MaltaToday previous editions

maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 MAY 2019 7 NEWS ANALYSIS tions, fully knowing that Labour is riding so high in the polls that they can afford to register their protest vote. For if they do not use their power in mid terms when can they use it? Added to these there could be more tradi- tional Labour voters who resent their party's transformation in to a pro-business party. 10 years after Gonzi's con- version on the road to Xaghra l-Hamra- it is Muscat's turn to propose a park for the people. It comes at a time when govern- ment is hell bent on pushing through the Gozo tunnel despite its devastating impact on some of the most scenic areas in Gozo and the north of Malta while presiding over a building boom and road widening exercise of unprecedented proportions. To address the first signs of discon- tentment he promises"the big- gest project of open public space in an entire generation," while reiterating his commitment to make Gozo the first island to shift to electric cars. Muscat's skin deep environmentalism Still Muscat's speech indicates that his green conversion is at best skin deep and at worse an exercise in deception. For him environmental problems are merely a "consequence of pro- gress", not the starting point for a radical ecological conversion which redefines our idea pro- gress by putting local communi- ties and pedestrians rather than private cars and big business at the centre of policy. "Even if we paint our house, we're going to have consequenc- es. So what? We don't work on our roads? We're not going to find excuses not to carry out work," he said while affirming once again that "we will always be pro-business," and that this is the only way to have enough funds to improve the quality of life of the people. So in his mind frame even en- vironmental problems can be solved not be changing direction but by dishing funds in to a ma- jor recreational project. He seems to forget that most of our land use problems stem from the fact that policies have been tailor made around the needs of big business with the local community being seen as a sheer after thought. This was clearly the case with the fuel station policy crafted in 2015, which was so badly twisted to serve a few developers, that the government itself is now ditching it. The question now is; how many more fuel stations will be approved until a new one replaces the policy? Yet the attitude has pervaded the government's attitude to construction and planning. Elected in 2013 on a platform which promised social impact assessments on major economic decisions, Muscat's government has constantly failed on as- sessing the impact its planning policies-like the metric con- version of the height of floors contained local plans which led to an onslaught of demolition works. The endless redevelop- ment brought about by a com- bination of the 2006 local plans and Labour's tinkering has had a direct social cost. For example elderly people are spending the few years left of their lives, bur- ied in construction sites and in terror of a repetition of the col- lapse of the G'Mangia building. People with push chairs cannot even pass comfortably on pave- ments without swallowing ciga- rette smoke of diners accom- modated on road side platforms. No amount of economic growth will ever compensate for this loss of serenity in daily life. A park to redeem their sins Instead Muscat's solution - ex- pressed in a discourse reminis- cent of that used by developers to justify high-rise developments is "the biggest project of open public space in an entire gen- eration" … Like developers' pro- jects it is also being granted as a concession meant to sweeten the pill and solicit eternal gratitude. It bears strong resemblance to the PA's "floor area ration poli- cy" which permits extra heights in exchange of more "open spaces." It also coincides with attempts to present land recla- mation as a panacea for the in- creased claustrophobia created by endless construction. Yet to be really meaningful, even the creation of such an open recreational space should at least involve a transfer of pres- ently developable land back to the community like for example re-appropriating land already earmarked for development like the Jerma or Manoel Island (pos- sibly putting IIP money to good use)… or by putting an end to discussions on privatising the White Rocks site and immedi- ately restore it back to the public as a park. Despite clear shortcomings, the very fact that Muscat is seeking to address the consequences of his own policies suggests that he is mildly concerned. The ques- tion is; will Muscat once again succeed in re-assuring voters, as he probably will, or will this discontentment find an outlet in European and local elections, thus sending a strong message before the imminent race for the PL's leadership? environment on election eve Despite clear shortcomings, the very fact that Muscat is seeking to address the consequences of his own policies suggests that he is mildly concerned

• Cover