Malta still needs to heal

It says a lot that nine years have already passed since Daphne was brutally assassinated, with no definite closure for that horrific event.

Many unanswered questions remain. That shocking car bomb murder sent ripples across the globe, exposing Malta’s deep-rooted crony corruption and transnational political scandals.

We are still experiencing political and democratic shortcomings, entrenched corruption and authoritarian influences within the country, with far-reaching implications.

It is rare that a journalist single-handedly brings down a corrupt government. The downfall of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his administration in 2019/2020, however, is closely connected to the name of this single journalist who did not even live to see the day. She had become something like a one-woman opposition force that was more effective than any parliamentary opposition.

We must continue with our efforts to ensure that her death was not in vain. We must seek to carry on her legacy, hoping that change will eventually come to Malta’s still-deficient political institutions and democratic culture.

For now, however, Malta remains divided and its public polarised. Highly suspicious government schemes, as well as large-scale privatisation projects in vital sectors, will likely continue draining Malta’s state coffers for years to come.

We must continue battling a political culture that still takes little issue with government malpractice. Indeed, there’s no real bulwark against such malpractice, more so when everyone knows everyone else in Malta, which allows its political class to make informal deals of far-reaching consequences.

The Constitution gives disproportionate power to the executive branch and not enough oversight power to anyone else. Worse, the governing party has been poor at implementing all the changes that Malta needs and very dismissive of policy ideas that would really benefit the country.

Reflecting on the ninth anniversary of Daphne’s murder, we cannot forget how her utmost sacrifice had already shaken Maltese media, society and politics to their core, with its ramifications continuing to be felt today.

Her killing today confirms many people’s worst fears about the existence in Malta of a web of organised crime, oligarch power and political mafia that have led everyone to beware of “crooks everywhere”, to use her now famous phrase that still rings in our heads.

Daphne’s assassination meant an emancipation of civil society in Malta, in a form that might be common in the western world but which we have never seen before. People woke up from a sort of lethargy that had been caused by the oligarchisation of society.

On one side, we had a case of a limitless desire for power and money, a case of cynicism and villainy, and of cowardice over facing responsibility for illegal actions. On the other side, we had a case of a fight for justice and a struggle to search for the truth, a search that is still ongoing. Most of all, however, it was a case of the sacrifice of a mother longing for a life in a fairer country.

By triggering mass protests, exposing corruption, and forcing political change, while also demonstrating the severe threats to press freedom, Daphne’s brutal killing had the potential to transform our nation, but, from the state of current affairs, it seems to have stopped halfway.

Protecting those who inform us means protecting the truth. We must continue to count, name, condemn, investigate, and ensure that justice is served. Daphne’s legacy is a reminder that journalism, when pursued with courage and integrity, is a vital voice of the people. It will endure as a blueprint for what journalism can achieve. Her assassination is still catalysing demands for a de-escalation of government antagonism toward the press. Attacks against the press are attacks against society.

Daphne Caruana Galizia’s story is not simply a personal tragedy; it is a map of Malta’s struggle for truth. She could have stepped back. She chose not to. For her, journalism was not a job but a civic duty. She died defending the values she risked everything for: Truth, democracy, human rights, an inclusive society, and a free press.

Daphne still has no justice. The work ahead is twofold—accountability for her death and cultivating a mentality that integrity is not an eccentricity but the baseline of public life.

Malta is still in dire need of a kind of detox for its society and politics. Maltese society must be courageous enough to look in the mirror and see a very unpleasant reflection. But if we want to move forward, we must be true to ourselves.

Healing Malta will not be a sprint; it can’t be done in a few years. It is a marathon. It will take decades of time, heavy investments into education and a genuine willingness of all those involved to accept responsibility for all the wrongs done in the past few years.