Watch: Andre Callus vs Joseph Portelli

Joseph Portelli and Andre Callus met for the first time in their lives at the top of Mercury Towers, for a Times Talk debate that saw the two trade talking points, accusations and even the odd insult.

Portelli is one of Malta’s biggest construction moguls. Callus is arguably Malta’s best-known environmental activist.

The hour-long debate was moderated by assistant editor Mark Laurence Zammit and was held before Times of Malta reported on payments Portelli made to former politician John Dalli.

Watch the full debate in the video above and subscribe to Times Talk on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to make sure you don’t miss the next episode.

Below is a synopsis of some of the debate’s key exchanges, for readers who do not understand Maltese. The exchanges have been edited for clarity.

On each other

Callus: I don’t hate Portelli, I hate what he represents and what he’s doing. They’re really threatening our future. It’s nothing personal.

Portelli: We build where we’re allowed to. Everyone can buy land for speculation. And someone who inherits a piece of land and can build a 4+1, that’s what they’re going to do. They’re not going to build one storey.

Callus: People like you are flush with cash, but you act like beggars. It’s not enough to build a block of apartments, you want to bury people alive. It’s fascinating.

Portelli: You’re full of envy, Andre. Why are you making it personal? No wonder you don’t have many followers.

On the courts annulling PA decisions

Callus: PA scrutiny is a joke, from start to finish. Portelli does many illegal things. In Qala, he started excavating [for pools] before he even applied for a permit. When we go to the PA and developers like Portelli are involved, we feel like our voice is meaningless.

Portelli: Pools belong in ODZ. The PA allows pools in ODZ. If the PA grants me a permit and I start building, how am I to blame if mid-works the chief justice then rules the permit was in breach of the law? The pools that the judge took from us are like hundreds of others that were approved.

Callus: In all spheres of the law, an authority’s decision is frozen until the appeals process is over. The sole exception is in planning. Developers can go ahead and build even if there's an appeal. Then we take it to court and win, but the building will have already been built.

Portelli: There are a thousand other permits like this one. Why did they erase this one? I’d like the judge and the PA to be on the same terms.

The chief justice created a lot of uncertainty for our sector. We work according to local plans and get a permit, but then have the uncertainty of court appeals over our heads. I agree, works should stop until an appeal is decided. But then if I win, I should have the right to sue you for damages. Because it costs you nothing but we’ll be out millions of euros.

On Graffitti’s activism

Portelli: You need to stop this bullying. You came into private property [in Qala], sprayed graffiti on the pools and did whatever you wanted to. Would you let me walk into your private garden?

Callus: It’s got nothing to do with it, you did something illegal there. The real bullying is of people whose lives have been ruined by construction happening next door. It’s the people who come to us, crying because developers made the final years of their lives hell.

Callus: Your sense of entitlement is incredible. In Sannat, a court ruled that part of a penthouse development of his was illegal. What did Portelli do? He reapplied for the exact same permit…

Portelli: ..of course, why not?

Callus: …and he applied for the permit under the name of one of his employees, to remain hidden. And the PA gave it to him!

Portelli: The judge said the PA law is not clear. But all of Gozo is built like this! The PA needs to fix this.

On buying influence

Portelli: He says we’re corrupt. But they [Graffitti] speak about JP but not about other projects. Why don’t you speak about others? Where were you when the Shoreline project developed apartments? Some say certain developers meet with Andre beforehand…

Callus: He’s saying developers get us to badmouth the competition. I know about the claim because I’ve heard it from [Michael] Stivala, [Anton Camilleri] Tal-Franciz, DB, all of them. They’re obsessed with the idea that anyone who criticises them is doing it for money. That’s how their minds work. I’m against the Shoreline project, 100%. But we can’t be everywhere all the time. This is all voluntary work, we don’t get paid to work for Graffitti.

Callus: You donate to things like clubs and festi, to buy people’s silence. It’s a tactic used everywhere, from Colombia to Italy.

Portelli: Thank god for people like us. Otherwise nothing would get done. Do you know how many każini I’ve built? People come from villages looking for financial aid or sponsors. And I’m happy to help.

On attractive buildings and Mercury Tower

Portelli: I have developed more icons in Malta than most other developers. We have some beautiful projects. I can mention Creekville, Ħal Sagħtrija or the Buġibba square. Now, there are developers and developers. But look at the quality of our facades…

Callus: Yes, look at your facades in Sannat. You changed the face of an entire village.

Portelli: The entire street in Sannat is built like that. And our development is the most beautiful, because it’s the only one with a communal pool.

Callus: I don’t mind Mercury Tower’s design but I don’t like its location. It’s my first time coming here. I had heard Joseph talk about the amazing square he developed as part of the project. I found a little courtyard!

Portelli: Oh come on! It’s the biggest private square in Malta.

Callus: Towers need a lot of space around them. It’s clear there wasn’t enough space here. Walking underneath it feels like being in a prison.

On Comino

Callus: Three years ago, we were preparing to protest the takeover of Comino by deckchair operators. People called me to say Joseph Portelli was going to send people to disrupt the protest, because his business partner is one of the deckchair operators. The police told me that, too. And 30 foreign workers showed up. One of them punched an activist.  

Portelli: I didn’t send anyone there. I have nothing to do with Comino. I don’t even know what happens there. You’re such a liar, trying to sully my name.

On changing local plans

Portelli: I agree that planning policies and local plans should be changed. ODZ should remain as it is. The problem is that the chief justice has now thrown everything into doubt.

Callus: First the prime minister said local plans are set in stone. Then after some court decisions against people like Portelli, he started saying the local plans need to change.

Portelli: They’ve been saying they want to change them for years. It’s not just Robert Abela, even Joseph Muscat talked about it.