Agius Saliba: Labourites still sore over Caruana Galizia’s writings

Labour MEP and Deputy Leader Alex Agius Saliba acknowledges some within the Labour Party remain “sore” over murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s writings.

Interviewed by MaltaToday, Agius Saliba insists Caruana Galizia was a journalist but his personal experience of her writings was different from the investigative work she carried out.

 “A journalist has the right to press politicians and parties in their questioning, and I also expect journalists to investigate, and that was an important part of Daphne’s work, but let’s call a spade a spade,” he says, when asked why references to Caruana Galizia still appear to cause irritation within Labour.

Agius Saliba says he had been labelled “ignorant and dumb” simply because he formed part of the PL’s youth wing at the time. “I never had cases of corruption, I never had cases of nepotism, but this journalist, and I will call her a journalist, did not carry out investigations on me. Instead, she sought to diminish me on a personal level… I understand those elements within the party, who still feel sore about her writing.”

Caruana Galizia was murdered on 16 October 2017 in a powerful car bomb shortly after leaving her house in Bidnija. Nine years on her legacy remains divisive.

Agius Saliba insists he never sought to deny Caruana Galizia’s role as a journalist. “I never went to Brussels to say she was not a journalist, or that she wrote gossip, because I don’t think that is right after such a tragedy,” he says.

‘The verdict shocked everyone’

Asked about the PL’s extremist label given to people who attended the Valletta protest after Yorgen Fenech was acquitted of Caruana Galizia’s murder, Agius Saliba rejects the claim.

He says criticism was directed at the Nationalist Party’s reaction to the verdict rather than at people exercising their right to protest. “We called extremist the Nationalist Party’s reaction shortly after the acquittal saying the murder was concocted in Castille,” he says.

Agius Saliba says his own criticism was about the “rushed reaction” by the Opposition following the verdict.

“What we criticised was the lack of political maturity shown by the Opposition leader who holds a constitutional role,” he says.

The PL deputy leader adds that he has no issue with people who use their right to protest. “But those who have a political role should not be using the acquittal to gain political mileage,” he insists. “The verdict shocked everyone, including me, but to use it to go to the European Parliament and attack Malta’s reputation, for me is not acceptable.”

Agius Saliba says he understands why people could be angry at the failure to establish who was ultimately responsible for Caruana Galizia’s assassination. Nonetheless, he remains cautious about criticising the verdict.

“The thing which gives me peace of mind most is the reaction by the Caruana Galizia family who praised the work carried out by the people who led the investigation, like Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud, who spent these past years securing evidence,” he says.

The PL deputy leader says he would have been concerned had the government, the Labour Party or individual politicians attempted to interfere with the investigation.

“I would have been worried if the government, the Labour Party or a politician tried to suppress the investigation, and prevent the police from doing their job. But this was not the case, and this was said by the family themselves,” he says.

Watch the full interview on maltatoday.com.mt and our socials