City Gate building to host Parliamentary sessions

The new Parliament building at City Gate will be hosting Parliamentary sessions, however the rest of the building should be used by the public, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said.

Contrary to what persons close to the Prime Minister told Sunday newspaper Illum, the new Parliament designed by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano, will after all be housing the Parliament's chamber.

It is no secret that Muscat has different ideas on the use of the €82 million project, commissioned by the Lawrence Gonzi government to Renzo Piano.

Following a meeting Muscat had with the Italian architect in Paris last week while on an official visit to President Francois Hollande, sources close to the Prime Minister said that he was "seriously considering" not moving the Maltese Parliament into the Renzo Piano building at City Gate, after it turned out that the new building was not big enough to accommodate the needs of "a modern Parliament".

However, tonight the Prime Minister said that while the new building will host the Parlaiment's Chamber, other uses must be explored by the Government in consultation with the Opposition and the Speaker.

Noting that there was no other possible use for the "custom made" Chamber room constructed at City Gate, Muscat added that the rest of the building was not suitable for Parliament.

"The new Parliament building should be accessible for the longest time possible, to the widest number of persons possible. The new Parliament should be the people's palace not a political palace," Muscat said.

Speaking during tonight's Parliamentary session, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that the issue will be discussed in tomorrow's Cabinet meeting, after which an official statement would be released.   

In a clear hint that the new Parliament building at City Gate will be hosting the Parliament's plenery sessions, Muscat said: "I have no pre-conception, while the Chamber remains the Chamber we must be open minded on how we can make the best use of the building."

Noting that such a Parliamentary discussion on the matter was long overdue, Muscat said: "The starting point is the new Parliament's size, we must start off from the fact that the building is too small. Secondly we must ensure that the building is accessible to all."

He added that "the time has come to discuss what resources Parliament needs," questioning the wisdom of utilising the building for Parliamentary sessions.

"Should such a place be used for only 10 hours a week or should it be open to the public? Our duty is to explore all avenues," Muscat said.  

On his part, Opposition leader Lawrence Gonzi, who has championed the project for the last five years, welcomed Muscat's call to make the new building more accessible and open to the public, yet stressed that Parliament should not remain at The Palace.

He pointed out that the new building would undoubtedly offer more space and better facilities than the current Parliament building at The Palace which he insisted should be freed up and turned into a main attraction for tourists in Valletta.

. While expressing his agreement in opening the new building to the public, he said that the ground floor of the Renzo Piano project was aimed at hosting a permanent exhibition of Malta's political and constitutional history