I’m tired of hearing that it’s difficult for third parties to make it to power and that they have to overcome all these obstacles to make it. All that earnest debate about electoral thresholds and whatnot.

It must be the lack of positive thinking and a clear vision which prevents them from making any headway. I can think of a few people who wield power and influence in this country without having to go through the hassle of campaigning, compiling electoral manifestos and actually getting elected.

Really – this member of parliament business is over-rated. Why bother with it all – those tedious speeches in Parliament, everyone poking his nose into your sex life to see where you’re parking your penis and having to answer those annoying parliamentary questions.

Then there are the weekly Cabinet meetings, diktats from Brussels, keeping up with the constituency and actually trying to get anything done. There must be an easier way than that to forward one’s agenda or that of a particular lobby group without jumping through all those electoral hoops and circles.

Developer Sandro Chetcuti can give us all lessons in this regard. Despite not having garnered a single vote in the last election, he seems to be one hell of a power behind the prime ministerial throne. In the space of one-and-a-half years, he has managed to propel the developers’ agenda (never actually on the backburner) to the national frontline.

Think about it. Practically every single policy change made since the Labour Party has been elected has been to the sole benefit of the developers’ lobby. It started off with the dismantling of Mepa.

Then we had the frank and outright admission that the authority had given up on enforcement action. At some point ODZ land which had been used for agricultural purposes became fair game as new regulations masquerading as incentives for agritourism were issued.

Height limitation restrictions have been eased. Land reclamation is on the cards. And now Chetcuti and/or his friends may get to pour concrete on virgin land from Smart City to Żonqor Point.

Very soon the only area which is not built up will be Sandro Chetcuti’s shaved head

This last proposal purportedly comes from the Consultative Council for the South – a body headed by Labour MP Silvio Parnis. Chetcuti is a member on the council. He is also the president of the Malta Developers’ Association and a member of the Building Industry Consultative Council, which he describes (correctly it turns out) on the website of his company as “two of Malta’s authoritative bodies in property development”.

Yes, Chetcuti is a man who wears many hats. One of them being that of the de facto minister of development, public works and speculation. He is a prime example of how a person who has not been elected but still effectively holds office.

This means that what he says goes in the field of development. Maybe this sounds like overstating the case but I would be very (pleasantly) surprised if the Concrete Coast proposals in the south don’t go through.

The Prime Minister seems to be on board with having an unofficial minister for development. Meanwhile, the elected minister for the environment chunters on about afforestation projects when very soon the only area which is not built up will be Chetcuti’s shaved head.

Having unelected people formulating government policy bodes ill for the country. There’s the prospect of even more construction and development in the little undeveloped areas we have left. Add to this the fact that unelected persons are not answerable to the electorate.

They cannot be voted out of office, they cannot be influenced by public opinion. And yet they have a huge impact on the way our scarce public resources are managed and what future generations will be allowed to enjoy.

The Prime Minister is either oblivious to this fact or unconcerned by it. His large majority has apparently made him impervious to criticism.

Whereas once he may have feigned a superficial interest in matters environmental (more as a dog whistle strategy to the liberal, eco-friendly crowd), he has now completely dropped any form of pretence in this regard.

This may not bother unduly. In the short term, his majority will not be touched.

But if he continues in this manner, when his terms in office are over, he will leave an enduring legacy of resentment and irreversible destruction.

cl.bon@nextgen.net.mt