The government has hinted that it is bowing to pressure to squeeze all 75 monti stalls into Ordnance Street and curb the controversial spillover across the street beside Valletta’s new parliament building and old theatre ruins.
“If it is physically possible to place all the stalls in Ordnance Street I will do so to avoid any stalls spreading out... I’m already working on this but it involves negotiations with every single market hawker,” Small Businesses Minister Chris Cardona told The Sunday Times of Malta.
This marks a change of heart after a nationwide uproar against the decision to allow the tatty market stalls to take ‘pride of place’ at the capital city’s elegant new entrance designed by acclaimed architect Renzo Piano.
Mr Piano’s lead architect Antonio Belvedere described the decision to place the stalls between the majestic parliament building and Pjazza Teatru Rjal as “shameful”. Mr Belvedere said the decision was akin to “making a cake, then spitting on it”.
The collective revulsion was further provoked by the stalls’ tacky designs – a mixture of PVC, metal and wood, featuring eight-pointed crosses painted in red against a white background.
Asked if he was taken aback by the hue and cry over the stalls’ designs, Dr Cardona said: “I wasn’t surprised because I felt the same way. When I saw the final product it was clear these couldn’t be set up at the capital’s entrance. I felt the stalls would downgrade the city’s elegance,” he added. By yesterday afternoon the Floriana and Valletta deputy mayors had started a Facebook petition against the stalls and their relocation – within a few hours the page had already garnered 2,300 likes.
Relocating the market had first been proposed by hawkers eight years ago when they spent two weeks protesting against the government’s proposal to shift them to St James Ditch, while Merchants Street was being pedestrianised.
In May 2007, the hawkers camped outside Freedom Square and started a petition – signed by then Opposition leader Alfred Sant – urging the government not to move them from Merchants Street. The situation was further politicised in 2013, when on March 9 – Election Day – former minister Jason Azzopardi sent an e-mail to the hawkers’ representative promising to relocate them to Ordnance Street.
The hawkers had always insisted it was impossible to fit them all into Ordnance Street, but in the e-mail it had been stressed that no stalls could be mounted alongside the new parliament building.
Opposition leader Simon Busuttil yesterday entered the fray and said that under his watch there would be no monti in Ordnance Street, or anywhere near Piano’s project.
However, shifting the market from Ordnance Street is not an option for the government and Dr Cardona pointed out it was the PN government which had first promised the hawkers this spot.
Dr Busuttil denied this had been in the Nationalist Party’s electoral programme and “even if it were, the party has a new leader and I disagree”.
Dr Cardona said he would ensure the uniformity of Piano’s project was not disrupted by the monti.
“What concerns me is striking the right balance and having aesthetically balanced stalls that do justice to the capital’s entrance,” he said.
A considerable number of stalls have already been built. Asked why it had to reach this stage before the government realised they were unsightly, Dr Cardona said the initial focus had been more on practicality.
“Aesthetically, it’s hard to form opinion until you see the final product. We are still in time to change them,” he said.
“We cannot be accused of dilly-dallying on this. As soon as we saw the end product we immediately acknowledged they could not be set up there and we stopped it.”
Asked if there was any truth in reports that the Sunday market of some 50 hawkers would take over De Valette Square, alongside the theatre, Dr Cardona vehemently denied this.
“No, no, no. The square will not be touched. There had been a request from the hawkers, but we never acceded to it. There will absolutely be no stalls there.”
Dr Cardona added that one option being considered was moving the Sunday market towards Floriana from its present site close to the Blata l-Bajda park-and-ride.
The latest developments have delayed the hawkers’ move, but Dr Cardona was reluctant to give a timeline. The consultation process with architects and designers to come up with more aesthetically pleasing stalls should be wrapped up within weeks, and the migration plans would then follow.