Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1496720
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 APRIL 2023 COMMENT The human toll of Malta's traffic fiasco DANIEL XERRI PAGE 6 The Skinny Malta, shrunk down MICHAEL FALZON Can Labour clear the mess? PAGE 7 EDITORIAL Abela needs to shock the system PAGE 2 RAPHAEL VASSALLO Will Malta end up having to go 'nuclear'? PAGES 10 & 11 The lack of discipline on Maltese roads is leading to an excessive number of fatalities and injuries What are we skinning? The discov- ery that our country has birthed a fe- vered conspiracy theorist with a pen- chant for hyperbolic storytelling in none other than the Malta Develop- ers Association boss, Michael Stivala. Why are we skinning it? Because his insinuation that "some, not all" environmental NGOs are backed by big business has so many layers to it that it'll be a shame not to unpeel at least some of them, for the good (or amusement) of the nation, if nothing else. MDA are arguably Malta's most powerful lobby. Storytelling re- quires conflict. What are they con- flicted about, or with, exactly? Well, in this particular case, Stivala fired a potshot at the only group that argua- bly offers any form of foil to the inex- orable encroachment of over-devel- opment in Malta... The government? The Opposition? Are you kidding? Both of those guys are so chummy with the develop- ment lobby that you may as well cast their respective reps as contestants on Love Island. Which leaves... the general popula- tion? The general population could certainly offer *some* resistance to the over-development drive, but there are far too many vested inter- ests in this economic mix to allow for a united front to shape itself into being. Which leaves... The pesky, meddling kids that are civil society bodies, yes. Somebody has to step up. Yes. And it appears that Stivala would like to insinuate that such groups will on- ly be stepping up if their palms are crossed with silver, courtesy of rival "business interests". Could it be true? If it were, Stivala would have presented evidence on this front by now. And he hasn't? On Tuesday, the Commissioner for Voluntary Organi- sations gave Stivala a 48-hour dead- line to substantiate his claims - they remain unsubstantiated at the time of writing. Good for the Commissioner to step up. But whatever happens, this move by Stivala remains a fascinat- ing glimpse into the forma mentis of the Maltese uber-developer. How so? Never mind that the Times of Malta interview from which that fateful nugget was sourced contains an embarrassment of other such riches... like how we need more con- struction and imported labour, not less... the idea that environmental NGOs must have a financial incentive reveals a lot more about Stivala and his ilk than he'd like to admit. What would you extrapolate from that, then? It's very telling that a prime member of the construction lobby wouldn't be able to conceive of a world-view that engages in an activity without a profit motive at the end of it. But if that's not the case, he could have just lobbed the accusation be- cause he feels that he can, simply to cause damage? And that is also quite telling of how the construction lobby is situated in Maltese political life. The sense of impunity is so ingrained that their main representative feels that he can level such accusations without suffering nary a reputational scratch. The lobbing lobby. Lobbing them lobs with the same energy of the Polidano-Portelli bricks at the GO junction. Do say: "The implication that en- vironmental NGOs are backed by certain elements of the big business class should be given due consid- eration, and should Stivala have concrete (!) evidence on that front, it would be in the public interest that he puts it forward. However, proof is scant -- even by his own admission -- and the accusation, at this point, reads like a petty and vulgar attempt to belittle the work of groups whose ultimate aim is the betterment of Mal- ta's lived environment." Don't say: "The environmental NGOs would be at fault for NOT seeking financing from big business. Can't they take a leaf from their enemies' book and fight fire with fire?!" No. 186 - Stivala the Storyteller SAVIOUR BALZAN Why Christian Borg's bullying and threats are no longer OK PAGE 5