Updated with Villa Rosa developers' reaction
Activists were blocked by security staff as they attempted to present a 'developers' puppet award' to Prime Minister Robert Abela as he entered parliament on Monday evening.
Abela was quickly ushered into parliament by staff as activists, blocked by security staff and police, tried to hand him an award styled as a cardboard cutout of the Prime Minister depicted as a marionette.
The award was inscribed with the words Premju l-Prim Qaddej tal-Iżviluppaturi ('Award for the Prime Servant of Developers').
Abela was heading to parliament for a special session during which Opposition leader Bernard Grech will deliver a speech in reply to last week's budget.
The stunt was the second in a week organised by Moviment Graffitti after they disrupted the budget speech wearing masks and accusing MPs of 'dancing to the tune of developers'.
Last Monday, activists smuggled a huge banner, pig masks and flyers into parliament's strangers' gallery, taking them out and interrupting Finance Minister Clyde Caruana's budget speech a few minutes in.
Speaker Anġlu Farrugia suspended the sitting being transmitted live on state television and later ruled that the protest had breached parliamentary rules.
Rules have now been introduced requiring visitors to the gallery to leave their bags and mobile phones outside.
The protests come after Times of Malta revealed how a six-point plan to change St George's Bay's Villa Rosa local plan published by the Planning Authority was lifted almost word-for-word from a list of suggestions drafted by the project's developers.
The prime minister walks past activists. Photo: Jonathan Borg.'Abela deserves to be celebrated'
In a heavily sarcastic statement issued shortly after the protest, Graffitti congratulated Abela on being the first to receive the 'Prime Puppet Award', saying his "absolute loyalty to developers cannot go unacknowledged".
"It is our great pleasure to announce that the Prime Minister has been selected to receive this prestigious prize in recognition of his loyal service to developers in our country," the NGO said.
"The Prime Minister’s absolute devotion to the interests of developers in Malta is undeniable. He has always done his best to meet developers' every need, an effort for which he deserves to be recognised and celebrated."
Abela bends over backwards to appease those pulling his strings, the NGO said, while claiming he is delaying introducing the promised reform in development appeals.
The award depicted Abela as a marionette. Photo: Jonathan Borg."A certain Joseph Portelli, who sent in a testimonial endorsing the Prime Minister, said he is very satisfied and remains indebted to him for the delay in the reform," it said.
Portelli was also satisfied Abela allowed the Planning Authority to issue permits for illegal buildings, the NGO added.
"The Prime Minister cemented his status as the Prime Puppet and made his award a foregone conclusion with his decision to change the local plans to appease the developer of Villa Rosa. A certain 'Tal-Franċiż' said that the Prime Minister jumped at his request to change the local plans to allow him to build a larger project, promising he would do his utmost to make it happen."
"It was therefore a great honour for us to have had the opportunity today to confer this Award to the Prime Puppet of Developers, and we hope that the Prime Minister is just as enthusiastic and proud to receive it."
In response, Anton Camilleri denied Graffitti’s claim that he said the Prime Minister quickly agreed to adjust the local plans to accommodate a larger project at his request.
The objectives outlined by the Planning Authority in its public consultation process demonstrate the opposite, he said in a statement.
The review is intended to prioritise the public’s calls for expanded open spaces, stronger environmental protections, and a focus on quality over quantity.
"Rather than addressing these objectives, Moviment Graffiti have instead turned to personal attacks and false claims. This shift away from substantive critique and towards personal allegations suggests that the consultation process is, in fact, being conducted in a democratic and transparent manner."