The inquiry into Daphne Caruana Galizia's death concluded that tentacles of impunity had spread from Castille. Just a few weeks ago, Desmond Zammit Marmarà stated that "the Labour Party entered into an unholy alliance with big business interests".

Somewhere between all of this, the Mafia gained control of our country. The Mafia is the anti-state, distorting the good so that it appears bad, and vice versa. Anyone law abiding and anything regulated is frowned upon, and the laws and law keepers are seen as the enemy if not complicit.

The Mafia grows in silence through “omerta” and based on the loyalty of its members who back each other no matter what, in a skewered attempt to mimic a family. That is tribalism for you. In other democracies, this way of thinking is recognised as being bad for democracy. In a fully functioning democracy, people put their loyalty to the State and to their country above the party. People change their minds about who they vote regularly, holding politicians to account. Not so in Malta. 

With the findings of the Daphne Caruana Galizia inquiry, those meant to be fighting impunity were revealed to have been the ones responsible for creating it. The tentacles of impunity have grown to such an extent that now the country is practically dependent on its own poison, which is slowly and consistently numbing peoples’ morality.

There is a high tolerance towards every case of corruption, which ranks low amongst most people’s priorities. Over time, and at a fast pace, fair has become foul and foul has become fair. This is the way the country is operating, where lawlessness is accepted and actually the norm, and justice is something which only applies for those we consider our enemies instead of to everybody equally.

There is one law for the poor and another for the rich and the well-connected. Justice happens on a whim, every now and then, when some of the Mafia get very unlucky and are at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The culture of impunity which made the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia happen was fruit of a State which should have protected and upheld the very spirit of our laws, rather than worked around them. This woman was left alone, abandoned, vilified and dehumanized. She was spoken of with scorn intentionally. In the end, it served to prepare public opinion for what was to come, and therefore, many felt little pity for her tragic death.

Instead, those closest to her were bullied and harassed, including in school. Daphne was left on her own fighting the monster of corruption. Back then, it was mostly obscured. In time, it became impossible to deny. However, upon seeing it, many have chosen to simply accept it, due to the direction provided by many of their leaders. 

Reforms are nothing if not accompanied by action. The Prime Minister has apologised, but he must now put his words into practice. Nice speeches and public relations exercises lose all its impact if nothing tangible emerges. Politicians show they are complicit if they do nothing to address the root causes of this corruption, and all of its accomplices. We want strong actions, not press conferences. Prime Minister, you owe it to the country. And you owe it to Daphne. 

 

Sandra Gauci, Deputy Secretary General of ADPD.