Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1540549
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 OCTOBER 2025 FEATURE Adrian Delia, PN MP and former Opposition leader "I choose to remember Daphne as a fervent fight- er against corruption and bad governance. No other journalist in our country has single-handedly ex- posed so much intrigue, plots and abuse than her. She feared nothing and no one. In all honesty I do not ap- preciate personal attacks beyond the remit of pub- lic office but everything pales into oblivion com- pared to the vicious as- sassination she had to succumb to in order to be silenced. Notwithstanding her many detractors and controversial pieces, she penned, I still believed she was a force to be reck- oned with and admired her fearless attitude. Above all else, however, rather than only remem- ber, one must persevere in seeking justice for the macabre bombing that still hasn't seen convicted, the mastermind behind it all." Jeremy Camilleri, Labour- leaning opinionist "Daphne Caruana Gali- zia writings were incisive, penetrating, knowledge- able, analytical, witty and expressed in beautifully written English. Objectivity however, was not her forte. She looked down on in- dividuals connected or sympathetic to the Labour Party, and deemed ridicule against such individuals, some of whom not even in the public eye, as perfectly acceptable. Their private lives or family members were fair game and no stone was left unturned if she decided to metaphori- cally destroy these individ- uals. Prior to the 2013 election, her focus would also in- clude any Nationalist who showed any signs of dissent within the Nation- alist Party, performing a hatch- et job on high p r o f i l e politicians like Franco Debono and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. Their fam- ilies were also not spared. At that time, I viewed Caruana Galizia as a barrier to free speech—bullying anyone, who she deemed unacceptable, into silence. That being said, this all pales into insignificance when compared to the na- ture of her tragic, and hor- rendous demise. We now know that she was on the road to expos- ing high lev- el corrup- tion when s o m e o n e d e c i d e d to assas- sinate her; scarring the nation for years to come, in the process. Her demise has left a critical void in our country. A void that in spite of attempts by others, has not been filled. She was no saint, nor demon, however she was sadly martyred for her writ- ings. Hopefully, full justice is served in the near fu- ture." Eight years after Daphne's murder: Alex Agius Saliba, PL deputy leader "My comments are made with respect to- wards the memory of a journalist who was bru- tally murdered, and with an unequivocal condem- nation of those who at- tack journalists while carrying out their duties. For me, Daphne was a figure who tried to rid- icule and attack me for many years, with the sole reason being linked to my political activism since the age of 18. She never produced any in- vestigative journalism about me, but instead wrote articles filled with personal attacks, lies, and malice me as an the very start litical career. I always writing style sist, divisive, ful—one hurt many though she genuine journalism, whelming her writings aimed at attacking held a different from hers." Matthew Vella, freelancer and former MaltaToday editor "I can only say that I am disappointed that the course of justice and the speed of necessary reforms have been egre- giously slow. Daphne's assassination is what hap- pens when the Faustian pact between politics and capital takes its logic to the extreme—it corrupts those around it with slav- ish loyalty and hatred, it loosens the screws of de- cency and humility, and all starts coming apart, in the name of self-enrich- ment. Unfortunately, the judi- cial process in the case of all of the Caruana Galizia conspirators and alleged perpetrators has also been marred by certain mercurial characters who have weaponised their access to the process of justice, to advance their own political aims. This kind of self-sabotage has allowed sceptics to dilute their support for an ex- peditious and judicious judicial resolution. Malta's generational wounds are defined by the way power has been cruelly wielded upon others—the sins of the Catholic interdictions and other political bat- tles against the working class that built Malta, the heinous murders rin Grech Caruana, and Galizia assassination. tice for Daphne, tive on whose fashion ourselves on, is a necessary tion for democratic in Malta." Marlene Farrugia, former MP "For me Daphne Carua- na Galizia will always be, and remain, the epitome of journalistic competence and courage; a bulwark of resilience in the face of extreme persecution, rid- icule, psychological and even physical violence. She was a selfless guardian and protector of our coun- try's democratic standards, values and good sense. As a journalist she was savagely demonised. As a woman she was viciously abused by the most sexist, misogynistic orchestrated commentaries emanating even from the Office of the Prime Minister. As a mother she was con- stantly tormented. Being torn between her unques- tionable loyalty to her country and profession and the love of her chil- dren and family who she knew were put through untold suffering, constant fear and real danger be- cause of her journalistic effectiveness. Daphne was a gladiator in an impossible, terrify- ing arena and she did not scurry off to a safe place. She fought for what she believed was/is right. Physically she was brutal- ly removed, but her writ- ing lives on and resonates painfully with what we have been watching un- fold daily before her death but even at an accelerated rate after her untimely de- mise. The relevance, sig- nificance and implications of what she was trying to convey to us throughout her professional life, par- ticularly around the 2017 general election, are com- ing out more clearly in the everyday life we're living; with the battles we are be- ing forced to fight and the prospects that await us if we stay put. Daphne, her life and writing remain a point of reference for me; a beacon of hope and guid- ance, a source of encour- agement and strength, especially in the darkest of times. Eight years on, for me, Daphne Caruana Gali- zia still means hope and a resounding tireless call to positive action each day, Louiselle Vassallo, Occupy Justice activist "I still find it very difficult to come to terms with the fact that an investigative journalist was assassinated in broad daylight in my be- loved country, and the 16 October 2017 will always symbolise one of the dark- est days in Malta's history. Daphne Caruana Galizia, to me, was a beacon of light who refused to com- promise, in spite of the danger she knew she was in. In a country as small and overcrowded as Mal- ta, where retribution can be served thick and fast, where many often opt for the safety had the wrongdoings, the onslaught for decades. And horror noon, served, assassination the stories vestigated, implementation recommendations 2021 Which am thankful gence civil society, work appreciated