The European elections came and went, and as usual politicians stood on their soapboxes and threw sacks of promises at stunned citizens. In the ensuing ‘blood bath’, national issues weighed heavier than the EU in the halls of Perspex.
While the two new Maltese MEPs must find their feet, the four returning ones will swiftly pick up the old threads. Much of their work at the European Parliament is barely understood by voters here, who based their preferences on national politics.
One exception here is David Casa, whose European parliamentary work resonates across national concerns. He loudly and repeatedly promised to forge on with the rule of law and the fight against corruption in EU fora. Thousands of voters applauded, but the irritation of the Labour Party at his re-election is palpable.
Political memes were circulated on Facebook slating David Casa and Roberta Metsola during the campaign, also peddling the idea of a dark conspiracy led by Simon Busuttil. No other MEP candidates were targeted by an orchestrated attack like this. But voters were having none of it, and Casa and Metsola were sent back to the European Parliament despite this negative crusade against them. Support for Metsola and Casa is also widely interpreted as a protest by Nationalist voters against the current PN leader Adrian Delia.
Entrepreneur and former PN candidate Ivan Bartolo was interviewed on Times Talk last week. He pointed out that he declined to compete for the PN leadership in 2017, despite being encouraged to do so. He had felt that one should first gain more experience in politics, such as through a parliamentary seat, before considering the role of Opposition Leader.
Bartolo suggested restructuring the PN, perhaps overseen by a former senior politician as caretaker, to enable a process of renewal. Columnist Ranier Fsadni mentioned a similar idea. But Delia will not even countenance his reconfirmation as party leader after the PN’s performance last weekend. He is promising to do better. If he does not affirm his position, however, it will surely come to haunt him down the line.
A vote of confidence is expected at such a tense political juncture, as also indicated by former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi in an interview with this newspaper a few days ago. In any case, there are good reasons why most new jobs have a probation period. The more important the job, the more crucial are results. Leader of the Opposition is a huge position, not only for the political party itself but for the country too.
Among the electoral campaign songs and promises, the environment was immediately highlighted as a major concern of voters, although this fizzled out towards the end. The campaign pushed Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to admit that the government has not been sensitive enough on environmental protection, which is of course a gross understatement. He promised to do better.
In the end, environmental concerns did not translate into a loss of votes. Green parties in Europe picked up and did well in the elections, but in Malta the Green party has not registered progress and sorely needs to reinvent itself.
The history of planning in Malta will surely identify this period as a truly low ebb in time
For years, people have been complaining endlessly, and unsuccessfully, about the state of the environment. Perhaps the government will listen more carefully to voices from the business sector. The president of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, David Xuereb, has just stated that “Malta’s fundamental unique selling proposition” must be safeguarded, and this includes land and natural and urban heritage. He said that Malta will only remain attractive to economic activity if it continues to be “valorised as an ideal place to live, work, learn, heal, enjoy recreation and engage in creativity”.
Many residents of this country, however, would argue that Malta is becoming less of an ideal place to live, largely due to the property and construction sector spiralling out of control. The Malta Business Observer also reported the concern of travel industry leaders, worrying that the current pace of construction is not sustainable and may harm the tourism industry. Even the Malta Developers Association is calling for improved forward planning by the authorities.
The promise of two open family spaces in this electoral campaign, one at Birżebbugia and the other at Ta’ Qali, is very good, but not enough. These two recreation spots will have no effect at all on the problems caused by the ongoing construction boom.
The environmental lobby has long called for master plans, strategies and vision. One supposed example of this is the ‘Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development’, better known as SPED. This five-year plan was launched in 2015. The government has now begun a consultation process for a new ‘National Strategy for the Environment’, and the Chamber of Architects took this opportunity to point out that the SPED has been a complete failure. Most of its targets have not been addressed, let alone achieved.
To understand the botched SPED, it is worth revisiting the manner and spirit in which it was launched. It was originally intended to replace the Structure Plan. Love it or hate it, the Structure Plan of 1990 was a solid professional document which provided guidance and parameters on the way forward for urban planning over 20 years. A process was commenced to replace it with the new strategic plan, but by the time the government changed in 2013 only the SPED objectives had been published and the full plan was still being finalised.
From 2013 onwards the government then began pushing forward several new planning policies, such as on building heights, and consultation on new local plans. The environmental lobby feared that planning rules were being relaxed and rose up in alarm, demanding that the overall strategy is first agreed upon before tinkering with new policies.
The government then grabbed the SPED objectives of 2012, added some lines here and there, and presented this as the complete strategic plan. It was explained that most of the missing detail would instead be put into the forthcoming new Local Plans.
But the new Local Plans have not yet materialised, and the SPED is steadily reaching the end of its life without them. No wonder architects have declared it to be a failure. From day one this document, intended as a strategic vision for Malta’s built and urban environment, has been a half-baked, flimsy plan with no teeth, arms or legs.
This reflects the state of forward planning in Malta today. It is not surprising that the place is a dusty, noisy, polluted mess. The persons responsible may be indifferent now, but this planning legacy will not easily be erased. The history of planning in Malta will surely identify this period as a truly low ebb in time.
This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece