Looking back at 2022 | From Marsaskala to Comino: deciphering Graffitti’s winning streak

Graffitti’s militancy and grassroots activism has pushed the Labour government to retreat on major projects like a proposed yacht marina in Marsaskala and the building of a campus at Żonqor.

Robert Abela himself acknowledged the power of non-partisan activism by announcing the two major U-turns during the electoral campaign in a bid to arrest the haemmorage of Labour voters intent on not voting.

And this winning streak further emboldened the group to stand up and fight back, even during Labour’s post-electoral honeymoon when most of the population was switched off politics.

The direct action, which saw activists remove deckchairs from the Blue Lagoon, was so effective in capturing the public imagination that even Labour exponents like MP Rosianne Cutajar and Jason Micallef endorsed the protest on the social media.

But Graffitti’s action was not just a publicity stunt. The activists pressed on with their follow ups, testing the government’s attempts to brush off the issue by making empty commitments.

Faced by the group’s militancy, the official fallback position is increasingly characterised by embarrassment and silence, sometimes followed by major positive U-turns.

In this case, tourism minister Clayton Bartolo immediately announced that sunbeds will no longer be allowed on the sandy beach, claiming the protest took place on the same day Malta Tourism Authority officials were meant to inspect the site.

These declarations were tested by an even larger direct action in August which exposed the government’s failure to take substantive action.

The action also put the spotlight on the political and business connections of the sunbed operators: two of the three concessions are held by Daniel Refalo, a business partner of Gozitan construction magnate Joseph Portelli, and Mark Cutajar, the brother of Labour MEP Josiane Cutajar.

But Graffitti not only questioned the government’s failure to clamp down on sunbed operators, but has also called for limits on the number of tourist arrivals on pleasure boats, as recommended by the management plan for the Comino Natura 2000 site. No wonder Captain Morgan owner Michael Zammit Tabona reacted by expressing his umbrage at “idiots” who want to turn “this island in to a semi-communist state.”

Exposing Labour’s contradictions

So why is the same Labour, which is so good in deflecting criticism from other quarters, so unsure of itself when faced by Graffitti’s militancy?

One main reason for this is that on the environment Labour’s populism is contradictory, faced by the conflicting aspirations of different segments of its own electorate. The powerful “Malta Tagħna Ikoll’ mantra keeps returning to haunt Labour, exposing a contradiction between the conflicting aspirations of those who understood this as a promise to safeguard public spaces from the fat cats, and those who understood this as a promise to widen the circle of beneficiaries beyond the restricted circle which benefited under the PN.

In short, while some expected Labour to prioritise communities over the profits of the few, others expected Labour to accommodate the interests of even more people. It is this ambivalence which enables Graffitti to use a discourse with which even Labour voters can identify.

Moviment Graffitti activists at the Delimara gas plant

Labour’s elusive balance

Labour is also finding it increasingly difficult to defend its ‘laissez faire’ attitude on land use with any strong conviction.

Its fallback position is to recycle old PN mantras on the need to strike an elusive balance between the environment and development.

Energy minister Miriam Dalli did so at the State of the Nation conference, during which she brushed aside criticism by Graffitti’s Andre Callus by warning him that “extremism gets you nowhere”. Yet this is a hard sell in an already unbalanced situation, long skewed against the environment and communities, and where calls for balance in the past have translated into minor adjustments to the ‘business as usual’ approach.

The other fallback is giving critics the silent treatment, all in the hope that people slowly adjust to a new normal, as critics become exhausted and opposition simply fades away. But this clearly does not work with a determined group of people like Graffitti.

Graffitti is also persistent and strategic in its choice of battles. This leaves activists exhausted but their militancy keeps giving results.

While some of the changes in the past years like the increase of building heights now look irreversible and permits are still dished out like cheesecakes, Graffitti’s persistence on issues like the petrol station policy, the proposed Marsaskala marina and now Comino, have pushed government to listen to popular demands.

Increasingly the government seems intent on testing the waters, measuring the scale of public opposition in reaction to outrageous proposals or practices before announcing the retreat, depicting it as a sign that it is a government that listens to the people.

But this only happens where opposition is relentless and its actions ‘extreme’. This is leaving civil society exhausted, constantly occupied in fighting battles on different fronts ranging from crowd-funding planning appeals to direct actions.

But the ever-growing list of successful campaigns has emboldened Graffitti, which is constantly refreshed by new recruits attracted by its exciting, progressive and winning brand. As things stand, no movement or NGO apart from Graffitti are able to mobilise around 50 people to take direct action like the one undertaken at Comino.

The good fight

But the main reason why Graffitti is considered trustworthy even by a large segment of Labour voters, is it political independence. And just as Graffitti is never scared of hitting hard on Labour’s connections with big business, the same group has no qualms in supporting Labour on civil liberties and issues like the current debate on the amendment to abortion laws. While Graffitti’s principled stance in favour of choice in abortion alienates potential support from conservatives, it also makes it impossible to pigeonhole the group as some anti-Labour outfit.

In short Graffitti is fighting for principles and is not waging a holy war against Labour. This is also thanks to the consistent track record of its activists who opposed unsustainable proposals under both PN and PL-led administrations. This makes it impossible for Labour’s media to demonise Graffitti activists in the same way it does with groups like Repubblika.

What is sure is that Labour is not keen on direct confrontation with Graffitti, especially when local communities support its campaigns.

But this has not made Graffitti any less vocal in its criticism of Labour on matters which impact on people directly. And by resisting the temptation to transform itself into a political party in its own right, Graffitti is not perceived as a threat to deeply-rooted political allegiances within local communities.

But while this approach is successful especially in mobilising activists to fight for change, the country also needs a crop of principled pragmatists who can bring about change from within the institutions. In this sense Graffitti’s success has a pitfall; as it deprives progressive third parties from a stock of seasoned activists who can well become political leaders in their own right.