Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg this morning spoke about the need for Malta to have legislation covering unexplained wealth, one of the main recommendations made in the Daphne Caruana Galizia who was not implemented.

Borg addressed the media to share his party's views and way forward following the verdict in the Yorgen Fenech trial.

Fenech was acquitted of conspiracy and complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed by a car bomb in October 2017.

An hour after the verdict was issued last week, the PN organised a silent protest calling for justice. Since then, Borg has been insisting that the recommendations made by a public inquiry into the killing of the journalist are implemented in full.

An Opposition motion for the government to implement the recommendations by the end of October was rejected by the government last week, on Friday, when Parliament agreed to convene urgently - before the end of its summer recess - following Yorgen Fenech's shocking "not guilty" verdict in his trial by jury relating to his alleged complicity and association in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

When asked which he would implement first, Borg immediately mentioned legislation regarding unexplained wealth, which would allow investigations and prosecutions against people whose lifestyle went beyond what they legally declared.

He noted that this should be easy to introduce into Maltese legislation, given that there already exists an English legal basis on this. Borg stated that Malta can transpose unexplained wealth orders into Maltese laws relatively easily given that Malta used to be a British colony, and so existing Maltese legal systems are already heavily inspired of British systems.

When questioned which other recommendations within Daphne Caruana Galizia's 2021 public inquiry report are most important to be implemented, Borg also mentioned the need for journalists to receive wider coverage on local anti-SLAPP laws. He said that, presently, Malta's anti-SLAPP laws do not offer journalists full coverage against strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and thus called for this to be bolstered.

He noted that, while Parliament was still debating the introduction of anti-SLAPP laws, the government had argued that the Opposition's proposal to offer journalists with full coverage in this regard would go against EU law. He added that, following the European Parliament's introduction of "Daphne's Law," such fears remained just that.

Another major recommendation Borg wants the government to introduce is for political influence in judicial proceedings to be considered a crime under Maltese law.

The PN leader also mentioned the need for the Attorney General's Office to be given more power and resources to investigate matters itself, and for this Office to be better positioned to take initiative to serve justice in the Maltese islands on pertinent matters.

Alex Borg calls for Attorney General's resignation, but 'people can decide' on Police Commissioner

Borg also called for Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg's resignation, though did not offer the same appeal towards Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà.

When asked about AG Buttigieg, Borg mentioned a litany of shortcomings in recent years for her Office to take initiative on certain cases. For instance, he said that several cases were left on the shelf under AG Buttigieg, only for the opportunity to investigate into certain matters to time out.

He added that the PN has been calling for her resignation "for years." Speaking about Buttigieg, Borg cited a past remark made by Joseph Muscat in that "if one doesn't fight corruption, you yourself are corrupt."

Meanwhile, when asked if he shares the same opinion on Police Commissioner Gafà as he called for wide democratic reforms, Borg said that the people can decide whether Gafà should remain in charge of the Malta Police Force.

During this press briefing, Borg was also asked whether Malta should continue to treat judicial cases involving organised crime with standard juries, rather than with, as an example, panels of specialised judges being made responsible for verdicts in such cases. The Opposition leader said that there are more pressing matters to be tackled first before considering this possibility.

The PN leader once again dismissed criticism that his Nationalist Party wasn't harsh enough against corruption during May's general election campaign. He stated that, during this campaign, the PN had to convince the electorate that it is better than other parties to govern the nation, and that this could not be achieved by simply calling other parties worse and reasoning that people should vote for the PN "by default."

Borg was also asked on party financing laws, given that Maltese political parties remain dependent on donations to function.

Borg acknowledged this, stating that "today, parties are fully dependent on donations" and that they cannot sustain themselves on the rents they receive from band clubs alone. He said that parties "fully rely on fundraisers" at present.

Hence, he called for political parties to receive funding from the State to help them become more autonomous in their functions and thus step away from their reliance on donations, and particularly business donations. He added that "if certain reforms have not been done so far, that's not good."