Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1139344
25 OPINION liberals from the PN in those days. There were other issues driving more and more people into the open arms of the Labour Party before the 2013 election… the Arriva fiasco, the 'honoraria' disaster, the PN's antediluvian position on divorce, the oil procurement corruption scandal… the list is practically endless. But make no mistake: the BBC did at least get one thing right. Freedom of speech in Malta really was under threat towards the end of the Nation- alist Party's 25-year grip on power. We had a government that was hell-bent on inculcat- ing its own views through the full force of the law – remem- ber the anti-abortion Consti- tutional entrenchment drive of 2005/6, anyone? – and, paradoxically, an Opposition party that went on to build a significant chunk of its 2013 campaign strategy precisely on a promise to end censorship in Malta. What the BBC got mani- festly wrong, however, is that Daphne Caruana Galizia openly championed the for- mer, and waged a total war of annihilation on the latter. And the core question I already asked, above – i.e., why would she even do that, if she really was concerned with freedom of speech? – remains unan- swered to this day. All of which, I might add, have the makings of a much more interesting human dra- ma than the one we listened to on the BBC. For human drama, in and of itself, always revolves around conflict: and one aspect that has so far re- mained unexplored is the deep personal conflict that this state of affairs inevitably ended up posing for Daphne herself. The Daphne I knew – and unlike any BBC journalist, I'd known Daphne Caruana Galizia socially ever since I was around five years old (i.e., 40 years before 2017), and had followed her career in journal- ism ever since she started writ- ing in 1990 – was, in fact, very concerned about freedom of expression under Nationalist governments. I had conversations with her at the time, both online and privately, in which she freely admitted to hating the censo- rial, Bible-bashing wing of the PN… which, incidentally, took the upper hand immediately upon Gonzi's ascension in 2004. Whether she hated it entirely out of principle, or because she (once again correctly) identified it as an Achilles Heel that would help enable a fu- ture Labour victory, is admit- tedly less clear. I'd say it was a combination of both. But the only things Daphne Caruana Galizia ever really criticised the Nationalist Party for – in the days before Adrian Delia, at any rate – revolved precisely around its tendency towards mediaeval conservatism and rightwing extremism. She openly criticised Gonzi over his ill-fated anti-divorce position in 2011. She eviscer- ated Tonio Borg over that aforementioned Constitution- al abortion crusade. Likewise, she was a fierce, relentless critic of the PN's mandatory detention policy for asylum seekers… which also explains why the Far-Right tried to burn down her house, among others, in 2007 (Note: to be fair to the BBC, they got this one right, too.) Yet Daphne Caruana Galizia also defended and champi- oned the Gonzi administration throughout that time: even though its every policy, deci- sion and action flew directly in the face of everything she herself clearly believed in. Conversely, she made it her mission in life to utterly destroy the Labour Party, and Joseph Muscat in particular… despite the fact that (on paper, at least: and excluding im- migration issues) Labour, in 2013, was far more in synch with her own views than the PN could ever dream of being. This, if you ask me, is the real 'drama' underpinning the tragedy of Daphne Caruana Galizia. (Note: it may even have a direct bearing on her eventual murder… but I'll leave it to you to figure out why for yourselves). And it is the stuff that Shakespeare's most poignant plays are made of, too: a tale of someone who ends up working against her own, most cherished beliefs… only to bring about the very outcome she was all along trying to avoid – i.e., a Labour government – while complete- ly annihilating her own party in the process. There are distant echoes of Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet and even Coriolanus in there somewhere… all rolled up into a single, very gripping (and, alas, very real) murder story, with dramatic political reper- cussions for an entire country. And that conflict, to me, is what a proper docudrama about the real Daphne Caru- ana Galizia – as opposed to that purely mythical entity we heard about on the BBC this week – should really be exploring. 'Ravioli', indeed… maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 JULY 2019 (mostly fictitious) documentary There is, however, one little detail that cannot possibly go unchallenged, for the implications are just too downright bizarre. It concerns the presumed reasons why Daphne launched her own blog in 2008 and valued at €8,600. e) Garage numbered 12 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at € 9,500. f) Garage 18 on the siteplan but numbered 21 on site that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €8,600. g) Garage numbered 15 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il- Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €7,600. h) Garage numbered 3 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €9,500. i) Garage numbered 16 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il- Għajn, Żabbar, valued at €7,600. j) Garage numbered 19 on the siteplan but 20 on site that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €9,100. k) Garage numbered 20 on the COURT NOTICE The Registrar, Civil Courts and Tribunals notifies that the First Hall of the Civil Court ordered the sale by Judicial Auction of the following property to be held in room numbered 78, nearby the Courts Archives, Level -1, Courts of Justice, Republic Street, Valletta. Date Time Judicial Sale No Property 11 th July, 2019 10.30am 18/17 - EGL Busuttil Karm Rev Dun (ID488059M) vs Zammit Joseph (ID685647M) et a) Garage numbered 2 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €9,500. b) Garage numbered 14 with its own airspace that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €7,600. c) Garage numbered 22 on the siteplan but numbered 17 on site with its own airspace that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar, valued at €9,900. d) Garage numbered 17 on the siteplan but numbered 22 on site with its own airspace that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €8,600. e) Garage numbered 12 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at € 9,500. f) Garage 18 on the siteplan but numbered 21 on site that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €8,600. g) Garage numbered 15 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il- Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €7,600. h) Garage numbered 3 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €9,500. i) Garage numbered 16 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block COURT NOTICE The Registrar, Civil Courts and Tribunals notifies that the First Hall of the Civil Court ordered the sale by Judicial Auction of the following property to be held in room numbered 78, nearby the Courts Archives, Level -1, Courts of Justice, Republic Street, Valletta. Date Time Judicial Sale No Property 11 th July, 2019 10.30am 18/17 - EGL Busuttil Karm Rev Dun (ID488059M) vs Zammit Joseph (ID685647M) et a) Garage numbered 2 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €9,500. b) Garage numbered 14 with its own airspace that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €7,600. c) Garage numbered 22 on the siteplan but numbered 17 on site with its own airspace that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar, valued at €9,900. d) Garage numbered 17 on the siteplan but numbered 22 on site with its own airspace that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €8,600. e) Garage numbered 12 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at € 9,500. f) Garage 18 on the siteplan but numbered 21 on site that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €8,600. g) Garage numbered 15 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il- Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €7,600. h) Garage numbered 3 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block accessible from Triq Wied il-Għajn, Żabbar. The garage is subject to an annual rent of €500 and valued at €9,500. i) Garage numbered 16 that can be accessed from a common driveway forming part of an unnamed and unumbered block Daphne worked tirelessly (and successfully, in 2008) to keep the Nationalists permanently in power; and above all, to avoid any situation which might ever result in an electoral victory for Labour