When did ‘bipartisan support’ become a byword for abandoning residents? 

What happens when the system designed to protect you actively decides to look the other way?

Recently, Parliament unanimously voted to hand over public land in Pembroke for a new Valletta FC campus. For the residents, and for the adjacent Natura 2000 site, this is bad news. They are deeply, and rightfully, upset. In a pattern that has become all too familiar across Malta, they have found themselves entirely abandoned by the two main political parties. 

This recent vote follows a decade of systemic failure by the political duopoly. Valletta FC was previously granted land in Ħal Farruġ in 2012, and then in Luqa in 2020, only to return both sites due to flight path restrictions and toxic materials. Now, the two parties have agreed on a third attempt that shifts the burden onto the residents of Pembroke and sacrifices another patch of virgin land. It seems that whenever a project involves the transfer of public land, a sudden and seamless bipartisan consensus miraculously appears.

Because we at Momentum have stepped into this void, standing between the residents, virgin land and the bulldozers, we have been accused by the key beneficiaries of this project of “politicising” the issue.

I’ve been thinking about this accusation. Of course it is political! If politics does not represent the everyday interests of residents, then what exactly is the point of politics? If nastiness comes to mind when you think of politics, you only have the existing duopoly to thank for that.

We are frequently told that issues of aggressive development are just “the way things are.” I wholeheartedly reject that. Our approach is to dismantle each and every problem with data and reason. If we had merely complained about the Pembroke situation without proposing practical alternatives, our opponents might have a valid point. Yet we have put forward an alternative solution and so far no one has been able to fault it.

We approach these issues not as traditional politicians, but as problem solvers who happen to be in politics. We understand that some things are complex, and that is why we think long and hard before we can propose alternative solutions.

To understand the depth of how widespread the systemic failure is, one only needs to look at Marsaskala. As Momentum, we are still fighting alongside residents there, chasing basic information that the authorities simply refuse to hand over. The sad reality is that our democratic institutions seldom function as intended, consequently leading residents and activists to lose hope, simply because private interests take over.

Consider our experience trying to get basic answers:

• We submitted a Freedom of Information request about the ongoing works in Marsaskala.
• After enduring numerous unjustified delays, we were handed a report that completely failed to answer our questions.
• We filed a formal complaint, which was naturally met with more delays.
• We then escalated the matter to the Data Commissioner, whose intervention finally forced a reply.

The official response? A one-sentence PDF document that simply read: “We already gave you this information.”

This would be laughable hadn’t it been such a serious matter. We returned to the Data Commissioner, who promised to investigate further. Eventually, we received a phone call informing us that the requested information could not be provided because it simply does not exist. This was very different from “we already gave you the information.”

When we requested this admission in writing, we were met with absolute silence. Today, even the Data Commissioner has stopped replying to our chaser emails. We have hit a stone wall. Residents continuously ask me for updates, and I have none to give them. This is the ultimate sense of helplessness that the current political duopoly drives citizens into.

Or so it would appear. But there is a way forward.

This orchestrated helplessness is precisely why we felt compelled to create a new political party. If you want genuine political will, you must get political.

Valletta FC may find it highly convenient that they enjoy bipartisan support for their project, but we are here to stand up to the bullies. We are here to defend the residents whose rights are being treated as collateral damage.

We believe that politics exists to ensure that the interests of a few, never come at the heavy cost of everyone else. We must create a harmonious society, actively using our democratic norms and tools rather than bypassing them.

This is why we desperately need Momentum in parliament. When members of parliament consistently vote against the interests of residents, it is clear that those residents are no longer being represented. The reality we face is that the PLPN are heavily in the pockets of big business, entirely lacking the courage to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the public.

We are not here for photo opportunities; we are here to work. We are here to fight for you.

We aim to enable a historic rise of a third voice in Malta. Momentum is our only remaining hope to restore genuine political will. If you want representatives that are authentic by design, that value radical transparency over hidden agendas, the most powerful way to demand better is to vote for it in the coming election.

Support us, and let us build a system that finally works for the residents.

This article first appears on the TimesOfMalta. https://timesofmalta.com/article/bipartisan-valletta-fc-pembroke-residents-abandoned.1127501

Author: Mark Camilleri Gambin

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