Writing in another newspaper I expressed my displeasure about the new site for a new Parliament house, this time I would like to show my disagreement with the leading article “Piano piano” which was on the same subject (TMIS, 21 December).

The article questioned if this is the right time to spend so much money when people are finding it difficult to make ends meet. This question had been said twice if not three times in the last 60 years, with the result that Malta is still without an Opera House, when all of Europe’s major cities built their towns and cities from scratch including their opera houses. They too had difficult times, much worse than ours; they too had their priorities, but they chose to reason. If we are going through difficult times, let us not make them more difficult. One should not forget that difficult times will always be with us, even if our country finds the black gold – oil. Let’s make Valletta a nicer jewel than it is, with everything that a capital city should have.

It was a great pleasure to hear the Prime Minister say that the world famous architect Renzo Piano had been approached to build a new City Gate as well as a new Parliament on the site of the Old Opera House, with some space saved for a centre for Fine Arts. If I remember correctly, when Dr Eddie Fenech Adami’s government had commissioned the able architect Richard England to convert St James Cavalier into a Centre for Creativity, Mr England had really done a good job, and I do not regret the thousands of liri that had been spent. If we have another one at the Opera House site, what are we going to do with the one at St James, as few can afford to have them both. Everybody will be remembered for his actions. The Germans will be remembered for destroying Barry’s Opera House, but there was a war on then. Dr George Borg Olivier is remembered for pulling down City Gate for no reason that I know of, except to allow Carnival floats to pass through. Will it be Dr Lawrence Gonzi who will appropriate the Opera House site? Time will pass, many years too and new generations will ask why Malta does not have a National Opera House.

There will be no one to tell them, but when they dig into history they will discover that in 2009 there was a Nationalist government led by Dr Gonzi who decided that the site should be turned into a place for himself and others of his ilk. Even if they are willing to build one then, they will not find a place where to build it, because the only place available was taken to build a palace for 65 people who meet three days a week for approximately six months, and this is the maximum because more often than not, very few even attend these meetings.

What I could not understand from the article is, that if the place is built as the House of Representatives all ministries will be housed under one roof. One has to be mad to think that.

For me it does not matter if Enzo Piano builds the Opera House or it is built as it once was, provided it matches the surrounding architecture. I rather prefer the design of E. Barry, but I am sure the famous architect can give us a masterpiece, and the same for City Gate, I have great trust in him. I appeal to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to change course and forget Parliament House, and instead build an Opera House that will be the pride of the Maltese nation. Even if for some reason it is not used it will be standing there, like all nations have all over the world. The Opera House is not Mater Dei as stated in the article. But why it will not be used? What is wrong with us? Are we a nation with no backbone? What is wrong? The small island of Gozo is capable of holding an opera season every year, why not Malta. It’s true the place where it is held is nothing like what we want to be built, but it is also a private place, not a national one. I appeal also to the Opposition to oppose the building of a Parliament House instead of an Opera House. I can be quiet now, as I do not have a chance of ever seeing an opera in the new place, but I cannot hide my disgust for the sake of my nation.

Joseph Muscat

MOSTA