The way people spend their money says a lot about their aspirations. Some people love cars. Others might not care much about cars and prefer travelling or buying furniture or antiques. They might want to purchase a holiday home, or spend a substantial amount on clothes or entertainment, or invest and save for their retirement.

The government also makes choices. Apart from the annual Budget, there is also that in-between, unexpected expenditure which provides interesting insights into priorities.

For instance, the government has said that it might not have enough money to finish off and embellish the garden, theatre and bus terminus at the entrance to Valletta. It had, however, no problem swiftly finding €4.2 million in its wallet for the Café Premier, which does not even have a known purpose yet. A committee has been set up to discuss possible uses of the place, and to identify how much more money will now be needed to refurbish it.

The management of nature parks in the countryside has not seen an increase in its inadequate budget for some time. €4.2 million could have gone a very long way there. It would have been nice to have more land protected, instead of witnessing the exchange of rural land and a tidy payment of cash for the Gaffarena family’s newly-acquired building in Mint Street, Valletta. It hardly seems crucial to government functions.

Finding adequate means in the public coffers to retain the use of Palazzo Bonici for the Manoel Theatre would have been more worthwhile than both the Café Premier and the Mint Street building together.

The Manoel Theatre offices and concert room, as well as Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, have been vacated and only the bar downstairs is available to the theatre, and solely for use during performances.

Also low on the government’s spending priorities is the holding of democratic elections for local councils which, according to recent changes in legislation, will now be combined with the European Union elections, ostensibly to save money and to prevent voter fatigue.

The government, however, had no problem swiftly finding €4.2 million in its wallet for the Café Premier

I don’t think the real reason for postponing local council elections can be voter fatigue, since if people were truly tired of voting, we simply would not have such a high turnout on every occasion. This country loves voting and voter fatigue just does not come into it. It seems more that the government is fatigued by being put to the test.

It is clear that, from now on, local council elections will be completely overshadowed by the electoral campaigns of MEPs, just as they paled into insignificance when combined with the hunting referendum.

So, while there might still be a high voter turnout, in effect this move may diminish the profile of local councils. I am surprised that local councils have been so quiet about it.

The issues that they are quiet about can often speak volumes. The local councils of Marsaxlokk and Birżebbuġa have had very little to say about the long delay of the gas power station. They have also stopped pressing for an interim switch to diesel instead of heavy fuel oil at Delimara.

Air quality studies in the area have shown satisfactory results. This does not mean that things are perfect, far from it, and gas is definitely cleaner.

Yet living in a zone with heavy traffic congestion like Msida, Fgura or Birkirkara is quite possibly of more, or at least equal, concern to residents.

Perhaps the local councils are, understandably, not enamoured of the idea of a gas tanker being berthed in the harbour, and are quite content to put up with delays. In that case, it would be hard to understand why they did not push harder for comprehensive risk assessments to be completed before a permit for the gas storage tanker was granted.

In spite of repeated calls by NGOs, the government has not even published a maritime risk assessment yet, which will outline how smaller vessels may be inconvenienced by the gas storage tanker especially when gas supply ships start visiting the harbour regularly.

Apart from the ships using the Freeport, this includes fishing boats and leisure boats. Many of them belong to residents of Marsaxlokk and Birżebbuġa, but I did not notice the local councils making much fuss about the fact that no studies on nautical movement in the harbour have yet been presented.

But the prize must go to the mayor of Marsascala. Last week he was interviewed on Reporter on TVM. In his efforts to persuade viewers that it is fine to sacrifice the countryside at Żonqor to commerce, he reminded me of the used-car salesman Swiss Toni on the BBC show, when he compared the fields at Żonqor to a beautiful woman.

Rural land is like a woman, he said. If you want a woman to bear children then, alas, you must accept that her appearance will change.

While Toni compares loving cars to beautiful women for a laugh, the mayor of Marsascala seemed quite serious.

Perhaps LGBTIQ activists could consider adding ‘W’ for women to their list of letters.

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