Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1318996
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 DECEMBER 2020 10 NEWS A zookeeper's rants skews Labour's optics... TURN the clock back to 2013. It was a time of hope and change. For the first time since the 1970s Labour's reformist optics looked good across a wide spectrum of society. An alliance of the liberal middle class and the working class was swept to power with an un- precedented majority on a plat- form, which touched on animal rights, liberalisation of drug laws, gay rights and a vague hope of national renewal; in- carnated in a promised second republic. Sure enough for those who delved deeper, the contradic- tions were all there from the very beginning. Tell-tale signs of 'migration football', to inti- macy with developers, preced- ed Joseph Muscat's ascent to power. But these aspects were obscured by the optics of as- pirational politics. Cool Malta was on the horizon and Mus- cat was the towering leader of a coalition whose inclusivity kept moderates on board but the agenda had a progressive continental edge. And indeed a lot of things have changed in 2013. From LGBTIQ laggard Malta be- came a global leader, setting the pace for other more advanced countries. In a token to animal lovers and a balancing act with a pro-hunting stance, circuses were banned. Yet as months rolled on, it became evident that there was much more than met the eye. The first months of Labour government repre- sented a policy onslaught as goalposts were moved to satisfy not just the select few, as had already happened under the PN, but a critical mass of big and medium-sized developers, hoteliers, restaurant owners and even zoo owners. For the Planning Authority's new rural policy turned previously illegal zoos into a legitimate rural ac- tivity apart from making it pos- sible for the PA to use its magic wand to turn countryside ruins in to villas. Sure enough, circuses, which involved the transport of wild animals over long distanc- es, were an easier target than menageries hosting birthday parties for young kids. But the logic of commodification of wild animals is the same. Add animal petting to the equation and zoos increasingly resemble circuses… minus the painful transport of chained animals. But this also came at a greater environmental impact as bla- tant illegalities outside the de- velopment zones became sanc- tionable. Poachers and gamekeepers Coupled with this was a pan- dering to hunters and immi- grant-bashers. In this way, La- bour morphed into a strange coalition of rednecks and lib- erals. Pesky environmentalists were the first to be booted out of the movement. But by hon- ouring other pledges and keep- ing the social peace through mild social policies, Labour gained the trust of a segment of the liberal middle-class. More- over, Labour also improved living standards after a decade of stagnation and austerity, keeping the working classes on board even if it refrained from taxing profits to redistrib- ute wealth. People were freer and richer even if entire com- munities like Pembroke were sacrificed on the altar of the super-rich who wanted cheap public land for their profit. Still, the model was electoral- ly successful. Labour made in- roads among the aspirational middle class while making even bigger inroads in rural Malta and Gozo. One major characteristics of the Muscat era was turning poachers into gamekeepers, a legacy continued by Abela who has allocated land at Mizieb and l-Ahrax to be managed by the hunters' federation. This was also the case with planning policies being written either by committees that included op- erators like hoteliers or prac- ticing architects with a track record of finding loopholes in ODZ regulations. Only this week, the logic resurfaced in a bizarre suggestion by Rob- Labour's 2013 platform included the banning of animal circuses, but in power it facilitated the regularisation of zoos. So what does zookeeper Anton Cutajar's rant against a non- partisan animal welfare commissioner appointed by Labour say about the party's changing optics? Essential friends: Anton Cutajar (left) with the obligatory 'Labour' friend shot with former PM Joseph Muscat, and right, the great and good of Labour get caught smiling inside Cutajar's promotional photos on Facebook, from left to right, transport minister Ian Borg, tourism minister Clayton Bartolo, and the Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba Animal welfare commissioner Alison Bezzina: does not like zoos...