Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1537460
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION xx 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 JULY 2025 After all, the bully got his way Editorial CHARLES Polidano, known as Iċ-Ċaqnu, can fi- nally play in his knights-era tower and zoo at Mon- tekristo Estate, his mind at rest no one will bother him. Once dubbed by the Planning Authority as "Malta's largest illegally developed sites", Mon- tekristo Estate has now received the stamp of le- gality after two decades of blatant rule-breaking. There will not be a repeat of the 2013 saga when PA enforcement officials turned up in force at the Polidano Group's sprawling estate to demolish illegally-built structures. It was one the boldest moves the PA had ever made. It all fizzled away. On that day, Polidano sent his workers home, blocked the entrance to the area with construc- tion trucks and asked the courts to stop the en- forcement process. Hours later, Polidano sent a letter of apology to then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, insisting he did not want to escalate matters further and committed himself to remove the illegal struc- tures. He never did. Roll forward a full 12 years from that fateful day and last week the PA gave Polidano its blessing for all the illegal development on the Montekris- to Estate in Ħal Farruġ. It was an exercise of total forgiveness. The construction magnate, who has repeatedly over the years threatened to make his workforce redundant—he did so under both Nationalist and Labour administrations—whenever the au- thorities attempted to move against him, finally got what he wanted. Polidano's tactics worked. He bullied, cajoled and massaged politicians in equal measure. In a twisted power game, he first spat on politicians and later gave in until he had them eating out of his hand. It is disgusting. Polidano embodies the meaning of impuni- ty and the mentality that it's OK to 'build now, sanction later', a practice, politicians have been unwilling to clamp down on. The planning loop- hole that allows a person to build illegally and later stall enforcement by applying for sanction- ing continues to exist. In a carefully curated statement issued by the Polidano Group after the PA approved the per- mit, a company spokesperson was quoted saying: "While Montekristo Estate was conceived with the best of intentions as a centrepiece for the best of Maltese agriculture and craftsmanship, we acknowledge that our approach to planning regulations should have been better." Polidano was trying to atone for his mistakes by acknowledging in the meekest way possible that the company's approach to planning rules 'should have been better', describing the illegali- ties as 'deviations'. Even in redemption, Polidano tried to insult every ordinary person's intelligence and make a mockery of the institutions. What he did at Montekristo was not a minor misdemeanour that could warrant words such as 'should have been better'. No, what he created was a legacy of unchecked illegalities, ignoring enforcement orders, putting up his middle finger and plain bullying. But Ċaqnu's audacity is only part of the prob- lem. The bigger concern is the willingness of bu- reaucrats and their political masters to accept, encourage and close an eye to such behaviour. They allowed the illegalities at Montekristo to grow exponentially until they became too huge to dismantle—removing them would have prob- ably resulted in a bigger mess. To atone, Poli- dano was slapped with what was described by the PA as a "contribution" of €1.8 million. Polidano called the €1.8 million 'contribution' a "high price" to pay for past sins but one the company was willing to go along with. Should we stand in awe at such benevolence? Less than a €2 million price tag to atone for years of impunity is peanuts for someone who has been raking in hundreds of millions of euros from public contracts. The next couple of cheques, Polidano will re- ceive from the government for its work on the €35 million Msida Creek project, can go to settle the 'contribution'. He can then go to Montekristo and from his tower play Bob Marley's Redemp- tion Song while horsing around with politicians as they grovel at his feet. We suggest that Polidano name the internal pathways and squares at Montekristo Estate af- ter every prime minister, and minister responsi- ble for planning, as a sign of gratitude. At least, ordinary folk visiting the place would remember how obscene and unfair the system is. Quote of the Week "The extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian people inspires us to keep working for peace, which is the key to prosperity and working to reconstruct this European country." Prime Minister Robert Abela addressing international leaders at the Ukraine Recovery Conference held in Rome. MaltaToday 10 years ago Greece on the edge 12 July 2015 GREECE'S finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos yesterday faced the wrath of the Eurogroup's ministers, as they tore into the draconian aus terity terms the left-wing Syriza government was now accepting, just a week since they were rejected by the Greek people in a landslide ref erendum. lt will be left up to heads of government in Loday's exlraordinary European summit to de cide on whether Greece is fit, trustworthy, and capable to deliver on a two-year, €12 billion savings programme of radical spending cuts andtaxcollection measures, in order to receive €74 billion it needs to repay its debts over the next three years. It includes €25 billion needed to recapitalise Greek banks. Tsakalotos endured hours of his counter parts' criticism over Greece's delays in accept ingnegotiations with the Troika, and even calls to debate a possible exit from the eurozone, led by Germany, Finland, and even Slovakia. German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble - believed to be taking a more hawkish stance than Chancellor Angela Merkel - yesterday pushed to have Greece deposit €50 billion in assets in a1 external fund in Luxembourg, and to accept automaticspending cuts to keep to its budgetary targets. But a leaked document shows that Germanyis alsoproposing a five-year "timeout" for Greece to leave the eurozone so that it could have its debt restructured - which is not allowed under eurozone rules - and re- ceive some form of humanitarian aid...