Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1385129
13 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 JUNE 2021 and the mega-projects also contribute to the increase of traffic and the need for more concrete infrastructure. So while it is true that the interconnector itself does not create emissions locally, it does depend on power sources in other countries which still con- tribute to carbon emissions. And while LNG is surely less polluting than HFO, the in- crease in domestic energy de- mand to which major real es- tate and tourism projects are major contributors, makes car- bon neutrality more difficult to achieve, especially at current rates of population increase. Such projects also trigger infrastructural projects like the proposed 1.4 km tunnel at Pembroke, which apart from requiring more carbon-taxing concrete, also creates more construction waste. The reality is that the re- source and carbon cost of con- struction and road infrastruc- ture is not being accounted for. Bernard's sin of omission In his Sunday sermon, Ber- nard Grech also failed to men- tion the approval of the DB project. Grech's omission followed an ill-advised press statement in which the party called for the resignation of those board members – including the NGOs' representative – who had recused themselves from this second PA board meeting due to potential legal implica- tions stemming from the court sentence that revoked the orig- inal permit. But the PN failed to condemn the decision itself. And while the PA itself is du- ty bound to explain why board members were made aware of this situation only 10 minutes before the meeting started, the party deliberately chose to bark at the wrong tree when lash- ing out at the individual board members who had recused themselves. Instead, Grech resorted to platitudes on the need for more balance between development and environmental consider- ations, ignoring the fact that the balance is already skewed in favour of development and that the country now needs to compensate this by skewing the balance in favour of local communities and the environ- mental, to make up for decades of bad decisions which includ- ed both the infamous extention of building zones by the PN-led government in 2006, and the local plans which started the onslaught on our towns and villages aggravated by Labour after 2013. The PN's Achilles' heel Instead of apologising for past mistakes and taking a firm stance on the DB project, which the party had previously opposed not just on environ- mental grounds but also on the basis of its commitment towards good governance – a stance vindicated by the Na- tional Audit Office report on the transfer of land to the DB group – the PN now chooses to remain silent. While Simon Busuttil had ex- posed his own party's Achilles' heel, when the DB group re- vealed its own donations to the party, Bernard Grech's silence on the project once again rais- es the question on whether the party remains in debt to the DB group. In this sense, Grech's si- lence not only flies in the face of the PN's environmental cre- dentials but also reneges on its past criticism of the ITS land grab. In his brief comment on NET FM, Grech said that no coun- try moves forward without a reasonable element of develop- ment. "The country can't move forward or improve people's lives by stagnating develop- ment. We need development even in construction." He spoke of the need to also protect the rights of others, however, and not just of those developing. "Development should not come at all costs," he said. Yet such vague state- ments sound like an under- statement in view of the scale of the planning mayhem un- leashed both by mega-projects and the tinkering of planning rules over the past two decades. Instead of taking a clear stance on projects like the DB's City Centre project, and by coming with a concrete proposal for an overhaul of local plans and planning procedures, Grech prefers preaching balance. Ultimately this reluctance to call a spade a spade stems from his political calculation that his potential vote base in- cludes voters who either have a stake in property development or who are still mesmerised by the PN's own pro-development mantras from the 1990s. In reality talk about balanc- ing acts is not a reflection of what the country really needs, but a reflection of the quan- dary faced by mass parties to keep on board both the local communities under siege of development, and thousands of potential 'little rich men' who stand to gain from planning policies facilitating develop- ment. While one cannot underes- timate the strategic quandary faced by Grech, by trying to strike a balance between the environment and development he is disorienting another seg- ment of his electorate, which is exasperated by the onslaught of uglification and the disfig- urement of the country. Ironically Labour's betrayal on environmental issues upon being elected in government now serves a warning against these balancing acts and the vague talk which characterised Joseph Muscat's commitments before the 2013 electoral victo- ry. Floating voters seduced by Muscat's chatter are now less likely to be seduced by Grech's equally vague platitudes. The problem is even more serious for Grech, because dis- contentment with his silence on the DB project is also pro- nounced among voters who are also angry at corruption and Labour's track record on governance. In running with the hares and chasing with the hounds, Grech risks pleasing nobody and instead paves the way for more abstentions in the next general election, par- ticularly among those critical of Labour but who expect a principled alternative from the Opposition. And while this seems to in- crease the demand for a cred- ible and viable third party, the option has so far been shunned in the polls. Could it reappear on the horizon once a new gen- eration of activists and charis- matic leaders take on political status quo? In the meantime it is more likely that people will put their trust in civic resistance by groups like Moviment Graf- fitti, prominent in both direct actions and in crowd-funded legal actions, which so far have proved more effective in fight- ing over-development then empty commitments by politi- cians. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt The problem is even more serious for Grech, because discontentment with his silence on the DB project is also pronounced among voters who are also angry at corruption and Labour's track record on governance