A press conference organised earlier this month by Marsascala residents drew yet another crowd anxious to hear about new developments on the monstrous marina project. Since then, Times of Malta has learned that residents are being polled – by whom we have not been told – on their views about the marina and other projects in the area.

Residents feel the government has not taken their objections seriously, with Transport Minister Ian Borg claiming the process will go ahead in spite of the public outcry and the motion presented by the Labour-led local council. Meanwhile, they printed stickers asking candidates not to knock on their doors unless they declare themselves in public against the marina.

Faced with an uprising in what is essentially a Labour fortress, Prime Minister Robert Abela quickly moved to try and defuse the situation. As he replied to questions about property deals with an alleged criminal, he used the airtime to declare that lands granted by the Muscat administration to Jordanian construction company Sadeen will be returned to the public. These areas include Żonqor in Marsascala and an open parking space in Senglea.

Abela’s triumphal announcement, unusually done on prime-time TV instead of the standard press conference, was nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to the uproar about the Marsascala marina.

While the prime minister’s TV slot was being recorded, in fact, Borg loudly claimed that “he will not engage with a Nationalist campaign”, choosing to infuriate Labour’s voters in the south with the tiresome tactic of tarnishing everyone with a blue brush.

The morning after, Labour’s leading candidate in the district – deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne – declared that the undeveloped areas of the Marsascala coast should remain untouched. This, considering the dredging and land reclamation needed for the undeveloped seabed, equates to a rejection of the project in its entirety.

Abela and Borg rushed to say they “agree” with Fearne. Developers must follow certain principles or the project would not go ahead, Abela said vaguely, adding that the residents would be heard. What that really means for the marina plans is difficult to tell. Borg himself was evasive on whether those plans would be revised.

s the prime minister seems intent on forging ahead with the marina, residents and voters of the district can find little solace in having Żonqor returned, especially as the price to pay amounts to the rest of the bay

But Abela’s Żonqor stunt had been defused, and rightly so. For starters, handing over public land on the coast to a Jordanian development company intent on turning a profit equates to theft; it is a pure matter of luck that the much-vaunted American University of Malta tanked early on.

Which means there is little to celebrate here. Abela may have done the right thing in righting the misdeeds of the Muscat administration, as he has done elsewhere. But here, too, he cannot seriously expect any glory. As the prime minister seems intent on forging ahead with the marina, residents and voters of the district can find little solace in having Żonqor returned, especially as the price to pay amounts to the rest of the bay.

Abela, who will shortly abandon Marsascala to move to Żejtun, has shown himself considerably obstinate in his handling of the marina project, sometimes going out of his way to silence the growing number of Labour dissenters in his home town. He cannot expect praise for returning Żonqor while he plays Russian Roulette with Marsascala and its residents.

By reversing what many considered a scam, Abela has done the right thing. But elections are the time for bread and circuses. Abela should realise his electorate is weary of half-promises, half-truths and persistent attacks on their quality of life. Perhaps the poll will show him that.

The real test is the marina: the prime minister is called upon to do the right, not the bright thing.