As a capital city, Valletta was home to all strata of society, but a grand, nostalgic vision of its past, with palaces, large houses, precious artefacts and monuments, including middle and upper-class residents, is deeply embedded in the nation’s collective psyche.

Times do change. The Valletta 2018 initiative is now triggering a chorus of worries about the risks of ‘gentrification’ of the contemporary city.

This is rooted in concerns that the ‘genuine Beltin’ of today, as opposed to Valletta’s past residents, will be squeezed out of the city through rising property prices as well as changing spaces, catering for ‘outsiders’ such as foreigners or other Maltese who are not Beltin.

This perceived threat is being linked to the opening of boutique hotels, bars and restaurants, the revival of night-life in Strait Street, the planned Design Cluster at the Biċċerija, and new cultural and commercial outlets at Lower Fort St Elmo.

Across the harbour, rising property prices and a surge in entertainment venues have been present in Sliema for years. Many young families have moved out and the character of the former sleepy seaside town has changed utterly.

Despite this, Sliema remains an extremely popular and busy residential town, which probably has a more diverse community than anywhere else in Malta. There are no pressing concerns about gentrification, and nobody would mind if some cultural venues or design clusters migrated to Sliema either.

Apart from the many Maltese residents, Sliema’s streets, promenades and shops are packed with all nationalities, including the small grocer in my street, where a queue at the cash register might easily include customers from Sweden, China, Libya and Italy, all together in a line. I am not exaggerating.

I would imagine that some Valletta residents might actually be quite pleased to attract some of this mix, as well as higher-spending residents and night life, as this generates income and jobs.

The reasons why young middle-class families do not opt to live and bring up their children in Valletta are not the cultural venues, boutique hotels, fancy shops or restaurants. Simply put, parking in Valletta is difficult, and the houses and flats tend to be damp, dark, difficult to heat or cool, and they often have steep stairs and no lifts.

Young families today want outdoor spaces, large windows and light, garages and amenities like supermarkets within convenient reach. The Planning Authority has had a policy to discourage offices and encourage residences in Valletta for some years, but not even this top-down approach has worked.

The result of the hearing calls Joseph Muscat’s judgement into question

The challenge for the future of Valletta as a thriving residential town is in attracting a wider and more diverse cross-section of society to live there. I don’t have the answer but it does not lie in overblown fears of gentrification.

• The grandiose phrase “a city of palaces built by gentlemen for gentlemen” is often splashed around mindlessly in promotional descriptions of Valletta. It is sometimes attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, who visited Malta in the 1830s and was later British Prime Minister.

This irritating line could be an urban myth, as the source is unclear to me. The late scholar Donald Sultana, who wrote detailed accounts of the visits to Malta of both Disraeli and Sir Walter Scott, did not identify it in his writings.

Sultana had once told an academic colleague, who in turn mentioned it to me, that he never came across this line in his research. Anyone who can cite chapter and verse is encouraged to come forward and put an end to this intriguing mystery.

• Reputation is not always fair, but in politics it is everything. Toni Abela’s performance at the European Court of Auditors showed the importance of credibility. “How do you expect us to believe that what you tell us is true?” asked a committee member bluntly.

The hearing was also a lesson in the lasting damage of a scandal which is swept under a rug and never satisfactorily resolved.

To his dismay, that tantalising ‘white block’ resurfaced like a bad dream, larger than life. Once the story died down in the Maltese press, Abela had hoped it was gone for good. Out of sight, out of mind.

In reality, while no illegality was ever proven, the official version of events was never that credible. The unpleasant odour of wrongdoing lingered, and the Court of Auditors picked up the scent.

Abela may have accepted the nomination against his better judgement, as he seemed understandably reluctant when it was announced. He was then reported as sounding ‘downcast’, only saying that, “it is what it is, from now on I will do my best”.

Whether Abela should have accepted or not is now unimportant. It is the Prime Minister’s decision to push for this nomination in the first place which is of concern.

Joseph Muscat is familiar with European structures and expectations, and the result of the hearing calls his judgement into question.

“I am sure Toni will do Malta proud,” Muscat had tweeted at the time. Many others could sense Abela’s unsuitability for the post from miles away, and they said so. How did Muscat completely miss the point on such an important and senior nomination?

petracdingli@gmail.com