Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1176246
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 OCTOBER 2019 ANALYSIS DAPHNE CARUANA GALIZIA RAISA GALEA TWENTYFOUR months after a car bomb explosion claimed Daphne Caruana Gali- zia's life, the investigation has not moved beyond arresting three hit men, and establish- ing three key suspects who might have ordered the assas- sination, among whom are a "major businessman," a man "connected with the gambling scene" and another "suspected to be linked to the smuggling underworld". In other words, the mastermind behind the murder has not been named. In comparison, it took less than eight months of investigations to name Marián Kočner as the individual commissioning the killing of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak. Despite the seemingly slow progress of the investigation, the murder is no longer a topic on everyone's lips in Malta. Monthly vigils and commemo- rative events organised by civil society organisations Repubb- lika and Occupy Justice attract a modestly sized crowd, while the makeshift memorial on Great Siege Square is a site of ongoing contestation, albeit with little public awareness of it. Almost daily, the memorial is cleared up by the authori- ties and restored by volunteers. A taboo outside a carefully curated club of her devotees, Daphne and pending justice are thus sliding into oblivion in her home country – a stark contrast with her fame abroad. Why didn't this heinous mur- der catalyse a mass movement against corruption? Why does the internationally celebrated journalist remain so unpopu- lar in Malta outside the narrow circle of predominantly upper middle-class admirers? It could be tempting to an- swer these questions in a su- perficial, yet convenient 'good guys vs bad guys' manner, sort- ing admirers and detractors into two neat categories – a mob, complacent with corrup- tion and dumbfounded by state propaganda versus principled defenders of democratic values. Yet, this perspective sheds no light on the causes for polari- sation, neither would it draw a much-needed public support to demand justice. To grasp the reasons for the immense disparity between Caruana Galizia's interna- tional fame and her formally ostracised status in Malta, we should begin by understand- ing how her legacy is perceived outside Malta and nationally. HERO ABROAD, AN AT HOME The sanitised, sanctified image of Caruana Galizia channelled by the international media meets polarised reaction among Maltese... "tell me what you think of Daphne and I will tell you about your social background and political views" The real, complex, and polarised legacy of Daphne Caruana Galizia: to grasp the reasons for the immense disparity between the slain journalist's international fame and her formally ostracised status in Malta, we should begin by understanding how her legacy is perceived Raisa Galea is editor of Isles Of The Left Magazine IslesOfTheLeft.org