Moving the Parliament out of the Palace is a brainwave. I cringe whenever I see the hideousness that is the Maltese Parliament and remember that it sits inside that national treasure of a palace. Moving the Parliament would free up space that would finally be enjoyed by all of us.

However, although Parliament is an important national institution and should be well-sited, it will never be enjoyed by more than a handful of people and therefore should never be located on a space meant for the public. Moving the Parliament to St Elmo would mean adequate parking (that would free up the Main Guard once and for all), the redevelopment of an area that is in an unbelievable state of disrepair and which we know will never be used as a fort again, and close proximity to the Mediterranean Conference Centre which is used for larger meetings and conferences.

On the arts issue, the MCC is nothing more than what its name implies, a conference centre. Its acoustics are mediocre at best and the facilities are on par with those at the Manoel Theatre - abysmal. The MITP, while an interesting space to play with, is essentially a black room filled with folding chairs and no actual "facilities" and St James, while a shining beacon of the forward evolution of Maltese theatre, is the size of a shoebox. The PM's argument that Valletta is theatrically saturated is one big Swiss cheese of an argument.

For all those in favour of rebuilding the Opera House as was, it was built in an era that favoured the neo-classical, ergo neither the original baroque style that most of the city was built in and neither the modernist movement with which it should be built today. Building it in its past style would be a boring and safe bet.

Chartres Cathedral in France was destroyed twice, and all three times it was built, it was built bigger, better and more beautiful. The restoration of old buildings is a practice to be praised, yet apart from the foundations, nothing remains to restore from the old Opera House, so let us create a new building that celebrates the architectural era we live in now.