Parliament can go to Guardamangia (2)

April 1, 2010 could not be a better day for the Nationalist government to engrave its name for the second time in the history of the Nationalist Party in office. This day will mark the destruction of our beloved city, a world heritage site, and one of the most popular tourist attractions this little island of ours has to offer, according to a statement made by Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi.

The first fiasco, way back in the 1960s, was when City Gate, as we knew it, a beautiful gate erected during the British rule, was dismantled and enlarged to make way for Carnival floats. But instead of building a similar gate, but on a larger scale, as then we the people of Malta presumed, the present garage-shaped gate was erected. Even a schoolboy could draw up such a horrible-looking gate, but the Nationalist administration led by the late George Borg Olivier had this brilliant idea and engaged an Italian architect to draw up the plans for a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen. Alas the gate is still there for anyone to admire until it is again pulled down by the present Nationalist administration.

This time the Gonzi government has a more brilliant idea. It is embarking on a project not only to dismantle our present city gate but to rebuild the opera house, destroyed during World War II, and also to build a new Parliament building, thus removing Parliament from the Presidential Palace, where it is now housed. This project also aims to build a bus terminus outside Valletta. I agree with the Prime Minister on this bold decision which no administration had the guts to do, but surely not with the way it is being done.

I still remember that more than 20 years ago, the then Nationalist administration issued a call for tenders to rebuild only the opera house, if I remember correctly. I am not sure about city gate. Although there were beautiful plans submitted for this project all tenders were rejected. But I still remember that the most criticised of them all was that submitted by Renzo Piano. The plan for his project cost the taxpayers Lm20,000.

Now the government did not issue any tenders for such a costly project. No matter that his project was last time the most criticised, it approached Renzo Piano directly and begged this world-known architect to carry out this project which is estimated to cost in the region of €80 million. Piano's plan was exhibited at the National Museum of Archaeology for everyone to see and admire this genius work of modern architecture. Barry's once-famous opera house is being replaced by a tennis-court-shaped roofless theatre. Freedom Square will be transformed into our highest institution - a Parliament built on stilts.

Piano's plan also provides for the demolition of the present main entrance to the city - not to be replaced by a grandiose gate, which our city deserves (something like Victoria Gate which is being restored to its original beauty) - but by just a gap between the bastions. A grand idea indeed! No wonder no call for tenders was issued this time for this project. Who would have dreamt of adorning our World Heritage City with such an obscenity? Although the majority of the people are against this project and despite protests of all sorts, our beloved Prime Minister is adamant on this matter and does not hear the people's cries. According to an interview in The Sunday Times of March 14, this project would carry the signature of the one and only Renzo Piano and no one else and would be finalised by the end of this legislature.

Come next week may all Maltese citizens who have their capital city at heart wake up and find out that after all the Piano project was just an April Fool's joke!