If suddenly we have rushed to get something done out of the Opera House it is because to reach a 2018 deadline.
Fine.
If for things to be done we need a deadline, then so be it – a reason more for being correct when we voted ‘yes’ to Europe.
But at what cost?
The timing is wrong. It is remarkable that this government, to look good with those of Brussels is ready to sacrifice its own people for that.
In times like these the government should have maximized what we already have and made good use of them. Instead, like the typical Maltese he went for the pompous alternative dragging the rest into mud.
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Proposal
Here is my two cent proposal. Otherwise, they’ll tell us that we complain all the time but never come up with anything.
Do not turn the Old Opera House into a House of Representative but use it as an open theatre.
Create a foundation; you can call it the ‘Gonzi foundation for cultural sustainability’ for what I care so there will be someone in charge for the maintenance of the place and the organization of the events.
Indeed, this open theatre can generate money derived from cultural activities for a change. It will work. If anyone has ever been to the Malta Summer Festival knows that it can work.
Of course, the place has to be fixed and the shops reallocated somewhere else.
Here, we saved 60-80 million with the potential to make a profit.
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Next
1. Education
If the government is really serious about culture then those 60-80 million should be directed towards the creation of an intuition that caters for the Fine Arts and Design.
You can have Renzo to do it.
While you are at it, you can pull the students of architecture out of the University of Malta premises and place them within this new complex, or else, within a new building designed with creativity and not diarrhea in mind.
2. House of Representative and St. Elmo
If we are really desperate to glorify our political class by building a new House for them, then we might as well think of St. Elmo.
As said in my previous entry, this is the worst of time to get into such a project but it doesn’t mean that we should not plan for such a project.
My idea is this. Instead of the Opera House to house the House of Representatives and a cultural centre we should do it in St. Elmo. For one it is a larger area. It can have a parliament and a large conference room to house the Brussels people. Secondly, because of its large space it would be more ideal than the Opera house to be a cultural centre. Either way, one would also be rehabilitating the southern part of the City.
Costs: St. Elmo has to be resorted.
These funds can be obtained from the EU. In the meantime, we would have passed the recession, and in four/five year’s time we can start this project taking a longer period of time, thus spreading more the costs.
3. Parliament
The parliament should be turned into a serious Museum of Fine Arts and start investing into the purchasing of Art – old and new.
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… Thinking about proposals … so you don’t have to.
