Letters | Sunday, 18 January 2009

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Cultural barbarians

Now that at last our politicians have shown some small vestige of maturity by their consensus on the choice of the new president, let us hope they will show themselves equally mature by rescinding the diktat about putting a parliament building in place of the Royal Opera House.
In spite of the flowering of the arts scene so obviously taking place in Malta at the present time, it seems that cultural considerations remain far from the forefront of official thinking (remember the peremptory axing of Radio Bronja?).
Importance given to cultural matters has a positive effect on national pride, on international reputation, on popular education; but this notion seems to go completely over the government’s collective head. By leaving the Opera House in ruins for nearly 70 years, we have shown ourselves in a bad enough light; by putting aside completely the idea of having a national opera house, we will show ourselves up as the cultural savages of Europe.
Also, our politicians seem to be blind to another aspect of the proposed parliament house siting: it sends a message to the voting public that may not be altogether in their favour. The results of recent opinion polls have not been exactly complimentary to them. It appears that the regard shown to politicians by the Maltese electorate is one of the lowest in the EU. I doubt whether bagging this prime site for themselves will go very far to alter this.
Admittedly the presidential palace is not the best place for a parliament, but it isn’t as if the opera house site is the only alternative. Suggestions already mooted include the Auberge de Baviere, the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Fort St Elmo, and a new, purpose-built, Parliament House.
The first two, at any rate, sound as if they could be reasonable and practical. Can we at least have an independent study on alternative solutions?

Michael Camilleri
Salina

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