Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/973467
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 25 APRIL 2018 News 7 Panamagate? bate is polarised by extreme positions, which leave 'in be- tweens' and internal critics iso- lated and disenfranchised. The dynamics following a protest against Muscat's at- tendance at a gala organised by Henley and Partners in London follows this script to the letter. While it served to unleash the worse side of intolerance on La- bour's side who pounced on in- dividual activists, it also pitted activists against a popular na- tional icon; Joseph Calleja. Le- gitimate protest? Definitely yes. But tactically wise? Not quite. Still it also exposes one big risk Muscat is taking by seek- ing legitimacy from numbers in a mass meeting; that of tarnish- ing his reputation as the unify- ing moderate. Lines have already been crossed through on-line abuse which comes across as mob rule. Recalling that Caruana Gali- zia herself used to publish pho- tos to subject Labour support- ers to public ridicule simply reinforces a downward spiral, which could be explosive in the present context. Muscat's moral leadership is being severely tested by his failure to send a clear message that the use of abusive language on the social media is always wrong even when used by his supporters. Perhaps he may well use his May 1 speech on international workers day to send two clear messages; that corruption is always wrong and that online abuse cannot be tolerated. For one of the big risks for Muscat is that by not taking action against Schembri and Mizzi, he may also be sending a message to underlings that their misdemeanours will be met with impunity. But Muscat's greatest advan- tage in all this is electoral fa- tigue. Partisans on opposite sides of the political divide have been at each other's throats for more than two years. This further pushes more peo- ple to take the back seat; a pros- pect which becomes more ap- pealing the more polarised the debate becomes. Moreover, many find themselves in the awkward position of supporting many re- forms pushed by the present gov- ernment while feeling outrage at the way Muscat has tackled the whole Panama issue. This results in the ultimate paradox: the more things change, the more they tend to remain the same. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Joseph Muscat has called for a demonstration of support for the government during the Labour Party's May 1 meeting next week JAMES DEBONO THE Dominican order has withdrawn a controversial application for relocating St Albert's College and St Theresa Nuzzo schools on 71,723sq.m of ODZ land in Ghaxaq. The application presented 12 years ago only gained prominence in the media in 2015 after Archbishop Charles Scicluna declared his opposition to the develop- ment of an ODZ campus at Zonqor points. Replying to the Prime Minister's accusa- tion of double standards, the Archbishop had declared, "if there was another alter- native for the school, then precious land should not be sacrificed". The application was presented on land allocated for educational facilities in the South Malta Local Plan. The project which foresaw the reloca- tion of the two schools from Valletta and Marsa to the rural area was already recom- mended for refusal by the case officer and a public hearing was already scheduled for tomorrow. But the case officer report itself reveals that the proponents were not actively pur- suing the application any further. In a letter dated 3rd February 2017 the PA had asked the architect to submit pending studies in 30 days. These pending studies included a Traffic impact statement, a Project Development Statement and details about the electricity supply. The architect replied that St Albert the Great College was in discussions with the Government regarding its plans to move out of its current premises in Valletta and requested an extension of six months. Following a six months period, in a letter dated 13th September 2017, the architect was informed that: "since no information was submitted to date and the six months extension period elapsed, the development application will be processed on the basis of the last submission received". "Hence, in view that no information or revised drawings were submitted, the pro- posal is being recommended for refusal". The main reason given for refusing the application was the lack of the necessary information as required by the South Mal- ta Local Plan to enable complete assess- ment in terms of environmental consider- ations, planning requirements and traffic impact requirements. In other cases like the proposed exten- sion of the Ta'Cenc hotel and the develop- ment of villas at Mgarr ix-Xini, the PA has yet to schedule a public hearing despite the completion of all studies including a revised Environmental Impact Study pre- sented in 2015. Other cases like that envisaging the ex- tension of the Comino hotel have been shelved. The reason given on the website is that "It has been a long time since some interest was shown by the applicant on this application" and "the process has there- fore been shelved". Other applications like the one envisaging the redevelopment of the Festival hotel in the vicinity of the red tower in Mellieha, have been pending since 1995 with no final decision ever be- ing taken. Dominican order withdraws Ghaxaq ODZ application The site that had been earmarked for development by the Dominican order