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MALTATODAY 20 June 2021

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12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 JUNE 2021 NEWS JAMES DEBONO IS Silvio Debono's DB group more powerful than the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader? As both political leaders em- phasised their commitment to environmental protection during their Sunday sermons, both failed to comment on the controversial approval of the DB project by the Planning Authority board. As Bernard Grech continued running with the hares while chasing with the hounds in his sermon on the need to balance environ- ment and development, Robert Abela brushed aside growing concern on Malta's planning mayhem by underlining his government's commitment to cleaner energy infrastructure. The failure of both major po- litical parties to take a stance on mega-projects like the DB project reveals the scale of em- barrassment at both parties' subservience to big business interests: both now find it dif- ficult to reconcile the different aspirations and interests within their respective electoral blocs. Silence is not golden For the past months both gov- ernment and opposition have stopped participating in plan- ning board meetings, absolving themselves from the incon- venience of voting on projects which impact on the lives of thousands of residents. Ironically it was the PN – then led by Adrian Delia – which in November 2019 decided not to appoint a representative at the PA board to replace Marthese Portelli following her resig- nation on the pretext of re- fusing to be party to a broken system (the former MP later resigned from the House to become a developers' associa- tion lobbyist). The government welcomed this decision and stopped sending a representa- tive to board meetings But this was clearly done to save political parties from hav- ing to choose between residents and big developers, which puts them in a position of alienat- ing potential donors. By not participating n the planning board decisions, both govern- ment and opposition agreed to withdraw from a process over which they had lost control. The Opposition itself, lost an important tool in holding gov- ernment in to account. By not voting on projects like the DB mega-development in Pembroke, both parties are now even less accountable to voters than before, when at least people could judge them on the way they voted on the board. Instead the government can hide behind the vote of anonymous government ap- pointees doing its bidding on the planning board, while the Opposition has renounced its vote, leaving it up to individual MPs like David Thake and local council representatives to take a stance on developments like the DB project. 'Clean energy will absolve us' Last Sunday, Robert Abela took a leaf out of Joseph Mus- cat's book by not only ignoring the DB project altogether, but also growing discontent at the planning mayhem ruining the country, by simply underlining his government's commitment to cleaner energy infrastruc- ture. And while the shift from heavy fuel oil was a notable achievement of the Labour government, this is no alibi for Abela's ostrich act on land use issues. Abela seems caught in a quandary: while he views con- struction as an essential peg in the economic model he serves, he is incapable of defending the indefensible. SO while his minions of the PA board vote for the DB project, he cannot bring himself to defend the benefits of this project. In fact no politician has had the guts to defend it from its detractors, despite the fact that the project itself was paved by a political decision to privatise the ITS land which was public. For on the DB project, La- bour still faces a contradic- tion between the objections of a Labour-led council which stood for its residents by vot- ing against the project, and the decision of a Labour govern- ment to hand over the ITS land to the DB group despite their clear intention to build a mas- sive project opposite a housing estate. Abela can't escape the reality that in this case, Labour has ultimately chosen to side with oligarchs and not with the people. And while tribal loyalty en- sures that a vast segment of voters will never dare speak against a project approved un- der Abela's watch, Labour's voting base still includes thou- sands of floating voters which shifted to Labour in 2013 and 2017. These are a mixed bunch, including both property own- ers who wanted more devel- opment but also voters who hoped Labour would be more sensitive than the PN on envi- ronmental issues. By shifting the debate to ener- gy policy, Abela cannot ignore the fact that construction and the economic model he advo- cates, are themselves a major contributor to global carbon emissions. The production of cement itself is one of the main producers of carbon dioxide Ignoring the (DB) elephant in the room The failure of both major political parties to take a stance on mega-projects like the DB project reveals the scale of embarrassment at both parties' subservience to big business interests: both now find it difficult to reconcile the different aspirations and interests within their respective electoral blocs The people versus the political and business class: it is clear that neither political party is willing to unravel the planning mayhem and system that allows the PA to green-light mega-projects despite the objections of 30,000 residents; or to reverse political decisions that gave public land to 'oligarchs' through the artifice of privatisation Robert Abela can't escape the reality that in this case, Labour has ultimately chosen to side with oligarchs and not with the people

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