Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546491
2. The prosecution was led by uncharismatic prosecutors. They were also boring to listen to, and far too obsessed with emulating the style of one of the defence counsels – Jason Azzopardi. 3. On the other hand, the Yorgen Fenech defence team was charismatic, relentless, emotional and managed to sow doubt among the juror. They managed to redirect fo- cus on the pivotal role of Keith Schembri as the potential mastermind of the murder. 4. The police especially As- sistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud could not explain why they had treated Keith Schem- bri with kid's gloves. Nei- ther could they explain how Schembri's mobile was never found just minutes before the police raid. 5. Melvin Theuma, the mid- dleman in this heinous mur- der, was given a presidential pardon but did not impress. He was still seen as a super criminal, and was not credible enough to convince the jurors he had not selectively with- held tapes and discarded oth- ers which could have impli- cated Keith Schembri. He was also too anxious to admit he had changed his version when questioned about changes in depositions. 6. There was no explanation to why the masterminds of the first plot to kill Caruana Gal- izia were not investigated by the police. 7. And if there is any truth that a survey was commis- sioned that could have target- ed potential jurors, then there is really a case for a mistrial. Judge Edwina Grima should have asked pollster Vince Marmarà for the telephone numbers of people contacted to see if they tallied with the same telephone numbers of the individuals noted as poten- tial jurors in the court notice published in the Government Gazette on the 5 May 2026 - a month before the survey was carried out. 8. No one could understand why Daphne Caruana Gali- zia's son Matthew, was so ag- gressive in dismissing Keith Schembri's role as a potential accomplice to the plot's mas- terminding. When on Wednesday evening the juror's decision was an- nounced, it was clear that something was going to break. The ramifications on Prime Minister Robert Abela will not be small. The gravity of the situation will slow him down and may drag his government away from its own challenges and bog him down. One must see if Opposition leader Alex Borg on the oth- er hand will take advantage of the situation without souring the public's view of the PN as a negative party. On the other hand, the impli- cations of this acquittals turn all the guns on Keith Schem- bri, who on a recent chat with a loud hailer TV host boasted about his frequent conversa- tions with Robert Abela. If there was ever anytime to erase this man from any po- litical circle linked to the cor- ridors of Castille, now is the time. It is bad enough Schembri effectively ruled the country and the Labour government between 2013 and 2019. When this country prayed for closure, the exact opposite happened: a festering wound suddenly opened again and with it a swarm of flies eager to feast on the pus and decay- ing meat. *** Life goes on Last week I presented an am- bitious blueprint for what is needed in the country and an appeal for some decision mak- ing in the country. I also re- marked that not every decision depends on the government, though there is no doubt that the government needs to set the tone. And if there is yet another issue that needs to be tackled, the village feasts that domi- nate our lives whether we like it or not needs to be tackled once and for all. I will make a disclaimer and state I have a vested interest. I do not hate feasts but detest the fact towns and villages are cordoned off and traffic di- verted for days before the feast itself. To make matters worse Transport Malta, the local council and the police seem to have a mission not to coor- dinate, and allow road works or road closures to take place at the same week before the feast. The result are traffic jams, gridlocks and irritated motor- ists. St Julian's and Naxxar were two localities I experience personally, and the amount of time motorists have wasted navigating through this mess is simply unbelievable. This was all a result of authorities failing to think when they is- sued permits for feasts and roadworks. And this is just the traffic. Not to mention the exagger- ated obsession with fireworks at all times of the day, relent- less noise next to old people's homes and communities, and external feast activities with outside recreation, excessive lighting and tonnes of waste in the village squares. The tolerance for this anar- chy is symptomatic of our po- litical class that believe most of the public want these feasts and should be left to have a good time. Of course, the silent majority who abhor these extremes do not count at all. On this subject, there is an- other player that needs to in- tervene, and in all his wisdom and self-righteousness has failed to utter a single word. I am referring to the archbish- op himself. He tends to argue that he has no control over feasts. He could start by expressing an opinion, more so since he has an opinion about near- ly everything. He could talk about the need to trim the length of feast days and for the need to consider cutting down on fireworks most especially if there are old people's homes nearby. He could also go further and beyond preaching about the environment talk of limiting lighting on church facades. Charles Scicluna should also perhaps pass a comment about the waste that takes place. It is so easy to preach about the need to get our act togeth- er, but so difficult to take the first step and do something about it. It seems everyone thinks that there is no tomorrow… not just the government. 9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 SEPTEMBER 2026 OPINION was acquitted People gathered outside parliament on Wednesday after the verdict in the Yorgen Fenech case was announced (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)