To say I am in shock is a total understatement. For those who have not yet heard, journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia has had her bank accounts frozen through a garnishee order requested by Minister and PL Deputy Leader Chris Cardona.
Those who haven’t heard about this story need to keep abreast of what is going on in our country but catching up with all the damning stories is considerably tiring. Now that you know, I hope you understand the huge implications of this story.
The issue here is not about the libel case against Ms Caruana Galizia. Minister Cardona has every right to sue her for libel BUT freezing her bank account through a garnishee order is a pure and direct attack on our democracy. This case has created a very serious precedent. It has also sent a shock wave across the country.
Many have taken to social media to condemn this anti-democratic move. Opposition Leader, Simon Busuttil, stood up in parliament to condemn this blatant attack on an important pillar of any decent and true democracy, the freedom of expression.
The deputy leader of the Malta Labour Party, a minister who doesn’t have the slightest idea of how a man in his position should behave, and worse still, chooses to lie about his own behaviour, has thrown our country into a very dark abyss.
I will not even try to appeal to Minister Cardona to get him to reverse his dangerous decision. At this point this is no longer about the minister but our attention should focus solely on the Prime Minister.
Has Joseph Muscat totally lost control of those around him? Surely Cardona must have at least informed the PM of the garnishee order. So why didn’t Muscat stop Cardona from pushing things this far?
The answer is simple. He can’t do anything to control or discipline anybody around him. Once he lost control of Konrad Mizzi (who also happens to be his ex-deputy leader and Cardona’s predecessor), then he lost the power to take action against all of his boys and girls.
Something tells me that this is one decision Muscat will deeply regret.
One look at the comments on social media and it is already very clear that there is a fast growing movement of dissent and anger. The strong words are coming from a wide spectrum of people. Many are saying that even though they may not agree with Ms Caruana Galizia’s style of writing, the decision to freeze her bank accounts is pushing our democracy down a very slippery slope. We are now treading on very thin ice.
Simon Busuttil’s warning in parliament earlier this week was very clear and in tune with the people’s sentiment. If our democracy is threatened, Simon Busuttil and all of PN will be there not just to defend it but to fight for it.
Perhaps the Prime Minister, currently boasting about Malta's EU presidency, needs to remember that Malta is a democracy we fought for. Perhaps he conveniently wants to forget that when our democracy was threatened by the very party he leads, many of us stood up to be counted.
He also needs to remember that this not North Korea. Nor is he Tayyip Erdogan.
For a moment Muscat had us all believing that he is fully convinced about the EU and the principles of democracy and freedom of speech which are the foundations of the Union. Those of us who believed that should think again.
The crux of the matter remains Muscat’s Achilles heel. Once he did nothing to control Konrad Mizzi, he can do very little to control Cardona.
Muscat is his very own weakest link.