The Nationalist Party would stand in the way of any development on pristine land at Żonqor Point, Simon Busuttil has warned.
The PN leader yesterday reiterated an appeal for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to clearly rule out the building of a private university in an outside development zone.
“You will have to steamroll over us,” Dr Busuttil warned, insisting the PN supported the new movement that was born as a reaction to the proposed development.
On Saturday a group of green NGOs, private individuals, academics and two government MPs unveiled a new movement fronted by former Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Michael Briguglio in favour of safeguarding ODZ land.
Dr Busuttil said the Prime Minister’s hard-headedness had united “a movement of moderates and progressives” against him.
The slogan ‘A movement of moderates and progressives’ had been Dr Muscat’s battle cry when becoming Labour leader in 2008.
Devoting most of yesterday’s speech at the close of the PN general council to the Żonqor controversy, Dr Busuttil lauded his party’s green credentials.
It is shameful the government lowered the standards for university certification
“Don’t let anyone tell you our environmental record was not good,” he told PN councillors. The remark appeared to contrast with what PN deputy leader Mario de Marco had said a few minutes earlier, that in the past too many environmental mistakes were committed in the name of economic growth and lessons had to be learnt.
But Dr Busuttil pointed towards better air and sea quality as feathers in the cap for the PN.
He said it was disrespectful of the government to criticise the previous administration for building a sewage treatment plant in an ODZ at Ta’ Barkat, in the same coastal area as the proposed university, insisting the plant ensured cleaner seas for all.
The environment was the future the PN had to embrace because it was about the wellbeing of today’s and tomorrow’s generations, he added.
While the destruction of virgin land at Żonqor was the PN’s primary objection to the university, Dr Busuttil also hit out at the developers’ credentials.
“It is shameful the government lowered the standards for university certification to accommodate the Jordanian investors, who are involved in construction and hotels but have no experience with universities,” he said.
Dr Busuttil called on academics, intellectuals and students to rebel against the lowering of educational standards.
The PN leader accused Dr Muscat of corrupting politics by throwing away the values of honesty and transparency and attempting to buy people’s silence with money.
His mention of former PN MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando as one of those appeased by Dr Muscat elicited booing from the audience.
Dr Busuttil insisted his soul was not for sale, telling councillors the PN could become a strong alternative government by the force of reason.
“It is wrong to have politics that is soulless... people are priceless and cannot be bought,” he said, promising a future PN government would remain close to the people and respect them.
In a brief reference to the damning report on the quality of concrete at Mater Dei Hospital, Dr Busuttil insisted this was a government smokescreen to divert people’s attention from the Żonqor issue.
He ridiculed the conclusions that the concrete used to build the hospital would not withstand an earthquake – Mater Dei had to be earthquake proof – saying that anything said by Health Minister Konrad Mizzi should be taken with a pinch of salt. “If there are problems the government can turn to the contractor, the supplier of concrete and the people who certified the project and take action,” he said.
Singing doctor Gianluca Bezzina, who represented Malta at the Eurovision song contest a couple of years ago, was a guest speaker and outlined his fear that society was becoming more liberal. The president of the University of Malta’s student council Gayle Lynn Callus was the other guest speaker.