Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1451574
9 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 16 FEBRUARY 2022 in Bormla like St Paul's square, were still ceded to a construc- tion group with no prior experi- ence in tertiary education. And in the absence of any competi- tive tender, in a marathon ses- sion of parliament in December 2015. It also paved the way for the controversial approval of a waterpolo pitch right in the middle of the Marsasakala bay, displaced by the Sadeen pro- ject, and recently revoked by the law courts after a successful crowd-funded campaign. Emboldening activism The movement set in motion by the Zonqor protest emboldened civic activism on other environ- mental issues like the campaign against the DB project, where Moviment Graffitti took a leading role in non-partisan campaigns which deliberately excluded of- ficial participation by political parties. while still welcoming the participation of both PN and PL- led local councillors, a successful strategy for which the turbulent Zonqor experience was a learn- ing curve. This led to successful campaigns like that against a policy allow- ing 3,000sq.m petrol stations on land outside development zones, which was withdrawn in 2020, and the ongoing campaign against a marina in Marsaskala in which the local community is taking a more prominent role than in the Zonqor protest, in a sign that local communities are becoming more independ- ent-minded when confronted with threats to their collective wellbeing, making it harder for Labour to depict environmental critics as PN stooges. Unfortunately, a similar inclu- sive movement which reaches out towards the Labour-leaning segment of the population, was harder to replicate on political- ly-charged corruption issues, Panamagate, and the assassina- tion of Daphne Caruana Galizia. It was only in December 2019 that thousands answered the call of a plurality of civil society groups, ranging from Graffitti to Repubblika, to demand Joseph Muscat's resignation. Three years later, another central piece of Muscat's legacy is being scrapped by his successor. While probably dictated by the economic feasibility of the project and its failure to attract the 3,000 students promised by Muscat, the decision gave Rob- ert Abela the opportunity to give back to the public what was ceded to private interests by his predecessor. In short, without disowning Muscat, Abela used this as another opportunity to distance himself from one of his predecessor's pet projects. It is also reminiscent of the Gonzi administration's decision in 2007 to drop a proposed golf course in Għajn Tuffieħa, which paved the way for the Majjistral Park in what was seen as a bid for redemption following the ex- tension of building zones, whose disastrous consequences are felt to this day. It remains to be seen whether this decision heralds any rever- sal from the pro-development bias of this government. The next test is whether Abela will withdraw a call for tenders for the development of a marina in Marsaskala. But in the sequence of events leading to Abela's latest deci- sion, the Żonqor protest stands out as the catalyst which em- boldened local communities in discovering the power of protest and popular mobilisation.