Yesterday’s protest in front of parliament organised by environmental NGOs was very successful considering its short notice. Protesters also heckled the Prime Minister as he walked right outside the Parliament building and said that he will be consulting and meeting with NGOs soon.
There was also a handful of PN MPs present, with Adrian Delia included. Alex Borg did not attend the protest and has made it clear in the past that he does not support protests: he once even ridiculed protesters and described protests as a waste of time.
The PN MPs present to the present were Claudette Buttigieg, Eve Borg Bonello, Jerome Caruana Cilia, Albert Buttigieg, Mark Anthony Sammut and Rebekah Borg. Not a very encouraging number, leaving us wondering what kind of opposition is PN evolving into. We’ve seen the Manoel Island issue being completely led and organised by civil society with little to no participation by the Nationalist Party. It’s as if we are witnessing to the continued and gradual softening of the Parliamentary Opposition with civil society continuously replacing the Nationalist Party in opposing the government.
Both Alex Borg and Adrian Delia condemned the planning reforms but the PN still needs to present a coherent and meaningful position. I suspect that Alex Borg will be taking a distance from NGOs and street protests to appear more appeasing to the construction lobby. Meanwhile, the leaders of Momentum and ADPD were present at the protest and with a decreasing PN presence in opposition politics, third-parties will keep growing and adding to their numbers. 
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