FAA reaction to the City Gate project: a thriller in four parts. Part II out now.

Published: July 28, 2009 at 3:47pm
Mrs Vella wants to see his briefs.

Mrs Vella wants to see his briefs.

Will somebody explain to these exceedingly tiresome people that if they’re selling themselves as an environmental NGO they should stick to environmental issues and stop sticking their snouts into the business of whether Malta finally gets a parliament house or not?

The irony is that this parliament house is going to be Malta’s only ‘green’ public building, but this lot haven’t got a word to say about that.

As for the constant reference to civil society, somebody please tell Mrs Vella that this term is not interchangeable with ‘electors’. Civil society includes the Floral Club, Neptunes Waterpolo Club, Hamrun Spartans and the Girl Guides Association among hundreds of other such groups.

Maybe I missed the news report on how they have all given FAA licence to speak on their behalf.

Give it a rest, for God’s sake, Astrid – or haven’t you noticed the beginnings of a backlash against your persistent efforts at confusing what YOU want with the needs and desires of everyone else? Perhaps if your FAA were more socially diverse instead of being composed almost exclusively of a certain type of old girl (literally) from the Convent of the Sacred Heart and a certain type of old boy (literally) from St Edward’s College, you might have had a better perspective on things.

Right now, you’re in a hole of your own making and you’re getting on The People’s nerves. Be wise enough to see that.

The Times, today

FAA demands release of Renzo Piano brief

An environmental lobby group has called on the government to make the brief it gave architect Renzo Piano for the redevelopment of Valletta’s entrance public.

Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) said the publication of the brief would indicate the limitations imposed on the architect.

In its first reaction to the proposals of the world-renowned Italian architect for Valletta’s entrance – the old opera house site and the new Parliament building in Freedom Square – the NGO voiced its concern about the fact that the new House of Representatives dominated the site.

While a theatre and the reconstruction of the City Gate area were on the cards, civil society never called for a new Parliament, the FAA said as it complained about lack of consultation.

“This was proposed by politicians and no one else. This idea was mooted some five years ago and dropped since the building of Parliament on the opera house site did not enjoy much popular support,” FAA said.

The project gave the impression that the opera house site would be given a face-lift because the bombed site had “acquired historical merit”. However, the emphasis of the brief given to Mr Piano seemed to have been on the Parliament building rather than on the theatre, the NGO complained.

The lobby group proposed finding alternative buildings available where to accommodate Parliament, such as Fort St Elmo, the rehabilitation of which was largely stalled for lack of funds. That would allow the government to save on a €40 million Parliament project that had no touristic, employment or social regeneration benefit and use a large part of those funds to realise lower Valletta’s potential as a culture and heritage centre that would be the pride of any nation.




13 Comments Comment

  1. jomar says:

    I can’t understand why the newspapers give so much space to the views of a small group of people. If Astrid declares that what she writes is a personal view of an issue, that’s one thing. But when she speaks on behalf of FAA and The Public, then it’s a different matter.

  2. P Shaw says:

    Why does the Times give so much prominence to Astrid and her FAA? It has become the official medium for FAA, in the same way that Al Jazeera is the (un)official mouthpiece for Al Qaeda.

    They immediately publish every single press statement issued from the Sliema bunker irrespective whether it has any news value or not, plus they censor most of the comments which are somewhat critical of Astrid.

  3. Mario Frendo says:

    Il-qahbec din il-mara…..when I saw the press release I wanted to grab her by the neck and…………..

    [Daphne – Look, lots of us feel that way, but this sort of sentiment expressed by a man about a woman might be viewed somewhat negatively. That said, and at the risk of disparaging my own gender, I must say that you can really tell FAA is dominated by women, and by women with unschooled minds, what’s more, because their communication style takes the public form of nagging and whining, hence the typical male reaction to it as expressed by you here. Perhaps we could build a large tool-shed in which we can all take refuge and potter about en masse while ‘hiding’ from the haranguing FAA wives and their demands.]

  4. Inigo Jones says:

    ‘FAA DEMANDS RELEASE OF PIANO BRIEF’

    At last, Malta has its very own hostage crisis.

  5. Butterfly says:

    Good points from the comments-board beneath the story on timesofmalta.com, Daphne:

    MARK MIFSUD BONNICI (1 hour, 33 minutes ago)
    FAA should find support from all those that consider the building of a new parliament in one of the most prestigious sites in Valletta as nothing more then a total waste of public money, even more so during a global recession.

    It is quite obvious that the brief given to Renzo Piano was for parliament to be built on the site proposed. Never in a million years would it cross anyone’s mind that this was Piano’s idea.

    Apart from designs that do not harmonize with Valletta’s characteristics no matter whose name they bear, the tax payer is being conditioned into believing that this building is a necessity.

    The issue originally concerned a bombed theater that has been left in ruins for over 60 years due to the total incompetence of our politicians. Are we now expected to fund the building of new premises for such fools. Personally I would suggest that Piano design parliament as an open air structure within the ruins and what he suggested as parliament building be turned into a roofed theater for all of us to watch the endless farce going on next door.

    DAPHNE CARUANA GALIZIA(1 hour, 5 minutes ago)
    Mark Mifsud Bonnici – you wrote “It is quite obvious that the brief given to Renzo Piano was for parliament to be built on the site proposed.Never in a million years would it cross anyone’s mind that this was Piano’s idea.”

    You have a short memory. The idea for a parliament house on Freedom Square WAS Piano’s idea, as was that for a theatre. His brief was to build parliament house on the site now occupied by the ruin, and there was no brief for a theatre at all.

    Perhaps you missed out completely on the ‘parliament house or theatre’ ruckus which played for long weeks, until Piano told us what he thought?

    You also wrote: “FAA should find support from all those that consider the building of a new parliament in one of the most prestigious sites in Valletta as nothing more then a total waste of public money, even more so during a global recession.”

    What would you build on ‘one of the most prestigious sites in Valletta’ then? The HQ of the hunters’ federation? A shopping centre? As for your reference to the global recession, you seem unable to understand that recessions are not permanent but cyclical.

  6. david s says:

    And where was Astrid in 1996, when Alfred Sant wanted the private sector to build a shopping mall there? Fortunately no one went for it, except I believe Anglu Xuereb, who was unable to come up with a performance bond. Perhaps you can dig this one out for Mrs Vella.

  7. NGT says:

    She really stikes me as being our equivalent of Mary Whitehouse. Condescending tw@

  8. NGT says:

    @DCG : “a certain type of old boy (literally) from St Edward’s College” – that wasn’t really fair. Din l-Art Helwa has quite a few old Edwardians in its ranks and their MO is completely different to FAA’s.

    [Daphne – I know that, of course, and I also happen to believe that organisations led by St Edward’s boys work much better than those led by St Aloysius boys, because the latter are given an academic focus but no understanding of how to work in groups and get organised. It’s a real shame that more St Edward’s boys don’t go into politics; half the problems we have today wouldn’t be there – though of course we have to leave aside a couple of public disgraces. Also, all but one of my closest friends were at the Sacred Heart. And that’s why I wrote ‘a certain type’ – because it really is a certain type. I don’t know how to explain it best: isolated? Living in a bubble? The whole world is their little fish-pond? No experience of other social groups? Travelling through life with blinkers on?]

    • Tim Ripard says:

      For many years, the PN party and government were organisations led by St Aloysius boys…and will be again. Dr Gonzi is just an interlude between EFA and Tonio Borg.

      [Daphne – Wasn’t Dr Gonzi there too?]

      • Corinne Vella says:

        The PL is led by a former St Aloysius pupil too.

      • Tim Ripard says:

        Seminary, I believe. I don’t have sufficient knowledge to give an opinion about that, but I did spend four years at St. Edward’s and six at St Aloysius College. The former builds character; the latter force-feeds knowledge, or at least that’s what used to happen in the 1970s. In fact, a hybrid, like me would make the best possible leader. Ein Land, ein Volk, ein Führer! Any takers, anyone…?

  9. A. Attard says:

    What if Renzo Piano wears boxers, does Astrid still want to see them?

  10. Anthony says:

    So FAA is not talking in the name of ‘the people” now but in the name of “civil society”. In March of 2008 we voted a party into government to take decisions not for FAA to scrutinize its operative. What I would like to know from FA A as a member of the ‘civil society’ is what information can they give us on the Bahrija developments being carried out by Buhagiar and Caccopardo. “Civil society’ is expecting and explanation and if there are any irregularities and imminent danger to the environment, particularly to the ‘granc’, we ‘the civil society’, want to know what action FAA intends taking.

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