1971!! Hekk triduh il-poplu, imma ha nghidlek jekk dak iz-zmien lin-nies kontu tbellghulhom li trid, ahna generazzjoni li trabbejna taht Duminku Mintoff li l-edukazzjoni fi zmienu kienet bilfors u jekk m'ghamel xejn nehha l-hmieg ul-injoranza li kellkom fi zmienkom!! Int suppost tiftakru dak iz-zmien la int pensjonant!! Ara jien ma niftakrux ghax it-tfulija tieghi kienet fi zmien Mintoff u dejjem ghixna ta sinjuri zghar!! Hekk triduh lil poplu njurant ha tbellghulu kollox imma hu qataghhielkom dik iz-zejza LOL!!! Mhux ta b'xejn il-hdura li tipprovaw ixxerrdu kontrih!! Tinsiex Money No Problem ul kultura tad-dejn siehbek EFA dahhalha!!!!

Ftit minn kollox ghal kullhadd.

Now it's Liberal vs Conservative, before it was Liberal+Conservative. But the maths does not make political sense! http://bit.ly/l2XvjH

@briffy (how sensitive you are) Well it seems you are hiding too, cos you never show your name. Of course, the sun rose over Malta in 1987. You know what, now we have plenty of chocolate and plenty of fat people too and as you pointed out, people have to take hefty loans to pay for a 'few rooms'. Prior to 1987, working class people could afford to live decently and buy plots or houses without stretching their finances. This is the sort of virtual freedom that your PN has brought. Your language isn't so refined after all, judging by your reply to John Smith. It's not only Mr Smith who will be voting Labour for the first time, there are many more and the PN knows it very well. This time they will not have Dr Sant to shoot at or JPO to save them. The writing is on the wall and as the Italians say: Tardari si, scappare no!!!!

@Sandy...hadd ma jfaddal fid-dinja jekk m'ghandux almenu l-average wage, li Malta qeda Eur15 000, u l-Italja qeda' Eur30 000. Min ghandu Eur20 000 Malta jaddija ta' sinjur zghir. Izda ma' jridx jidhol ghal xi loan qawwija biex jixtru xi dar b'sitt ikmamar, ghax allura jerga jitibazwar. Trid taqtha il-libsa skond id-drapp.

John Smith ..int tilabghha ta' Nazzjonalist u m'intix. Int thalli il-Labour jitnejku bik u jbellawlek kollox. Ghandek gerzumi qisa katusi tad-drainage u kollox jinzel. Jiddispjacini li tipprova tghaddi z-zmien bina. Mur ivvota Labour jekk trid hadd ma jzommok. Imbaghad tigix tibki hawn wara u tghid x'ghamilt b'idejja u kemm kont cuc li dahqu bija. Meta mbaghad Labour irahhaslek il-fuel u l-kontijiet tad-dawl u l--ilma tkun kuntent hafna u jkollok biex tixxalha. Ghax ma tiftahx mohhok

Before it was the conscience word, now everybody abuses the term "liberal" how it suits them best. Truth is in the eye of the beholder.

"also liberal in other things, ....introduces family friendly measures" cannot be put in the same sentence. The supreme institution of a liberal concept is the individual.

"The PN is not a liberal party" - Tonio Borg, January 26, 2009 "PN is Christian Democrat in values, but liberal in people policies" - Tonio Borg, June 16 2011

@ Briffy Dal-paroli li tigi tghid hawn imissek mort tghidu fil-kunsill generali ta shabek biex forsi tikkonvinci lin-Nazzjonalisti shabek mhux lilna ghax maghna m'ghandekx cans!!! Jew ma stidnukx??? U hadt ghalik ghax xi hadd ghajrek buffu? Ma xbajtx tghajjarna int, nincompoops, nies b'nuqqas ta skola, ma nifhmux fl-ekonomija, ma napprezzawx li l-pajjiz miexi fuq ir - rubini etc??? X'tippretendi li nhalluk b'xejn meta kuljum tigi hawn u tipprova tiitmejjel bina billi tbellghalna r-ross bil-labra? F'kitba ohra ghidtilna li int pensjonant u bl-ghaqal tieghek qed tghix komdu llum, j'Alla pero rringrazzja l'Alla li ghixt fi zmien li stajt tghix komdu u tfaddal ukoll, ara issa hadd ma jista jaghmel hekk , ifaddal u jghix komdu fl-istess hin. Skuzani hadd zball, il-maggoranza tal-poplu ma jistax jaghmel hekk ghax Gonzi & Co jistghu........minn fuq daharna imma.

The PN ship is sinking and Eddie Fenech Adami is making a clear comeback to save the party. But which party? The liberal/conservative or the conservative/liberal? But this is impossible! You cannot be two opposite things at the same time! http://mazzun.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/eddie-bhal-duminku-u-l-istorja-tirrepeti-ruhha-xi-ftit/

Briffy...u are not free cos you don't think with your head...unless you're paid to repeat what others think!

Briffy - l-elogji twal li ma jaqra hadd ma huma se jwassluk imkien. Inti jew qed tpappija tajjeb, jew sturdut u ma tafx x'inhu ghaddej. Li jiddispajcini hu illi ahna n-nazzjonalisti ghadna nemmnu fl-onesta politika u fuq kollox fid-demokrazija daqs kemm konna nemmnu fihom meta ssugrajna hajjitna u xogholna f'tal-barrani u l-imnarja. Ghalhekk iggiliedna u nibqghu niggieldu ghal-dawn anke jekk il-partit taghna jkun hu li jonqos f'dawn it-tnejn. Sincerament jiddispjacini ghalik meta nara l-bigottizmu tieghek u l-incens li tippova titfa lill dawk li issa xebghu jitnejjku bina u bik. Bhall ma dejjem ghidtlek, jekk inti kuntent li jitniejjku bik good luck to you imma lilna hallina nghidu l-affarijiet kif inhossuhom, ezatt kif ghamilna fl'imnarja u f'tal-barrani.

@Bertu Dimech..In the first place name-calling only shows bad manners, humble beginnings and lack of conviction. This is a free country since 1987 thanks to the PN, and everybody is entitled to say what they want without any reprisals or recriminations. But there is also such a thing as abuse of freedom. I know this site is replete with a few rabid socialists who hide under nom de plumes believing they are still living in a totalitarian state and are afraid to come out in the open. They are perfectly entitled to be downright rude; that's their prerogative; they must be pitied as they don't seem to know any better. They seem like a pack of hungry wolves; they fling insults at all those who do not share their beliefs. However they are not doing any good to improve the image of their party. They are sending the wrong message. They are only alerting people to the fate that would befall the Maltese if their party were elected. If they behave in this manner when they are in opposition how will the Maltese be treated if their party (Labour) were to be in power? Alfred Sant has to be given credit for purging the party from its violent elements, but unfortunately quite a number of the old guard of the 1970s and 1980s are back in the midst of the present-day structure and one very much doubts whether the young and inexperienced leader will be able to muzzle them and keep them in check.

‘Borg dismissed suggestions of a split between conservative and liberal factions," Borg Olivier: "Divorce has divided us, but we aim for reconciliation..."

@briffy (or as someone appropriately suggested, buffu) "While professing to be liberal and progressive Labour is not only pressuring its own MPs to vote Yes but also MPs from the PN's benches ostensibly to respect the people's will. Hardlly a liberal approach. While professing to respect the will of the majority of voters it does not seem to have any respect for the conscience of MPs." You seem to be watching too much NET TV and reading too much Nazzjon lately. So, what is liberal, EFA's pressure on the PN MPs to vote against the will of the electorate? Or Edwin Vassallo, Tonio Fenech and Austin Gatt with their ultra conservative writing? MPs have passed the buck to the people. The people have expressed themselves clearly, now the MPs have just one option to vote YES or else resign. Parliament is the house of representatives not the house of conscience. So, please stop wasting space on this site, we're not interested in PN cheap propaganda.

[email protected] thallatx il-hass mal-bass u ieqaf ohlom.

He must have got the definition of 'liberalism' from Azad! The proof of the pudding is in its eating! No to divorce and no to the separation to State and Church is going back to the pre-enlightnment...centuries ago!

PN has always been a liberal party. It has always believed in the freedom of the individual. This is why it has been the refuge of all those that believe in the sanctity of freedom. Since the 1970s when feedom began to be severely threatened and progressively eroded, the PN has always fought for democracy and did its best in the circumstances obtaining at the time to preserve the freedom of the individual, the right of freedom of expression, freedom of choice, freedom of movement, freedom of association. PN kept its promises and when elected again in 1987 delivered the goods it promised. While everyone was given the opportunity to enjoy this holiest of man's aspirations it did not resort to witch hunts and revenge; it practised reconciliation and moved on. The same did Poland and Czechoslovakia led by Walesa and Havel. It was a success story as we all know and Malta rose from the ashes. Labour was given a licence to transmit, unlike the PN during Labour days when it had to resort to transmitions from Sicily, because its application for a radio station was considered anathema during the 1980s, and Mintoff himself considered the PN's application as a joke. Malta started building its infrastructure practically from scratch - the communications system in particular, as well as the provision of a reliable electricity generation system thrrough the first Delimara Power Station in the early 1990s followed by the Gas turbine; a reliable water system by means of the provision of three reverse osmosis plants which have guaranted the supply of water for a population of nearly half a million. These services are now taken for granted by today's generation; they hardly believe what the situation was like thirty years ago. The jewel on the crown was EU membership in 2004, something which the PN had been striving for since the Borg Olivier days back in the 1960s. Malta's application to join the EU was submitted in 1991 but unfortunately the Sant government froze the application in 1996 and campained for partnership in 1998 and 2003. The majority of the Maltese understood and appreciated the opportunities for Malta if it became an EU member and voted for it in 2004. The vote was across party lines in much the same way as happened in the recent divorce referendum. Despite the pronouncement of the majority for EU membership Labour still voted against accession when the vote was taken in the House. Unlike the Labour stance in the case of the EU membership, several PN MPs have already stated that they will vote yes for divorce. The PM has gone on record saying the divorce bill will be approved in the House despite his personal declaration that he does not favour divorce. He declared that the wishes of the majority will be respected and at the same time he gave a free vote to all his MPs. Labour on the other hand sat on the fence; as usual preferring to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds in an all out effort not to lose votes and gain as many as possible and showing once more its belief that the means justify the end. While professing to be liberal and progressive Labour is not only pressuring its own MPs to vote Yes but also MPs from the PN's benches ostensibly to respect the people's will. Hardlly a liberal approach. While professing to respect the will of the majority of voters it does not seem to have any respect for the conscience of MPs. Both parties today harbour members with a different outlook on aspects of life like the rights of homosexuals, marriages between members of the same sex, adoption of children in same sex marriages, divorce, co-habitaion. This is not surprising; the internet has made the Maltese, particularly the young generation, aware of situations whcih no one was prepared to discuss in public a generation ago. The only difference between the parties is that the PN in power has shown that it really respects the freedom of the individual by practising what it preaches, while Labour though professing the same beliefs has not had the chance to be tested. Judging by its past performance, Labour has a dismal record when it comes to respect for the freedom of the individual. The mere fact of applying pressure on the way MPs should vote in the House on the divorce bill indicates that its actions do not reflect what it says are its beliefs.

Tonio Borg," introducing family friendly measures" Liar Liar Liar go burn in hell you hypocrite your face makes me want to vomit.

Opportunists! that is the DNA of the PN!.......better change its name to Partit tal-Kamaleonte!

It's funny how history repeats itself.... Pre-87, people used to say: "MLP ing*rzat mal-GWU" 2011: "PN ing*rzat mal-Kurja"

Tonio, a politician like you should know better and explain yourself better. PN, liberal? Economic liberal yes, but surely not a social liberal party! Ieqaf tmejjel bin-nies!

Christian Democrat in values, but liberal in people policies’ - Funny! Laughed so much heraring this statement that tears came to my eyes! Issa mhux min qieghed jithaq b'min IMMA in irrid jitnejjek b'min?

QUOTE “Now we hear suggestions that we should update our soul?” Tonio Borg asked, and added that that if it is so, “no problem, please come here before the general council and propose this change. So far nobody has come forward.” UNQUOTE Unless you intend to stretch your DNA, how are you going to update your soul? So many undigested concepts ... heavy words meaning nothing at all. Tonio, do you think anyone would seriously bother proposing changes to a party which wears an adaptive mask to suit the mood of the day? Christian democrat is a false mask worn by PN; and in the context of the referendum the world 'liberal' covers a multitude of virtues such as compassion, acceptance of personal and social realities and common sense solutions. People want to see these (and other) qualities expressed by politcians. PN stands for conservative --- yeah, conserving the status quo; conserving a secret ecclesiastical brotherhood and conserving dublicity - such as was expressed at the General Council.

This muppet has no idea what a liberal even means. They just throw worlds around that think we want to hear. Pretending to be liberal all the while a bunch of fascist Nazi con-artists.

....“conservative in values and good politics, but I am also liberal in other things, - Tonio Borg . Conservative when it comes to the peoples' wage increase, €1.16/week and truely LIBERAL when it comes to increase his salary €500/ week. . What an exciting general conference it must be Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Liberal when it suits you, Tonio ? As for the rest of his speech; empty phrases, platitudes...uninspired and dull. Yawn.

The PN has much more than two sides on one coin!! It proves that it's full of hypocricy, and I think the time is coming to face the reality of nowadays. Gone are the days when EFA used to point at Mintoff!! Now the PN has to solve it's big problems inside it's own organisation, just like the church. The people have sent a clear message towards them, and if they could listen, they would contain some of the big damage already done. They(PN) have fooled thet people many times, but they can't fool everyone forever!!

Tajba Hanzir :) NIES MA JISTHUX TA VERA KOLLA TGHALMU MINN efa

dan ahna jew m'ahniex? http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090126/local/pn-is-not-liberal-tonio-borg.242305