In the end, the government got what it wanted in the Valletta open-air market issue. And it’s not that the monti hawkers themselves were left empty-handed either.

In a move that could be described as having been very much Thatcher-like, the government set itself a target right from the start – it wanted the open-air market to move a bit further down from the place it occupied in Merchants Street, and it was ready to discuss other matters only if the hawkers agreed to this.

All other questions surrounding the problem – the temporary relocation of the hawkers, the trading licences issue, the size of the stalls and the hawkers’ uniforms – were simply extraneous factors on which the government was prepared to negotiate, and in fact it did. But it did not budge from its idea of placing the monti in a different location from that which it occupied for the past 18 years. And ultimately that goal was reached.

The government’s determination must have surprised the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, which might have initially thought that by marching up to Castille Place a few times and by holding protest demonstrations in Valletta, it would push the government into changing its mind. In the earlier days of the dispute, the UHM had also warned that it would call sympathy strikes but it quickly realised that there was no industrial dispute in hand, and the idea was not mentioned again.

As the days rolled by, and as the monti hawkers began to realise that there was no way that they could persuade the government to leave the market’s permanent site where it was until three weeks ago, it was the UHM that finally had to give in and accept what the government was proposing.

With hindsight, the government’s initial opposition to the hawkers’ idea of setting up their stalls temporarily in Freedom Square, and insistence that they should instead go to St James Ditch, a place that the hawkers flatly refused time after time, was only a ruse. The government knew that it would have had to give in on that one, but not before the hawkers agreed to the permanent relocation plans, which was, after all, what the government really wanted.

All through this time, nearly two full weeks of talks and protests – in the streets and in court – the government knew that it would have had to accept the temporary eyesore of having the open-air market in the square just inside the entrance to the capital city. But this was the sacrifice that led it to its ultimate goal, the permanent relocation of the monti where the government originally intended it to be, just opposite the historical market (is-Suq tal-Belt).

The hawkers and the UHM realised that they were fighting a lost battle. The government had the support of the Valletta business community, including that of the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, which were very much in favour of the comprehensive plans the government is implementing in a bid to revitalise the capital city.

The park and ride scheme, the new traffic management plan for Valletta and the pedestrianisation of more parts of the capital city were all welcomed by the Valletta business community as being moves that would help attract more visitors to Valletta – and more visitors mean more business.

There was a risk that the issue regarding the monti would degenerate. In fact in the day or two preceding the final agreement, the verbal clashes between the two sides – the hawkers and the business community – increased in momentum, as the government kept its distance.

At this point, even the UHM realised that there was no other option but to accept that the monti moves permanently to the site that was being offered by the government. For its part, the government then agreed on the temporary site and on the other matters regarding the number of licences and the revamping of the stalls.

It was an issue that could have been resolved in much less time than it actually took.