Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543144
THIS week Robert Abela had a golden opportunity to set an example by saying and doing the right thing, but yet again, he failed miserably. "Establishments with illegal structures will still be able to benefit from a government fund to help businesses damaged by Storm Harry," the prime min- ister said on Tuesday. "These people, like the Għar Lapsi restaurateur, were earning an honest and decent living. They might not have everything in line with the law, and we will treat that from a planning as- pect and ideally bring them in line. But we cannot let these people drown more than they already have following Storm Harry." Under the scheme, individu- als, NGOs and businesses may claim up to €5,000 each. After members of the public shook themselves out of their doom scrolling stupor long enough to realise the impli- cations of this statement, the backlash came like a tsunami. There were over a thousand an- gry comments on the article it- self (apart from the many times it was shared, making it go vi- ral). Perhaps the best thing to come out of what he said is that people told him in no uncertain terms that they are simply not having it. Who can blame them? If you've ever had to pay thou- sands to the Planning Authority to sanction something minor before you can sell a property, because an alteration was made before all the planning laws came into effect, then the idea that someone is actually going to be compensated for an illegal structure, beggars belief. Describing someone as "earn- ing an honest and decent liv- ing" but then in the next breath saying that they did not do everything in line with the law is such a blatant contradiction that I doubt Abela is actually consulting with anyone before coming out with these whop- pers. The vehement public reaction did have an effect however. A few days later, the penny must have finally dropped (Bonġu!) and the PM was forced to back- track furiously, although not quite completely. "Businesses with illegal structures will have to regularise those illegalities if they want to be fully eligible for compensation over Storm Harry damages," Abela said on Thursday. "If not regularised within a year, they will only be compensated over the approved development," he told journal- ists. While it's a slight improve- ment on what was stated orig- inally, it is still missing the whole point of why law-abiding citizens are so angry. I'm not even sure how this will work anyway. Do they pay €5,000 (or less) to sanction what they built illegally so that they can receive €5,000 back? I often wonder whether the man leading our country has any politically savvy communi- cation advisors. Because if he did I would think they would sit him down before he makes these type of announcements and tell him, look, let's be careful about what type of message we are sending here. The message we all heard loud and clear is that if you do things by the book you are the world's biggest fool, be- cause those who go ahead and plonk a make-shift restaurant in a prime tourist attraction near the sea without proper permits will get compensated if a storm drags it all away. Oh, and by the way, you silly upright citi- zen… YOU get the privilege of paying for it from your taxes. And let us not even get started on the wrong message being blared out to youngsters when a prime minister is basically giv- ing his blessing to someone who grabbed public land. Apart from infuriating all those who do obey the law, this type of attitude also filters down until even the most con- scientious person may start to second-guess themselves: "Why do I even bother? It hasn't got me anywhere and those who do things illegally always get sanctioned anyway." After all, ordinary folk sometimes wait years for a PA permit to come through and they dutifully put everything on hold until it does. Yet all around them they see construction cowboys bringing in their trucks and cranes with- out any permits, which might as well be emblazoned with the motto, "build now, sanction lat- er". As if on cue, also this week, we read that Carlo Stivala wants to regularise the demolition of a Sliema building's façade which was carried out without a per- mit. His new application sug- gests that Stivala has breached the conditions of the initial per- mit which stated that the orig- inal façade must be retained. 600 objections were received against the development of this 15-storey hotel, yet he went ahead anyway while the appli- cation was still pending. Now, he wants to add a further two storeys. The fine for parking a crane and blocking the street without a permit was a measly €1,500. He probably makes that much every time he blinks. One reason the average per- son does not do things illegally is because they do not have the political and financial clout of the Stivalas and Portellis of this world. They also know that the government would come down on them with glee—because it can—to pretend it is enforc- ing the law. That is why Robert Abela's feeble attempt to come across as a hero for the little people by sticking up for the Għar Lapsi restaurant owners did not impress anyone. The other reason most of us do things correctly is some- thing which you either possess or you don't—and that is, hav- ing a moral compass. The truth is there is no real incentive to be law-abiding in this country, but those who are intrinsically moulded in this way simply can- not bring themselves to break the law. It would go against their character and that inexpli- cable centre at their core—their integrity. Meanwhile, it has not gone un- noticed that from the direction of Nationalist leader Alex Borg on this issue all we have heard is… crickets. So once again, we had another politician with a golden opportunity to show us that those who break the law will not be rewarded, but he too failed the test. Maybe he was just happy to see his opponent getting lambasted, but that's not enough is it? I am still pa- tiently waiting for what the PN under this new leader will do, which will be remotely different to what we have now. If the PN is also reluctant to step on busi- ness toes for fear of votes, then no wonder certain big shots get away with everything. The only political parties that strongly objected to this ir- responsible suggestion were Momentum and ADPD. Mean- while, the former Labour Prime Minister and former MEP Al- fred Sant also supported the public's disapproval of public funds being used to compen- sate illegal businesses for storm damages. "Such arguments make sense and deserve being listened to," he wrote. But as has often happened to Sant in the past with his party, his is a lone voice in the wilderness. What the PM should have unequivocally said is, you will get compensation only if your structure was legal. If not, too bad! But I suppose that takes courage and backbone. It also shows that Abela continues to misread the zeitgeist because it would have won him back a lot of lost ground among those who have completely lost faith in the Labour Party. The country (and the world) is desperately seeking integrity in its leaders, but unfortunate- ly they are very scarce on the ground. 3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 FEBRUARY 2026 OPINION Josanne Cassar She has worked in the field of communications and journalism for the last 30 years Desperately seeking leaders with integrity