After Daphne, Malta deserves to heal but not through silence

Opposition leader Alex Borg has justified the Nationalist Party’s silence on the testimony that has been heard in the Yorgen Fenech trial on the basis that it does not want to prejudice proceedings.

It’s a lame excuse. The jurors, who will be the ultimate arbiters of guilt or absolution, are locked up and with no access to the outside world. Anything that is said outside the courtroom cannot influence them. Even in court, when lawyers want to discuss a point of law, jurors are asked to exit the hall so that the discussion carried out between the prosecution, the defence and the judge does not influence their judgement.

So, unless Borg starts commenting on potential witnesses in a manner that tries to condition how they should testify—we believe he is intelligent enough not to entertain this idea—there is no way his words can influence trial proceedings.

Why Borg chose to justify his silence so far, in this way escapes us. If anything, he could have said the PN will wait for the outcome to have a holistic picture before commenting on several issues of public concern that emerged from the testimony. It would have definitely been a more plausible excuse even if it does not preclude Borg from expressing deep concern about the institutional rot that so evidently characterised the Muscat years.

But Borg may also be concerned about what may be in store for his own party. We’ve already heard slight references to that toxic period in 2019 and the internal party manoeuvres to scupper David Casa’s European election bid.

Similarly, Prime Minister Robert Abela has maintained his silence, even as the testimony that has emerged so far, paints a sordid picture of the state of affairs at Auberge de Castille during his predecessor’s time. Abela’s only comment was to deny that he called an early election to anticipate the political fallout of a jury that is damning for the Labour Party.

Abela can go and tell it to the marines that his motivation for holding the election in June was the potential fallout from the US-Iran war. The latter is chicken feed compared to the serious implications coming out from the Fenech trial.

And then there is Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa, who has chosen silence when confronted with aspects of the police investigation into people like Keith Schembri. Gafa’s silence may be justified in the circumstances, since the police force is part of the prosecution, which would not want to undermine its own case.

But when the trial is over, the police force will have a lot to answer for over its handling of people like Schembri with silk gloves, and the incestuous relationship between its former deputy chief Silvio Valletta and Yorgen Fenech at a time when the latter was internally being mentioned as a potential suspect.

The trial will deliver only one verdict—whether Yorgen Fenech is guilty or not of having commissioned and paid for Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination. That is the only question jurors will be answering based on the proof presented in court. Anything else is only there to strengthen the judgment they will be delivering, whichever way it goes.

But after the trial, in the court of public opinion several questions will need to be answered and concerns addressed.

The Labour Party has a lot to answer for on how it allowed people in top government positions to act and behave as they did. Joseph Muscat’s unexplainable decision to cling on to Keith Schembri despite everything that emerged makes the former prime minister either incredibly naïve, stupid, or a silent accomplice by reneging on his duty to truncate the rotten branch when it became apparent that things were bad. But this goes beyond Muscat. We expect the government to atone by proposing serious measures that will strengthen democracy, accountability and justice.

As for Alex Borg, he will need to address that sore period within the PN when the party started to implode and MPs were at each other’s necks. But more importantly, he cannot ignore the corruption that lies at the core of Caruana Galizia’s murder. But it will not be enough to criticise harshly and point it out. He needs to chart out a course of action and expose the government if it fails to implement serious checks and balances.

As for the police, we expect a serious review of the testimony that will emerge in the trial and investigate people, who may have perpetrated wrongdoing in whatever shape or form. Internal shortcomings must also be addressed independently.

For the time being, silence may be the convenient option for everyone. But convenience stops the moment the trial is over. At that point we expect answers, reactions, and action to address the institutional rot that has been exposed. It is the only way to strengthen Maltese democracy and ensure that this black chapter in the country’s history is closed. It is only then that a wounded nation can start to heal. Malta deserves nothing less.