Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1176246
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 OCTOBER 2019 ANALYSIS DAPHNE CARUANA GALIZIA A polarised, simplified, perverted legacy Two years since the murder, the legacy of Daphne Caruana Galizia could not have been more polarised and stream- lined at the same time. Outside Malta, the journalist is celebrated as 'con- science in media', a hero of unquestion- able professionalism and ethics, whose devotion to battling corruption cost her her life. Since October 16, 2017, she posthumously received numerous me- dia awards, a BBC docudrama and books paid her tribute, and eminent interna- tional celebrities such as Meryl Streep and Naomi Klein praised her work. In 2018, the journalist even received recognition from GUE/NGL, the left- wing block in the European parliament, which established an award in her hon- our: a rather unexpected turn, consid- ering Caruana Galizia's loyalty to free market ideals and her disdain of left- wing politics in general. In the eyes of international liberal cir- cles, Daphne's legacy verges on the epic. In addition to justified recognition for exposing the Panama companies owned by Malta's two high-profile officials and her inquiry into the Egrant scandal, she has been attributed initiatives and views she did not espouse. One specific exam- ple worth mentioning is a widespread misconception holding her as a critic of Malta's tax regime and its online gam- bling sector. Tax Justice Network im- plied that Caruana Galizia's journalism sought to uncover Malta as "EU's rogue or pirate state, offering extreme levels of secrecy for certain services", whereas one of the Daphne Project investiga- tions alleged her "interest in online gam- bling". Both claims ignore the full intricacy of the journalist's work and the context it drew upon. Despite gaining international esteem after disclosing offshore companies of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, she was not generally opposed to tax ha- vens. On the contrary, her criticism of Mizzi's and Schembri's companies had much to do with the defence of Mal- ta's tax regime, since the scandal had harmed the reputation of Malta's finan- cial sector, hence making it difficult for tax-planning and wealth-managing law firms to operate with ease. A testimony to that is a remark she left in the com- ment section of her post on MaltaFiles, arguing that "Malta was getting along swimmingly before the Prime Minister and his two henchmen decided to set up companies in Panama". Challeng- ing Malta's tax regime was certainly not among her objectives. Neither did she seem particularly criti- cal of the online gambling sector at large. For instance, when rumours spread that Betsson Group might leave Malta, she lamented that Labour's incompetence caused "reputational damage" and cre- ated an unfavourable climate for the company's operations. She expressed her relief when the gambling giant re- futed the rumours. However, it is unsurprising that these significant details which complicate her mythologised image are continuously overlooked by the international com- munity. After all, a country depicted in Running Commentary – where "crony- ism is accepted as something normal" - matches a clichéd perception of Malta abroad (in Politico's words, "an island nation famous for [...] untransparency and corruption"). Why muddle an oth- erwise neat story with inconvenient nu- ance, if the stereotype sells so well? Although there are objective reasons for flagging up corruption among Mal- ta's top officials and denouncing its tax regime which drains revenue from other countries, foreign reporters fail to see beyond the purported Maltese cultural inferiority. Disguised as a seemingly na- tional trait, the material conditions are rarely taken into account: a small pe- ripheral member state has to compete with established ones by underbidding on tax rates. It has to sell as many assets as possible in order to stay afloat in the global economy and the single market. The sanitised, sanctified image of Daphne Caruana Galizia channelled by the international media meets polarised reaction among Maltese locals. One's perception of her journalism reveals much more than partisan allegiance and tolerance of corruption - it could be used as an integral social indicator in its own right. To paraphrase a popular saying: tell me what you think of Daph- ne and I will tell you about your social background and political views. One's opinion about Running Commentary would speak volumes about the reader's ideas on Malta's national identity, the country's role globally as well as their thoughts on the interplay between social class and power. While admirers of the slain journal- ist avidly stand by the heroic narrative, others' receptions vary from scepticism to outright backlash – feedback which does not necessarily imply coziness with corruption. Familiar with her staunch elitism, personal attacks and disparag- ing commentary on targets whose only wrongdoing was being "ill-bred", or – by the journalist's standard – not taste- ful enough, sceptics have reservations about the narrative. Others – especially diehard supporters of the Labour Party – see the media focus on Malta as an attempt to meddle with the country's internal affairs and consequently regard Caruana Galizia and her supporters as a cause of trouble. As the journalist's name is invoked abroad to refer to corruption in Malta, the passport trade and – mistakenly – the economic model itself, a defensive nationalistic sentiment is brewing in the post-colonial island state in response. To those in power, a wave of patriotic outcry and traitor conspiracies come in handy: blaming international scrutiny on scheming by 'tradituri' shields the authorities from protests on the ground. Thus, cultivating a perverted public perception of Caruana Galizia and her followers as national enemies works wonders to uphold the status quo: it un- dermines a possibility for popular upris- ing against corruption and keeps abuses of power unchallenged, especially with- in a bi-partisan political system. Be it in Malta or abroad, the slain jour- nalist's legacy has been grossly simpli- fied, perverted and utilised as a tool in a geopolitical duel for gaining – or safeguarding – control over the flow of wealth siphoned through Malta's finan- cial services sector. On the other hand, polarised percep- tions of Caruana Galizia's legacy that label everyone as either a 'Labour lack- ey' or a 'traitor' leave little space for a broader public engagement. Hardly would 'Labour lackeys' demand justice for a 'national enemy' celebrated by 'trai- tors'. And without a wide support of the cause, mass indifference is inevitable. Love her or hate Her, but do remember her The murder of Daphne Caruana Gali- zia left a void in the Maltese mediascape. The degree of influence her blog exerted on national politics still remains unsur- passed. Although Manuel Delia's blog and The Shift News build upon the journal- ist's legacy, neither of them matches the stature of Running Commentary, not least due to lacking its key ingredi- ent – 'bogan bashing'. Daphne Caruana Galizia's acerbic mocking of common- ers with high ambitions, their lack of sophistication and bad grammar stirred intense sentiments. She dared to spell out prejudices of her social circle black on white, giving an immense sadistic pleasure to her followers and setting her detractors ablaze with indignation. Reading her was addictive; the undilut- ed vitriol of her writing was a drug that thrilled and enraged. Her anti-corruption reporting, too, had a gloating tone to it. Between the lines, it exclaimed: this is what happens to the country when peasants ascend to posi- tions of power! Unfortunately, her zeal to expose financial mismanagement, bribes and abuse of power had little to do with serving the common good. She was a gatekeeper. Her journalism aimed to oust political newcomers and restore the rule of the old elite, better equipped to guard the reputation of Malta's off- shore economy. Most important, how- ever, is that her outspoken expositions of shady dealings interfered with activi- ties of powerful criminal interests whose brutal representatives haven't yet been brought to justice. No, an appraisal of Daphne Caruana Galizia as "a hero of our times" need not be mandatory, but demanding justice for her ought to be. An antipathy to a person so averse to lower classes repre- sentation in politics could be justified, as long as it does not equate to seeing her legacy as a malicious scheming of a traitor. Regarding the slain journalist as a national enemy further disempow- ers ordinary citizens. It does a disservice to democratic interests as it plays in the hands of perpetrators, essentially curb- ing sprouts of non-partisan mobilisation against abuses of power. Indifference to the cause chips away at citizens' power and empowers obscure business inter- ests instead. Since the alarmingly slow progress of the investigations into the assassina- tion is beneficial to criminals and their accomplices, there is a dire need for a grassroots movement to confront the state of affairs. A popular non-partisan mobilisation should go beyond super- ficial criticism of corruption as Malta's cultural malaise. We must understand that money laundering and high-profile corruption, as well as the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, have not been committed in a vacuum and are insepa- rable from the fabric of the country's tax regime which has facilitated the islands' transformation into a playground of the global rich and organised crime. Such a movement must uphold the interests of common folk left behind by this booming economy. It must be a movement that would challenge abuses of power perpetuated by the elite, re- gardless of their status and partisan af- filiation – be they of the pedigreed kind, so revered by the late journalist, or nou- veau riche she despised. In other words, a mobilisation against high-profile cor- ruption must have social justice at its heart: only an overall decent quality of life can emancipate ordinary people from having to condone crooks in power in order to make ends meet. Her legacy has been grossly simplified and perverted as a tool in a geopolitical duel for control...and polarised perceptions that label everyone as either a 'Labour lackey' or a 'traitor' leave little space for a broader public engagement The alarmingly slow progress of the investigations into the assassination is beneficial to criminals and their accomplices, so there is a dire need for a grassroots movement to confront the state of affairs