Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1389773
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 JULY 2021 INTERVIEW ple simply didn't pay any at- tention to her writing, even on those occasions when she told the truth. Because many people relegated her to the category that they knew her as belonging to: that of a 'gossip columnist'. Even just the things she wrote about me, for instance: that I had 'fictitious relations' with this, that or the other person… it was basically all in the style of a gossip columnist. And it's a pity, because she did have great qual- ities, as a journalist. She had the ability – and the courage: which very few other people have – to expose the truth, on those occa- sions when she wanted to […] In a sense, then, Daphne Caru- ana Galizia suffered from 'the boy who cried wolf' syndrome. Eventually – after years of in- dulging in gossip - she started writing the truth; but when she started exposing real corruption, people simply didn't believe her. To be perfectly honest - and I'm ashamed to say it, now – I didn't believe her, either. So when I finally realized that she had been right all along – and, even more poignantly, that she had been murdered precise- ly because of the corruption she exposed – I was genuinely sorry. And from that day on, I never even said half a word – or posted even a fraction of a post – about Daphne Caruana Galizia. I also sincerely regret speak- ing out against her family, when they refused to hand over her laptop to the local forces of or- der. Today, I applaud them for that. They did the right thing. I can now understand why they had no confidence in the Mal- tese police; and why they would want to – among other things – protect Daphne's sources. We now know, for instance, that the criminals who placed the bomb that killed her, were given ad- vance notice that they were go- ing to be raided. This is simply unacceptable… Turning to the major themes of your book: as expected, the 'Mistra scandal' is given a lot of prominence. At moments, you seem to be trying very hard to persuade many people – La- bour and Nationalist alike – that this was not, in fact, a 'scandal' at all… [Shrugs] Since when is it a 'scandal' when someone buys a plot of land with his own mon- ey – money that I earned from my dentistry profession – only to get approached by someone else, who wanted to rent the land I bought, to create what was ulti- mately a very low-scale open-air entertainment establishment? Besides: I was given assuranc- es that, among other things, the sound system would be one which wouldn't cause any dis- turbance to neighbouring resi- dents: who, in any case, all lived very far away… […] At the end of the day, howev- er, you can judge me – or not judge me – as much as you like. I stand by everything that I've al- ways said, about this case; and I stand by what I told Edgar Galea Curmi, Lawrence Gonzi's chief of staff, the first time he phoned me to warn me that I was about to be attacked over the matter by Alfred Sant. (Because – odd- ly enough – they somehow got to know in advance that he was about to attack me…) I told [Galea curmi], at the time, that there was absolutely nothing wrong with what I was doing. And I stand by that today. You can agree with me, or disa- gree with me; but that is what I sincerely feel… The argument, however, was not just that you bought land, and tried to develop it; but that you also abused of your posi- tion to influence the regulatory authorities… for instance, the MPA, the Planning Authority… With all due respect: what 'in- fluence' are you even talking about? Not to diminish my own status, or anything… but I was only an MP, at the time. I wasn't exactly 'the Minister in charge of the Planning Authority'. The PA did not fall under my ministerial portfolio. So like everyone else, I would go and join the queue in the waiting room of the PA's 'Customer Care' department… which, after all, exists precise- ly so that citizens can enquire about issues they have with planning permits. And Mistra wasn't even the on- ly thing I approached the Cus- tomer Care officer about. I also presented the concerns of my constituents… The bottom line, however, is that the whole Mistra saga was nothing but a frame-up, in or- der to entrap Alfred Sant […] Not only did they [the PN] know about it beforehand; but they fed to it to the Labour Party them- selves: which, in turn, made it into their 'cavallo di battaglia'… You call it a 'frame-up' in order to 'entrap Alfred Sant'… and yet, at the time, both Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and PN secretary Joe Saliba were convinced that the Mistra case was going to cost them the 2008 election. How do you ac- count for that contradiction? What I'm saying is what I know to be true. Up until five, six weeks before that election, the Nationalist Party knew perfectly well that it was going to lose by between four and six thousand votes. So the 'trick' [hadma] was – and this is why I got so angry: I have many defects, but I'm not exactly an ignoramus – the trick was pri- marily to humiliate Alfred Sant, by a playing a 'wild card' that would win them the election… and it worked… but - just in case the wild card wasn't enough, to win the poker game against Al- fred Sant – the idea was to blame me afterwards. To make Jeffery Pullicino Orlando the scape- goat: so that the blame would not fall on Simon Busuttil - who led the campaign - or Richard Cachia Caruana, who directed everything behind the scenes… All this was at a time when you still militated within the PN. But as you yourself said earlier: your party is now the Labour Party. What was the specific turning point, when you offi- cially cut all your former ties with the PN? I finally cut all ties with the PN – and declared myself an inde- pendent MP - when I could no longer stand the sight of that that party being dominated by people who, in my view, were not repre- sentative of my principles. Here, I am specifically talk- ing about people like Richard Cachia Caruana – and I even wrote this in my resignation letter – and Austin Gatt. Not to mention everything else I had already been made to go through: because of Mistra; but also, because of my stand on di- vorce… because I used to speak out about gay rights… because I advocated IVF legislation […] But whenever I approached Lawrence Gonzi about any of these issues – and again, I say this with all due respect: I have a lot of admiration for Gonzi, on a personal basis, and even as prime minister. I certainly never tried to humiliate him, as others did… All the same, however: on those occasions when I approached him, to discuss what I consid- ered to be important matters… he would first tell me 'how right I was' about certain issues; but then, he would say that he 'need- ed to consult Richard Cachia Caruana'. It didn't even bother him to say it, either. So there I was, think- ing… after all that work, to make him leader of the Nationalist Party… he still needs to go and ask Richard Cachia Caruana for his blessing, every time…? On top of all the personal at- tacks, coming from various di- rections… let's just say it was frustrating, to say the least…