Talking (and meeting) point!

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 -1901) is probably the most singular person (artist) that "immortalised" the café, bistro and cabaret culture with his "dans société..." post-impressionist paintings, art nouveau illustrations and lithographs depicting the 19th century Bohemian lifestyle in Paris, particularly in the Montmarte district. For many years Café de l'Opera has been recognised as the "meeting point" of the Parisian intellectuals.

Over the years this "pavement café" culture has spread across most of the seven continents. All over you will find French bistros and cafés: From Montmarte to the Champs Elysees or the Latin Quarter or from St Malo to Nice, Cannes or Monte Carlo, at the Caffe Greco in Via dei Condotti off the Piazza di Spagna or around Piazza Navona in Rome, or from Porto Sole in San Remo to Lungo Mare in Catania, Madrid or Barcelona as far away as Melbourne, Sydney to the most exotic Thai islands, the Bahamas, New York, London or Dubai and every other corner of the globe.

This is where people just relax, watch the world go by or do business and exchange cultural and intellectual views over a meal, a plate of pasta, a snack, a beer or a cappuccino. Indeed, it is a wonderful experience wherever you are on this earth.

Not in Malta. Already a quarter of 2008 has gone by, a new legislature is about to start for the next five years and we are nowhere near aligning ourselves with the rest of the world. It seems that, after considering the official demands by Mepa, the overriding powers of the ADT and the registering exercise at the MTA, notwithstanding the size of our little island, no tangible rules and regulations really exist or are in force concerning the development of "pavement" cafés and restaurants around the whole island. These can only enhance and further promote both our tourist package and image as well as our cultural heritage. As usual, we are lagging only a hundred or so years behind anyone else on the globe!

Malta (and of course Gozo) keep on suffering from different weights and measures when it comes to decision making from wherever those decisions are forthcoming. What is relevant on our islands is who you are, whom you know and what colour you are (besides the skin, of course!). There are those who are given the nod easily and there are those for whom Mepa will create all sorts of obstacles to drag its feet in issuing the relevant permits. Indeed, we have diametrically opposing views and opposing actions forthcoming from people coming even from the same political spectrum.

Take, for example, St Paul's Bay. Paul Bugeja, as a long-standing past mayor (Nationalist) of the area, had tremendous foresight and, by using whatever bye-laws he had in hand, promoted the "pavement" culture notwithstanding the opposition he had from many quarters. Through his endeavours, tourists and locals alike, as well as the shopkeepers, hoteliers and all workers involved gained massively.

In Sliema the same could be said when Robert Arrigo was mayor and over the last years with the present mayor, Mrs Arrigo, although it is possible that in some (Sliema) areas this practice could be somewhat exaggerated as neighbours and passers-by should also be respected.

In Mosta things are done differently. Despite the fact that the past mayor, Joe Demartino (also Nationalist) was adamantly against such concepts, certain areas, particularly around the Dome, had to face considerable problems.

Undoubtedly, the best example of his attitude, before being dumped, was in leaving the traffic flow system unchanged - notwithstanding so many empty promises from "up above" prior to so many elections. In addition, he retained the very unpopular corner concrete "flower pots" along Constitution Street that everyone detested as they proved to be nothing but rubbish dumps and traffic and health hazards.

One of the very first things carried out by the new mayor, Paul Chetcuti Caruana (Labour), was to remove these eyesores to the great relief and satisfaction of the majority of the residents and shop owners of the area, irrespective of their political convictions.

The authority to do so is apparently being questioned. One asks: What authority did his predecessors have before constructing those horrendous "rubbish dumps" on every corner of Constitution Street?

The March election is now already history. I ask: Are we now to await another election in five years' time before the existing archaic rules and regulations are amended and real and positive action is taken to enhance and embellish Mosta and, in particular, Constitution Street? Is it not possible to do what the rest of the world has done and allow the many coffee shops, bars and restaurants to beautifully embellish this street, which has over the years become such a popular shopping mall? Or are we to keep on suffering from spite from whatever quarters it is forthcoming.

One muses: How many wrongs does it take to make a right?