It is quite remarkable the lengths we are willing to go, to justify certain decisions which no one, except perhaps for a very few, can wrap their heads around. The mental gymnastics we are willing to entertain to paint a picture are quite outstanding, however it is all rather transparent, and people can see right through it.

Last week the prime minister discouraged people from ever dreaming that Manoel Island could ever be returned to the people, since, according to him, it would cost the public coffers 'hundreds of millions of euros'.

Well, it is quite rich to suddenly become so conscientious about public spending, when consecutive Labour Governments have been throwing cash at problems like it was going out of fashion.

For the benefit of the Prime Minister, I thought I'd list a few instances when Labour administrations lost the plot, and cost the public coffers a pretty penny, some cases shadier than others.

We obviously start with the mother of all scandals, the Vitals-Steward saga, which I am sure this paper's readers are well acquainted with; therefore, I shan't go into any detail of what we are referring to. The only thing I will mention is that this botched project, which was hailed as the 'real deal', cost the country €400 million euro at the most conservative calculation.

Then there was the other, giant faux pas, the Electrogas power station, which surely requires no introduction! That one came with another salty price tag - a €360 million anomalous state guarantee for the project, and a service that is approximately €200 million more expensive than the interconnector - that one made super sense!

Then there were several others, which I can't possibly list here, from the unjustifiable engagement of friends and family with ministries and the public sector, eyewatering packages for the chosen few, golden handshakes, the works - some which came at a large cost, some smaller - all of them flagrant abuse of public funds.

But then there were the questionable ones, the ones which were not illegal, but still made us wonder if we still lived in a democracy. Like the over-generous cheques distributed at election time for some excuse or another, to lubricate the electorate's thinking process. Not to mention the completely unjustifiable spend on wall-to-wall marketing and PR for any given excuse, which also goes into some ridiculous amounts, I am sure.

So why isn't the Prime Minister willing to explore the possibility of getting Manoel Island back from the private sector? I can almost predict what the next excuse will be, blaming previous PN administrations for signing the dotted line, for sure.

But Labour administrations have been so courageous in reversing past PN decisions whenever they deemed necessary, why the sudden loss of confidence, Mr Prime Minister?

As the petition that was signed by over 10,000 people says, Malta has changed and shifted completely in the past 25 years since the deed was signed, and the needs of the area have completely shifted.

Sliema and Gzira need an open space, free from commercial interests like the oxygen we breathe. Other much larger cities such as New York, Tokyo, London or Berlin are extremely densely developed, yet they all have regular open spaces, where residents can go and let off steam, and where the eyes and soul can take a small break. Manoel Island can be that exact space for this overly busy area.

All of Malta, not just the residents of these localities, or the 10,000 signatories of the petition, will be eternally grateful if you pluck up the courage to do the right thing, Mr Prime Minister. It is time.

Alexander Mangion is the Deputy Mayor of Attard