Revealed: Sketch of Joseph Muscat statue for Castille Square

An artist has been commissioned with building a monument for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, MaltaToday has learned.

The sketch, which is being published exclusively by this newspaper, shows the Prime Minister standing ramrod straight, looking proudly into the distance.

It is understood that the monument will be positioned among the relocated monuments to former prime ministers in Castille Square.

The Grand Harbour Regeneration Committee never gave a definite answer on whether the monuments would all be gathered outside Auberge de Castille.

MaltaToday can confirm that the sketch was included in a file on the Castille Square project passed to the National Monuments Committee (NMC) which is tasked with ensuring that monuments of prime ministers are given appropriate slots in the rebuilt square.

Spokespersons from the Office of the Prime Minister could not be contacted yesterday, a public holiday.

The €1.6 million embellishment works at Castille Square will be completed by the end of October, just before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November.

The plan includes the pedestrianisation of the Square and the creation of an open space. The area in which these monuments will be relocated remains at proposal stage.

The proposal to build a monument for Muscat is unique in and of itself, since it is unusual for a leader to be commemorated in his lifetime. It remains to be seen how both the general public and the political sphere will react to this revelation.