In this country, there is no impunity for anyone, Prime Minister Robert Abela said in Parliament, as he remarked that a number of reforms have been made and that journalists need to be safeguarded more.
The public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, published on Thursday, held The State responsible for the murder of the journalist. After this revelation, Prime Minister Robert Abela apologised for the shortcomings by the State that led to the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
A special parliamentary session is being held this morning to allow the PM to table the public inquiry, and a debate to be held about it.
The Prime Minister said that he wants to “carry the burden” himself as head of Government, and that “the death doesn’t reflect the Maltese people or what they represent.”
The Prime Minister remarked that a number of reforms have taken place since he was elected as Prime Minister. “I am not going to say that we have got there, but we have progressed,” he said.
The Prime Minister remarked that “it was a result of our want to change”.
“The way the state functions today is not recognised from when compared to January 2020 and the years before. The way the state works nowadays is completely different. Can it work better? Of course it can,” he said.
Abela said that yesterday, the Government “decided to create a program to implement the changes needed.”
“I want today to establish how we are going to work. As a government we will carry the responsibility. We have the advantage that we have already started the road... We have made huge reforms,” the Prime Minister remarked
He said that he has to remind people the situation I found himself in, “where the police commissioner was elected by the prime minister. This is a process I started to change in the first few minutes as prime minister,” he said.
The Prime Minister also said that changes were made when it comes to choosing judges. He reminded that the Prime Minister used to choose judges, but today he needs to go through a scrutiny process which is independent of Government.
He also remarked that there is still no agreement for an ombudsman and said that he wants the Opposition to agree for a person to be installed.
“These are concrete reforms that are not easy to change because you would be shaking up a culture in Malta that has been prevalent for years,” the Prime Minister said.
Although these reforms “will not get Caruana Galizia back”, Abela said that “it shows that the country wants to move forward.”
“We want justice for Daphne, for her family, and the country. Justice should look at no one, not only in the case of Caruana Galizia. In this country, there is no impunity,” the Prime Minister said.
When it comes to journalists, the Prime Minister said that the rights of journalists need to increase. He noted that one needs to be devoted in order to take this job, and he wants to work to increase their wellbeing when it comes to this work and give them the space needed to work.
In terms of businesses, the Prime Minister said that businesses and politics are separate, but he noted that most businesses are legitimate. “These will continue receiving every help that they need to create wealth,” he said.
“Everything that this public inquiry included would not mean anything if we don’t face it as a whole country which is connected together,” he remarked.
“I am a new prime minister of a new administration, and I will choose positivity for people. This country should not forget the mistakes, but it needs to continue living with honesty,” the Prime Minister said.