Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/919364
maltatoday SUNDAY 24 DECEMBER 2017 Interview 15 Arnold Cassola AD chairperson 7 May Before even beginning any nego- tiations with Muscat... I would say, 'Show me a picture of Castille. It's this building here, right? On this side there's Merchants Street; on the other, St Paul's Street. Now: ALL this area, including those streets, are out of bounds for Kon- rad Mizzi, Keith Schembri and Brian Tonna. Anthony Abela Medici Forensic expert 22 October That explosion would have been practically instantaneous and she (Daphne Caruana Galizia) wouldn't have even known what happened. She would not have suffered. Because it's not as if she were injured and in pain until passing out; the fact that she was blown into so many pieces means it was instantaneous. Rosianne Cutajar PL MP 6 August If there is regulation, a prostitute would be able to go to court when her rights are violated. But if there's no regulation: what's she going to do? Is she going to take the case to court and try to win it? No. I honestly think we need to broaden this discussion. And I'm sorry to have to say this, but I, as a woman, sometimes don't feel represented by women's NGOs. Tonio Fenech Former PN finance minister 18 June The reality is that Joseph Muscat has the power of conviction. He may be questioned on issues; but this election shows he was still trusted. The way he handled the Panama papers issue, for instance … he managed to convince people that it was the right way to do it... sufficiently for them to give him a very strong majority. Beppe Fenech Adami PN deputy leader 14 May It is not right to have a small number of, I would say crooks, who have taken over this coun- try. This Forza Nazzjonali is a wonderful experience, with many people even coming from the PL to join forces with this umbrella group that is determined to bring back the fundamentals to this country. Sammy Vella Majjistral Park management board chairman 5 November I cannot envisage how the park can be managed properly, when you have cultural, educational and tourist activities at the same time as there are hunters prowl- ing around with guns and dogs. That's absolute folly. Adrian Delia PN leadership contender 20 August Let's start with the premise: this is a race, a contest, to elect a party leader. The party is structured, and has a statute which is very clear. The statute does not require that a declaration of assets and liabilities is done before the election, or is submitted with the application. It doesn't say it. Those are the rules... Tony Zarb Former GWU secretary general 25 June I was the first person to talk about precarious work in Malta. And ever since I spoke about it, my life, and my family's lives have not been the same. The threats and intimi- dation I received were serious. Evi- dently I trod on someone's corns... and I ended up with policemen on guard duty outside my door. Chris Cardona PL deputy leader 21 May I have no problem that my private life is investigated. But I expect that what emerges is the truth. For instance, she [Daphne Caruana Galizia] uploaded photos of me, which she later removed, in which my face was superimposed onto that of an actor in a movie scene about a drug deal. This is some- thing disgusting… Kristy Debono PN Council president 19 November That there is a level of discontent at Delia as party leader, among a lot of people... that's a fact. Just as, had he lost the leadership election, there would have been thousands of Nationalists equally unhappy with the result. This is completely normal. I'm not sur- prised at all. Carmel Cacopardo AD chairperson 17 September One of the things I tell my col- leagues is that we cannot play in the Premier League, when we are equipped as a fourth division team. We need to upgrade ourselves at all levels. If our plan is implemented as we wish it to be, there will be more people involved, and this will gen- erate even more interest, and pos- sibly more help at different levels. Immanuel Mifsud 2011 European Union Prize Winner for Literature 23 July In the sphere of literature, I think there is also an interesting move- ment happening at the moment... mostly involving young writers. But theatre, I think, has entered a certain comfort zone – it has be- come more lavish, let us say – but it is no longer providing any real sense of criticism. Simon Busuttil PN leader 28 May I'm not so much focused on win- ning but rather on the people choosing Malta. I'm doing what I'm doing because I love my coun- try, and because I believe our country deserves better, much, much better. Everyone loves their country and even the Labourites know that this is what we should be doing for Malta. Silvan Agius Human Rights and Integration Directorate 26 November We've not really been good to the victims of domestic violence, I think. They have no choice but to either endure the violence, or report it to the police... with the great possibility of having to leave the house – often with children in tow – and end up in a shelter for who knows how long. Eric Castillo Releaf 8 October If marijuana really was a gateway drug, there would be millions more drug addicts than there ac- tually are. Because a lot and a lot of people smoke marijuana: and if ALL these people took the next step... well, our society would al- ready be completely screwed. Mark Sultana BirdLife Malta director 30 July When you understand that the law is there to protect birds, you also realise that any changes to the law must respect the same spirit. You cannot change the law to accom- modate a particular lobby group. You cannot change it to try and find a loophole to circumvent the system. Claire Bonello Lwyer and activist 30 July The unbridled and unregulated building, pollution and unsustain- able practices are leading to a state where traffic congestion is turning every foray outside the house into a frustrating ordeal; pollution is det- rimental to our mental wellbeing and the lack of open spaces where to practise outdoor activities is turning us into a sick, obesogenic society. Prof Marilyn Clark Council of Europe rapporteur 4 June Journalists are a very important critical voice that helps to main- tain our democratic institutions. They act as watchdogs, they ena- ble public debate, they hold people in positions of power to account. But generally, over the last dec- ade, a number of forces have been brought into play that threaten these critical voices. Frans Debono Marsa mayor 17 December The government of the day had no real strategy to deal with the crisis; perhaps because it never expected the situation to get so bad, and so wasn't really prepared. Whatever the case, they looked at the prob- lem from a short-term perspec- tive, not a long-term one. The important thing was to find a place where to put all these people. Dolores Sammut Bonnici MEA president 15 October Admittedly, in Malta we still suf- fer from chauvinistic male pride in our homes, and our society is perhaps not-all embracing for the working woman... and yet, the structures are all already in place for any woman to come forward and venture into a career.