The Labour government wrongfully assumed that as the Nationalist Party would be busy with a leadership race, there would be less opposition to its sweeping construction and planning reforms. The problem with this assumption is that the Nationalist Party hasn’t even been leading in the opposition to the government’s policies and actions with regard to the environment: Manoel Island is a case in point in which civil society itself led the opposition to government policy on a national issue.
Yesterday’s environmental protest by the NGOs was enough to shake the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was heckled by activists who publicly stated that he ignored them, refused consultation and tried to rush these laws in Parliament with a total disregard to the public. The Prime Minister tried to wiggle out of it by speaking in his casual lawyer-like tone, but the anger was too palatable for him to excuse himself with lies. The government’s intentions with the law is very clear and NGOs are standing in the way. The government is aiming for another construction boom at the expense of proper planning, the environment and the quality of life. The construction lobby will be appeased and Labour will be able to keep raking in record-amounts of donations.
The Prime Minister is the biggest conservative in politics: he is basically consolidating our damaging economic model which is sustaining the political parties.
On the other hand, internal sources within the Labour Party tell us that the Prime Minister wants to avoid a political crisis similar to the one brought by the protests over the death of Jean Paul Sofia. Yesterday’s protest reminded the Prime Minister that he is not just facing the Nationalist Party as his opposition and that civil society is becoming ever more politically influential and significant in politics. NGOs have more power than they may think they have in this struggle: if the Labour Party is fearing another crisis, they are perfectly placed to push the government to change track.
The Prime Minister would prefer praise and celebrations like those he received over Manoel Island, rather than engaging in confrontations with civil society, which would only strengthen its political influence and that of third parties. He will need to balance his appeasement of the construction lobby with a level of political success that earns him praise even from his opponents. However, the government is likely to continue failing on this issue, as it refuses to confront the realities of the housing crisis and environmental degradation: a failure that would require disrupting a construction industry that has generated significant economic gains at the country’s expense.
What NGOs can likely achieve is the protection of the status quo, which is already far from ideal, but may at least prevent the government from causing further damage. In this regard, the Nationalist Party could play a helpful role by promoting a clear proposal and turning it into a defined cause, such as the preservation of current ODZ regulations and the Local Plans. However, the PN has yet to offer clarity on this.
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