Malta’s national agenda has always been highly politicised, even marred with the blood of innocent Maltese citizens.  It was only on few occasions that national unity was close to be forged, and even in such circumstances, national accord lasted only briefly.  I will not go into detail or refer to a particular event in our recent political history to avoid fuelling unwarranted and futile debate.  This piece, once again, is about the recent horrendous assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, what she represented, and what I believe should be the way forward.

Undoubtedly, in the current grave situation, there is no room for partisan politics. The assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia exposed the need to reform and beef up, at minimum, two institutions.  Condemning the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia is important, but no amount of lip service is enough.  Concrete action is now necessary to restore the much needed confidence and trust in our institutions.      

Government should rise to the occasion and without further delay call for the resignation of the Police Commissioner and the Attorney General.  Government is obliged to weigh the negative effects and consequences for its failure to act appositely since Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated.    Government is duty-bound to take all appropriate actions to protect the common good rather than the selected few.   The call, moved by the Civil Society Network, for the resignation of the Police Commissioner and Attorney General and for their replacements subject to two-thirds parliamentary majority and for constitutional reform is a proposal in the right direction which has gained popular support.   

Due to the extraordinary circumstances, if necessary, Government should consider giving both current office holders analogous posts with similar or quasi similar packages in other positions if the stumbling block for their removal is their remuneration package.  The common good dictates that these institutions have the trust of the citizens.  

There are various economic tools and concepts to measure the socioeconomic performance of a country, but there are other indicators to assess the stability of a country.  The figures released by the National Statistics Office are positive, even if wealth is not being fairly distributed this is of little significance when one considers the serious goings-on and the bad publicity Malta has attracted since the heinous assassination of seasoned investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.  The official figures released by the NSO show that, between January and September this year, Government had a surplus of over 56 million euro in its finances.  Local and foreign commentators, opinion-makers, journalists, politicians and others holding influential public and ecclesiastical offices condemned the assassination without reservation.  Many are searching for answers.   

It is without doubt that the good governance and the rule of law have been deteriorating in the past years.  The rule of law implies that every person is subject to the law, including lawmakers, law enforcement officials and judges and magistrates.  In this sense, it stands in contrast to an autocracy, a dictatorship, or an oligarchy where the rulers are held above the law.

For the healthy functioning of a democracy, three basic independent pillars are required, that is, the legislative body, the executive arm and the judiciary.  The three pillars have and play important roles, all of equal value.  The system ensures that the checks and balances required in a democracy function efficiently and effectively.  But in a democracy, the media is considered to be the fourth pillar of the state. 

While elections provide the fundamental accountability mechanism for government, a network of complementary checks and balances is needed not only to protect our democracy but to ensure that it thrives.   Democracy relies on many foundations for its success, including an active civil society, a free press, informed and diverse public debate, protest rights and the checks and balances provided by the law courts and other institutions.  The exercise of our democratic right to free speech, to protest and to freedom of association is a critical part of these checks and balances.  Democracy flourishes when a diverse range of people can participate in political decision-making and public institutions.   Free speech allows the media to hold governments to account and enables the free flow of information and views.  Peaceful protest is also an effective means of communicating ideas and proposals.

Malta benefitted greatly from EU membership over the years, and this is corroborated by the many initiatives and projects undertaken funded to a large extent through the various EU Programmes.   But more importantly, Malta has the assurance that in the current context, wherein a journalist has been assassinated, Malta is not weathering the weakening of our institutions alone.   The EU provides an element of assurance that Government will be held to account.

Locally, people have taken different initiatives to show their disgust at the local authorities that have, as yet, taken the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia lightly.  Government has seriously floundered in the handling of this assassination. Deliberately taking away a person’s life for whatever reason cannot but be condemned.   The assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia must be put in an even worse scenario since it was also an attempt to quell one of the fundamental rights which every citizen is entitled to - the freedom of expression.           

The financial surplus which Malta is currently experiencing has no monetary value if some of the institutions are not functioning as they should.  It is understandable that trying and convicting criminals is not a simple task.  But this is especially so when the responsible authorities do not do all that is necessary to apprehend those responsible.

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