The announcement, so far, has to do with the festa at Sta Venera only (23, 28, 29 July) but it seems reasonable to expect the same for the festa at Msida, a week or two before.

A Police Notice, published in the Government Gazette on 28 June, states that the Regional Road will be closed in the Sta Venera tunnels area on three occasions so that festa enthusiasts can let off fireworks.

This has been happening over the past years, after strong, vociferous protests were made some years ago by the Sta Venera festa organisers when they were told to find somewhere else from where to let off their fireworks, ended up almost in the middle of Qormi.

The Msida closure of the Regional Road, a bit further down, has had a longer history.

However, people had been expecting a different reaction this time, if not due to the Birkirkara fireworks factory tragedy, at least because of the completion of the Mater Dei Hospital. Even if the hospital does not have any patients by the time these two festas come round, it is inconceivable that this could take place this time next year when patients will be just a few hundred metres away from the fireworks area.

It is a dire comment on the state of Maltese politics to consider that such an “onerous” decision is unthinkable on the eve of a general election, even though the case for it may be very strong.