Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1066826
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 DECEMBER 2018 NEWS Christmas specials • Politics A year forged in Daphne's legacy MALTA'S economy contin- ued to grow beyond expec- tations in 2018, marking its longest run since independ- ence with real growth in ex- cess of 4%. Public finances remained on the surest foot- ing in decades and new jobs continued being created una- bated. Valletta also celebrated its title as European Capital of Culture and Malta successful- ly hosted two blockchain sum- mits. And the L-Istrina charity telethon collected a record of €7.1 million and Parliament got its first Standards Com- missioner. But the good news of 2018 could not escape the long shadow cast by the legacy of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. From the rule of law missions mandated by the European Parliament to the constant at- tention Malta received from foreign civil rights organisa- tions; from the incessant Eu- ropean pressure over Malta's taxation system to interna- tional journalists turning their guns on top government offi- cials, 2018 was a year forged in Daphne's legacy. It had to be. Caruana Galizia was the first journalist ever to be assassinated in Malta. The brutal murder shocked a country and reverberated across Europe and the world. The immediate arrest and prosecution of three men ac- cused of planting the bomb and detonating it was a posi- tive development, and unprec- edented when compared to the politically-charged mur- ders of Karin Grech and Ray- mond Caruana that remain unsolved till this very day. But the prosecution of three men who did someone else's bidding was never going to be enough to close the dark chapter. It is within this context that 2018 was born in the shadow of that fateful afternoon of 16 October 2017. The battle-line in flowers Caruana Galizia's murder prompted a new breed of civil society activism. The movement calling for justice, embodied in the many groups that mushroomed in the wake of the journalist's murder, is not representative of a wide cross-section of soci- ety. It is also fragmented. And the association of this move- ment with a vocal faction of the Nationalist Party still loyal to former leader Simon Bu- suttil is too strong to dismiss easily. But despite the limitations, the movement gave the Caru- ana Galizia legacy a tangible form in 2018. The constant tug-of-war with government functionaries throughout the year over the clearing of the Valletta memorial to Caruana Galizia at the foot of the Great Siege monument also created a physical battle-line. Flowers, candles and portraits became a source of conflict. This struggle energised ac- tivists and led to the formation of the grouping Repubblika in November, a new formation that has the makings of a po- litical movement and which appears willing to stand out of Caruana Galizia's shadow and target good governance issues. The problem with Repubb- lika, however, is that its princi- ple exponents are disgruntled Nationalists unsatisfied with Adrian Delia's PN leadership. This in itself is a limitation. In 2018, the different group- ings born as a result of Carua- na Galizia's murder exhibited resilience but appear to have left very little impact on the population at large. The Delia conundrum Caruana Galizia's legacy left a bigger impact on Delia than on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Throughout 2018, Delia's trust rating as measured by MaltaToday surveys stood at an average of 20.1% as he struggled with internal party dissent. The criticism from activist quarters found fer- tile ground among pockets of Nationalist voters still loyal to Delia's predecessor. This made it hard for the PN leader to stamp his authority on the party in his first year at the helm. Relaxed... Joseph Muscat (left) has so far emerged unscathed by the international media onslaught and the domestic criticism from civil action groups born after Caruana Galizia's murder. Surveys conducted by MaltaToday showed that Muscat continued to enjoy strong trust ratings in 2018. His trust rating averaged at 51.2% and was consistently more popular than his own party In the blue corner... Simon Busuttil (right) with MEP David Casa on the right and ally MP Karol Aquilina (behind) at one of the vigils for the memory of Daphne Caruana Galizia. After attempting to oust Busuttil from the parliamentary group in August, by the end of 2018, Adrian Delia (photo page 3) 's strategists appear to have realised the party had no hope of moving forward unless it embraced the former leader's faction. An added complication for the PN leader was the personal situation he found himself in after his wife asked for a separation The long shadow cast on 2018 by Caruana Galizia's murder is very likely to persist next year, at least until the May elections, even as the country continues to enjoy unprecedented levels of prosperity KURT SANSONE PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES BIANCHI