The past week has been a particularly stormy one that raised important issues about our physical and political environment. I could not but notice that the cynical attitude to public life and issues, about which I have written so often, has not only taken root but is now becoming the mainstream attitude that will form the Malta we will pass on to future generations.
Regarding the physical environment, we have now had confirmation that environmentalists have finally woken up to the fact that they have been had. Astrid Vella of Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar had campaigned vigorously against all sorts of abuses she felt were being perpetrated against the environment.
The Labour media had provided her with the choicest of airtime to give vent to her gripes (real and imagined). Now she has realised that those who invited her to speak so frequently and who promised her a better tomorrow for environmental issues were just cynically using her.
She has just publicly said that where the environment is concerned we went from the frying pan into Etna!
We were also regaled with the cynical comment of the Malta Developers Association president, Sandro Chetcuti, who told his pack of ‘developers’ that they should make hay while the sun shines, i.e. till government continues adopting policies developers want it to adopt. Listening to him were some of those who committed outrage after outrage against our environment.
It is very clear that the developers, in tandem with the powers that be, have outmanoeuvred the environmentalists. The pre-electoral idealistic promise that one can run with the environmental hares and hunt with the developers/hounds turned out to be just a cynical promise. The hunting is now with the hounds at the expense of the hares. The hounds are now making as much hay.
The gorging that developers are being exhorted to indulge in is being done at our collective expense. Over-development translates itself in air pollution which contributes to all sorts of pulmonary and other health problems.
That environmentalists are now at the wrong end of the stick was manifestly evident during last Monday’s meeting of the Parliamentary Environmental Committee where the discussion centred on the so-called American University of a Jordanian developer and on Żonqor.
The listening public was told that the pristine ODZ region of Żonqor can be developed into a yacht marina and 10-storey buildings. The government, it seems, has really listened to the complaints of the environmental lobby!
But the plot (or the air) thickens.
The Prime Minister had publicly decreed that this university will be partly built on Żonqor and partly housed in Dock 1. Martin Scicluna, of the National Commission that licenses universities, wants us to believe that his commission is autonomous and can now decide not to license the Jordanian’s university – while the CEO of Mepa assured the Parliamentary Committee that the choice of Żonqor and Dock 1 is not really final.
Environmentalists have finally woken up to the fact that they have been had
Can we get more cynical than that? Do the suits think that the listening public is an idiot?
The political environment was also in hot water.
The resignation of Joe Cassar should be a lesson to all politicians: keep business people and developers at arm’s length. Simon Busuttil has clearly learnt this lesson. He has distanced himself from two large business families who were traditionally considered to be among the milk cows of the Nationalist Party.
Busuttil had no problem denouncing the building of a power station by these families and their plan to build enormous towers at Mrieħel. While Busuttil distances himself from the mega-rich, Labour seems to find no problem cosying up to them.
We have witnessed other cynical attitudes in recent days.
Busuttil took action against Cassar for what could be at most described as a breach of ethics (something strongly denied by Cassar).
On the other hand, Joseph Muscat gave a plum job in Brussels to Cyrus Engerer, who was not just guilty of ethical transgressions but of criminal acts that earned him a suspended prison sentence.
Moreover, the government, ever mindful of taking care of its own, also gave another plum job in Brussels to Engerer’s partner! Brussels can be lonely, it seems.
Even though Cassar assured Busuttil that he will take legal action to clear his name, the Opposition leader decided not to wait for these actions to take their course. He immediately suspended Cassar from his role as spokesman on culture. Meanwhile, Cassar’s lack of discretion continued to be used to tarnish the Nationalist Party. He decided to do the honourable thing and resigned from Parliament.
Now, consider this. After each scandal is exposed, one worse than the one before, the Prime Minister either opines that he will do better next time (e.g. Café Premier scandal) or that he only takes action after board of inquiries present their findings (e.g. Manuel Mallia’s case).
In some cases, before he takes action, he waits for a second report by a second board of enquiry (e.g. Gaffarena/Falzon scandal) and in other cases he does not go into action after losing a court case but waits for its appeal (e.g. the Ombudsman’s vs Army promotions).
In the Swiss leaks scandal Busuttil immediate took action against those named even though these people by the date of revelation had regularised their position with the State.
All this notwithstanding, the Labour media cynically try to make people believe that Busuttil is the weak political link who does not take action against improper behaviour.
Cynicism has always featured in our public acts and discourse. It is now becoming mainstream. If this attitude is not resisted and changed future generations will inherit both a heavily mauled physical environment as well as a politically distorted one.
This process has to be stopped at all costs.
joseph.borg@um.edu.mt