The real absolutism in the Zonqor saga

Joseph Muscat can be credited for political tact, but not for political honesty. 

The prime minister disassociated himself on Monday from a counter-protest in favour of ODZ development at Zonqor supported by Marsaskala mayor Mario Calleja. But at the same he hinted that a compromise he is proposing will consist of a split university, partly located in Zonqor and another part located elsewhere possibly on one of the sites being proposed by NGOs.

While he has labelled those who disagree with a proposed compromise as ‘absolutist’, true to his own absolutist ways Muscat ordered his troops to retreat, allowing him to posture as a political moderate. Ditching the protest, Muscat shows a profound ambivalence towards grassroot movements galvanised by the very same emotions he himself stirs up, before retreating to more moderate positions. No wonder the announced protest is reminiscent of one in support of pushbacks back in 2013, one that was also aborted by the same Muscat.

Of course, the counter-protest was politically damaging for Labour as it signified a retreat to the trenches.

And while Muscat emerges as a moderate by encouraging supporters not to stage a counter-protest, can the prime minister afford to label anyone who opposes his self-imposed “compromise” as an absolutist?

Muscat rejects any moral relativism when it comes to defending the rule of law and the common good, but his relativism on the environment is a far greater danger than environmentalists’ demands that ODZ should really mean ODZ.

And what compromise is being offered, exactly? An alternative to Zonqor fully located inside development zones?

The latest indication is a down-scaled site on Zonqor with another site elsewhere. But this compromise is clearly unacceptable for those who were protesting on Saturday. If Muscat was really interested in compromise he would have removed Zonqor from the equation and limited the site selection to brownfield sites located inside development zones.

Let’s not forget the deceptive attitude throughout the Zonqor saga. First there was an attempt to propose a “national park” conditional on the ODZ development of the American University of Malta. Now Muscat makes the use of an alternative site, conditional on development in Zonqor.

Hope springs eternal that when this fails, the fallback position will be a site that is not ODZ. Persistence may still be ultimately rewarded. Muscat is not keen on losing the middle ground and alienating all those who participated in the national protest.

Ultimately, the absolutists here are not those opposing ODZ development – which should not have been on the cards in the first place.

The absolutists are those who facilitate land grabs by private entities like Sadeen Group, by giving away cheap, public land to subsidise their business here. Even this alone is already problematic for anyone with a sense of national dignity.  Locating any part of it on ODZ land is a step too far. Again, choosing to publish the Sadeen agreement “at the appropriate moment” is another absolutist position. Can it get any more absolutist than this?