As the Cottonera project heralded the downfall of the Labour government in 1998, the rehabilitation of Valletta could lead to the collapse of the present government. But whereas governments come and go, Valletta needs urgent rehabilitation and immediate attention.

It is no time for crying over spilt milk. Nor is it time for arrogance and elbow politics. It must have dawned to the present government that major projects such as the rehabilitation of Valletta cannot go through without forging alliances with the opposition and with civil society at large. The government cannot go on just steering away from minefields shelving projects on the eve of parliamentary divisions just because it could lose the vote.

There must be a way forward where stakeholders find common ground. A short glance at the present situation reveals a very interesting picture. There is consensus that something needs to be done about City Gate and the old opera site and an overwhelming majority agrees that the tapestries should be displayed on a permanent basis. Only a minority wishes Parliament to move near City Gate. A new Parliament building opposite the Palace in St George’s Square may be more appropriate.

Plans for City Gate should go ahead while some more thought should be given to the opera house site. For centuries Maltese were not allowed to have their own ‘auberge’ in Valletta. Perhaps it is time to have such an ‘auberge’ at the entrance of Valletta, a House (Berga) of Malta for culture and music, a real showcase where one captures the Malta spirit in one location.

It is appropriate that the tapestries would not to be ‘buried’ underground. These deserve much better and they should be housed in an art museum adjacent to the Co-Cathedral instead of the present Law Courts. The Law Courts could move to somewhere else even outside Valletta in a building the size of the former St Luke’s hospital.