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The claim

Alex Borg was unclear on whether high-rise towers would be built in Gozo.

Daniel Attard · MEP · PL · PL
3 May 2026 · Other

Borg opened the door to Gozo high-rises in a WhosWho.mt interview during the leadership campaign, then said 'read my lips: I do not want high-rises in Gozo' on 22 September 2025 after pushback. Position changed publicly within days.

Verdict
True

Borg opened the door to Gozo high-rises in a WhosWho.mt interview during the leadership campaign, then said 'read my lips: I do not want high-rises in Gozo' on 22 September 2025 after pushback. Position changed publicly within days.

TrueMostly true+contextMixed opinionUnprovenMisleadingUnlikelyFalse
Analysis
Editorial note

Attard's characterisation is supported. In a WhosWho.mt interview during the 2025 PN leadership campaign, Borg told the interviewer that towers in Gozo could be possible 'based on the skyline policy' if he became Prime Minister. The remark drew immediate criticism from the Labour camp. By 22 September 2025 Borg had recorded a video saying 'read my lips: I do not want high-rises in Gozo', telling Lovin Malta his original comments had been 'spun'. Position-on-record changed publicly within days. Calling that trajectory 'unclear' is fair. True.

PlanningGozoHigh-riseBorg
Sources
Where this comes from
WhosWho.mt — Alex Borg leadership-campaign interview (2025)
Primary source. Original interview where Borg said towers in Gozo could be possible 'based on the skyline policy'.
whoswho.mt ↗
Alex Borg — 22 September 2025 'read my lips' video statement
Primary source. Video clarification ruling out high-rises in Gozo.
www.pn.org.mt ↗
Lovin Malta — Borg 'spun' commentary coverage
Maltese press coverage of Borg's clarification and his framing of original remarks as 'spun'.
lovinmalta.com ↗
Times of Malta — Borg Gozo high-rise debate coverage (Sept 2025)
Maltese press coverage of the WhosWho.mt remarks and political fallout.
timesofmalta.com ↗
MaltaToday — PN leadership-campaign archive
Maltese press archive of the 2025 PN leadership campaign positions.
www.maltatoday.com.mt ↗
Maltese Planning Authority — High-Rise / Tall Building Policy
Primary source. The 'skyline policy' framework Borg referred to.
www.pa.org.mt ↗
Daniel Attard — 3 May 2026 statement
Original Attard statement.
www.partitlaburista.org.mt ↗

Is Borg really unclear on whether towers will be built in Gozo

Attard's claim that Borg was unclear on Gozo high-rises is unusually well-documented for a meta-claim about a political position. The shift happened in public, in two stages, within a few days.

Stage one — the WhosWho.mt interview

During the 2025 PN leadership campaign, Borg sat for an interview with WhosWho.mt in which he was asked about high-rise development in Gozo. His answer left the door open. He told the interviewer that there were areas where towers could be built, 'based on the skyline policy', if he became Prime Minister.

The remark was reported widely, criticised by the Labour camp and the Environment Minister, and became a defining issue of the leadership-campaign close.

Stage two — the 'read my lips' reversal

Within days, on 22 September 2025, Borg recorded a video for Lovin Malta saying 'read my lips: I do not want high-rises in Gozo'. He said his original WhosWho.mt remarks had been 'spun' out of context, and that his actual point was about the absence of a clear skyline policy, not endorsement of towers.

MaltaToday reported the same shift under the headline 'Alex Borg recants: Read my lips. I do not want high-rises in Gozo'.

So is the claim accurate?

Borg's position on Gozo high-rises moved from 'door open under skyline policy' to 'absolutely not' within a week. Whether you read that as a clarification or a reversal, it is fair to characterise it as 'unclear'. Attard's framing is supported.

Verdict: True.