It seems that the Labour government has decided to spin around the honoraria saga, in its desperate need to divert attention from the farcical way it is using taxpayers' money to pay back anyone who gave a billboard appearance in its campaign (dik li mit-taxxi tagħna lkoll qed inħallsu għal kampanja "Tagħna Lkoll").
Our very positive Prime Minister, has decided to once again try to create a wave of envy by claiming that the previous Cabinet members have not paid back the increase in the honoraria they were paid, using the manipulative spin-tools he learned as a One reporter.
Let's get the facts right. There were two issues with the honoraria increase given in the last legislature (I had already discussed these in a previous post: That Shameful Honoraria). One was that Cabinet members would be paid a Parliamentary honoraria like back-benchers and Opposition MPs, over and above their Ministerial salary. The other was that this honoraria was increased from €19,122 to €26,700, and that this increase had only been paid to Cabinet.
That Cabinet members would retain their honoraria was communicated and discussed in Parliament. It was the €7,600 increase in the honoraria that was not communicated properly, neither to Parliament nor to backbenchers, as discussions had started with the Opposition and stopped. This increase in honoraria was what Gonzi and the previous government promised to pay back (click here to read the TOM report on Gonzi's original declaration). It was, and a few weeks ago this was also confirmed by Muscat on Dissett when he was asked if this was refunded. No mention was made that he had expected more money to be refunded.
Suddenly, in a desperate attention-diverting attempt, Muscat is demanding that the whole honoraria be refunded.
Muscat would better realize that the way he distorted the honoraria issue before the election, and is still doing now, has led us backward from discussing a full-time Parliament to allowing a part-time Government, with Codes of Ethics being applied only where he deems fit. And that's regressive not progressive
It's not the honoraria which ought to be paid back. It's the money being forked to pay back Labour's election campaign stunts. It's the salary being paid from the nation's coffers to the Labour Party's CEO disguised as PM consultant. It's the salary being paid from the nation's coffers to the Prime Minister's wife when she has no State role. It's the salary being paid to Minister's relatives employed in their secretariats in full breach of the Code of Ethics. It's the extra salary being paid to Ramona Attard which is scales above her current role.
That's what ought to be paid back. But what does Joseph care. Ethics are just an obstacle in his quest of full power control and his party's 'let's-get-as-much-as-we-can-while-we-can' orgy.
This government should start caring about its honour rather than honorarias.
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