Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1512115
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 NOVEMBER 2023 COMMENT The Skinny Malta, shrunk down EDITORIAL Europe's green drive risks alienating ordinary citizens PAGE 2 JOSANNE CASSAR A tiny island which is too big for its boots PAGE 8 With the construction sector experiencing a resurgence in growth, it is bound to have a detrimental impact on the environment MARK SAID | PAGE 12 What are we skinning? Infrastruc- ture and Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia's unveiling of a 'vision document' for Malta, which plac- es the need for super-marinas for super-yachts right at the very top of its priorities. Why are we skinning it? Because it's yet another example of how in Malta, we keep flogging hors- es that have been visibly over- flogged elsewhere, for the sole purpose of seemingly slapping ourselves in the face with the whip once the horse has figured out a safe way to bolt. That's a convoluted metaphor. I thought it was tight, clever and apt. No shortage of 'vision', either. I will neither confirm nor deny that mind-altering substances may have figured into my assessment and subsequent depiction of this situation. Do you think our own dear min- ister Farrugia's vision could use such supplements? The obses- sion with 'super' this and 'super' that even while sober suggests that an enhanced variant of this destruction-derby would be a dis- turbing thing to merely witness, much less experience as pub- lic-private policy. What IS the vision, then? Broadly speaking, it mostly appears to boil down to "more marinas for more superyachts". Didn't people already protest against marinas in Maltese lo- calities for the millionth time in a row? Apparently, it's not enough. The vision quest must be followed at all costs. Yeah that's true. I mean, most of them are led by the unshowered, dreadlocked crew over at Graf- fitti HQ, right? Whom you'd think would be more prone to psyche- delic vision quests by proxy. But I digress. It's been a while since Moviment Graffitti and their affiliates have been tarred with the 'smelly hip- pie' brush, anyway. Yeah, that's more of a '90s thing. Their com- munity outreach in recent years has worked wonders. Politicians are known to engage in community outreach as well. Undeniable. I mean, they're clearly invested in advocating for the needs of the international su- per-rich. It's all going to trickle down, eventually. I'm still waiting. And while I wait, they're reclaiming land for their superyacht projects. It's all a build-up towards an even greater trickle. All very well for a trickle to become a full-blown droplet, but I'm not sure we can afford any actual flooding at this stage. Is there a silver lining? Yes... that rising sea levels will claim the su- peryachts first. Do say: "Securing profitable nich- es is crucial to maintaining our country's economic independ- ence and autonomy. But in the age of the Anthropocene, superyachts are the ultimate anathema." Don't say: "Marinas are for sissies. True Maltese boat-owners park their vessels wherever they want, whenever they want." No. 219 - Pimp my superyacht RAPHAEL VASSALLO The only 'shocking' thing about Geert Wilders' win, is how the world's media reported it… PAGES 10 - 11 MICHAEL FALZON UNESCO will not save our heritage PAGE 9