After all these years of being promised a rebuilt opera house every time an election comes around, I am totally taken aback by the plans being proposed for this so-called theatre to be built on the site of the Royal Opera House without a roof.

The proponents of the new theatre are trying to sell it to us by portraying it as a monument to the war. Well, unlike Lawrence Gonzi, Austin Gatt or Renzo Piano, I lived through the war in Valletta and the bombs that rained down on us. I am sure that I reflect the opinion of many in saying that we already have one war memorial and do not wish any more reminders of that terrible time. We want to remember the glory that was the old Opera House and look to a future of culture in all its forms.

We are constantly being told that the Opera House should not be rebuilt as it was. When the Fenici Opera House, the Bari Opera House and others burned down, no one felt this driving urge to build anything but the original; why is it that what was good enough for these centres of culture is not good enough for us? How can we object that the classic style did not match Valletta and at the same time accept an ultra-modern style of Parliament that matches much less?

This City Gate project is like laying icing on a rotting cake; it does not address Valletta's problems. If our politicians were sincere about wanting to improve the city (rather than building monuments to perpetuate their glory), instead of spending millions on building a new Parliament that we don't really need, they should re-design Freedom Square and then use the money saved from Parliament to clean up and regenerate the rest of Valletta, which looks more of a mess every time I revisit my old city.

I can assure Dr Gonzi that to people of my generation, this broken promise on the Opera House will not be easily forgiven.