Fatigue from governing is a curious ailment. It manifests itself in various ways: arrogance, demotivation and corruption are among the most common symptoms, often accompanied by delirious statements, if not actions. Perhaps incredibly, the prime minister promised one of his Sunday audiences that the government will be on the people’s side whenever “building development was not in the interest of the common good”.

He then said that he would not be stopping construction entirely, saying the government would step in whenever these developments would see the community “lose more than it has gained.” The government, he said, will find solutions “our community deserves”.

There are quite a few problems with this statement, and the first is that the prime minister is contradicting his earlier statements about the positive functioning of the authorities. Why should the government step in whenever such projects are proposed?

It’s the Planning Authority’s role to create and respect planning policies which should see such developments being outright refused.

In Abela’s world view, however, the institutions should be allowed to trample onto each others’ work, which would also explain why the Environmental Resources Authority behaves like an extension of the PA and has no issue rubber-stamping massive developments which have no positive effect on the environment, let alone the communities.

Secondly, Abela’s definition of the “common good” may jar with that of the public. The prime minister has frequently defended the rights of developers and landowners, claiming that the government cannot revoke planning control applications such as the one in Nigret, Żurrieq.

It must be said that the right to develop land is not enshrined in law; if everyone had the right to build whatever they wanted on their land, definitions such as ODZ would not exist.

In this regard, Abela is not the best person to speak about the “common good”, seeing the spate of construction projects, massive and minor, being approved or defended by the government.

This includes multiple projects across the island and the rationalisation exercise undertaken in the 2006 local plans, which Labour first criticised then defended zealously, as if they were a sacred book.

There are so many projects underway where communities stand to lose their quality of life, simply to deepen the pockets of a small, established cabal of individuals who don’t need to invest money to make the end of the month.

The biggest problem with Abela’s speech, however, is that it seems detached from reality.

The prime minister is trying to give the impression that planning and construction are under control, and that the odd permit being refused (or resent to the drawing board for a trim) is a sign that the government is watching over the public.

Much of the electorate, across many towns which traditionally vote Labour, feels pretty much the opposite.

Fatigue from construction repeatedly shows up in the surveys and would have cost Labour a few thousand votes hadn’t it backtracked on its plans, as has happened in Marsascala with the marina.

One wonders whether the prime minister lacks vision and thinks he can simply sweet-talk the electorate into accepting life in a permanent construction site; or whether he is completely blinded by arrogance and is posturing to ram another decade of endless projects.

What is undeniable, however, is that the common good does not stand to benefit from any of the projects proposed, unless Abela thinks that developers’ balance sheets are more important than clean air, light, space, water and all the resources plundered during these years.