Prince Albert's concern over Malta's urbanisation

Abstract

The Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) early in June heralded greater benefits to the country than meets the eye. With everyone (and rightly so) harping on the Maltese athletes' success in these games, I will be one of the few to underscore what Prince Albert of Monaco said on his visit to the island for the games, expressing his concern that Malta could "get to be too much like other regions of the Mediterranean". He cautioned against "overcrowding the island" - sweet words indeed for our rapacious land developers and condescending authorities. With a population density of almost 20,000 per km squared, Monaco knows a thing or two abut overcrowding - quite predictably, however, Prince Albert's words will be dismissed by our authorities as nothing more than diplomatic and polite words of advice with no clout at all. A case in point is the ludicrous statement by former Tourism Minister Michael Refalo in which he dismissed Prince Albert's statement by saying that "he should be told that more than two-thirds of Malta is purely virginal". Dr Refalo can certainly toy with tourist statistics but he is certainly no authority on land-use.