The murder of journalist/blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia and the institutional crisis it provoked have seen the rise of a civic movement that has already held two protest marches and a camp outside Castille, all riding on a wave of discontent. It is a situation that has been brewing for some time and is possibly the biggest crisis Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has had to face since his rise to power in 2013.
On Sunday, Dr Muscat warned against anyone trying to gain political mileage from the issue, adding ominously he was certain “it will blow up in their face in the most spectacular way possible”. We have heard such statements from the Prime Minister before. The implication is he knows something more but such ill-considered comments only serve to undermine the credibility of the police force that should be acting independently of him.
It is only the Nationalist Party that can hope to gain any political mileage from the murder but it is barely visible. Its leader, Adrian Delia, had intended to attend the first civil protest but reportedly did not because MPs did not wish to walk with him. If that is true, it reflects the terrible shambles the party is in.
True, the Opposition has kept up the pressure in Parliament but this is not reflected out on the streets. Should his party not be holding its own protests and offer an alternative? The recent events have proved the PN’s electoral platform of good governance may have been the right one after all.
Dr Delia has come with luggage, some of it exposed by Ms Caruana Galizia in her blog. He sued her multiple times just as Labour did. Now he has withdrawn his libel suits and even offered an apology to her family. It was rejected by the journalist’s sister in no uncertain terms. It compounds the problems of the PN leadership, if not the party itself.
If there are MPs who think they can do a better job than Dr Delia they should have run the gauntlet and gone for the leadership. Simon Busuttil’s departure had been too hurried to allow for retrospection.
It was a terrible misjudgement by the other potential leadership contenders for, as the Bidnija murder has shown, the political context can change overnight and it has.
Dr Muscat, despite his electoral victory, is beginning to sound outdated. His passport-selling trips overseas, which he obstinately calls bids for foreign investment, do not impress and never did. Ms Caruana Galizia’s death has changed the national agenda.
That makes the role of the Opposition crucial. It is the only realistic alternative to the government but does not behave like it is. Dr Delia found himself in the deep end the moment he was elected party leader. He lacks the political experience and the people around him should be helping. He succeeded where they did not dare to go.
If they have sound grounds to have him removed, they should speak up and go to a general conference and win the delegates’ approval. It is called democracy.
The other option for the disgruntled MPs is to leave. Party supporters have chosen Dr Delia and have had enough of this bickering. The country needs and expects something much better from the Nationalist Party.