It has been two months since Daphne Caruana Galizia’s life was brought to an abrupt end. That three persons have been arraigned and accused of her assassination is certainly welcome. Due process will determine their guilt or otherwise. And if guilty, our laws will determine what punishment they deserve.

The people also need to know who commissioned this crime. Reports of a presidential pardon being offered to the alleged executors of the crime indicate that the investigators must be aware that whether or not they have at this stage a clue about the mastermind or masterminds behind the execution, they have so far not been able to arraign the person(s) concerned. One can only hope that the investigators will leave no stone unturned before they establish who is ultimately behind the horrific assassination.

It is a painful, and admittedly pointless, thought to be reminded that had the same resources dedicated to tracking the executors of this crime been dedicated to stemming the series of bombings when they started, Daphne could be commenting on national politics right now much better than I ever could.

Politicians are in the habit of speaking of looking ahead, of turning a fresh page, of being positive about the future no matter how dark the past. And no doubt there will be time for looking ahead. But right now looking ahead, as the government wills us to do, is also looking away.

No doubt there will be time for looking ahead. But right now looking ahead, as the government wills us to do, is also looking away

Denying reality, and burying the pages soaked in blood and mud of the present under the crisp white fresh pages of a history not yet written, would be a grave injustice in its own right.

An injustice perpetrated on sons denied their mother, on a husband widowed too soon, equally on all those members of Maltese society who irrespective of their political leanings want to stand up for the truth, no matter what that truth might be, rather than content themselves with old and new doses of grotesquerie.

Any executioner is a tool in someone else’s hands, and our democracy cannot call itself by that name until that someone else is known and judged.

Until the whole truth emerges, it is intolerable that information on the investigations is managed by political officers at Castille rather than professional uniformed officers in Floriana.

It is just as intolerable that for one reason or another, certain uniformed officers in Floriana behave like agents of the executive rather than the long and independent arm of the law.

Are we to express surprise or disdain at Daphne’s family for demanding such basic justice? Have we reached the stage that seeking the advice of a reputable and internationally acclaimed law firm is portrayed as some form of treason? Not even the notorious Foreign Interference Act of the 1980s made it illegal for a person to seek legal advice from whichever legal firm, worldwide, that person may choose.

Shall we start judging lawyers by their nationality, or even worse by the advice that they offer their clients? That is, irrespective of whether the party in respect of whom advice is given agrees with it or not.

In recent days, together with my colleagues David Casa and Roberta Metsola, I am proud to have been able to defend Malta’s fiscal system and reputation within the European Parliament, through  the European People’s Party, by emphasising one very important principle: we must distinguish  between our honest and law-abiding people and those elements within the government that have made money laundering, corruption and other criminal activity a way of life, part of the new rules of governance package based on the concept that they must be left alone as long as they can keep growing the national economy.

This time round we managed to affirm this distinction. Whether we can succeed again in the future will depend on how the government carries out its duties, not least with regard to all issues that relate to justice, to the rule of law, to our choice in favour of the European way of life. That is why I shall keep upholding the truth as one of the most important values to safeguard in political life.

Two months after the assassination of Daphne, there are still many issues that must be investigated impartially and many questions that need to be answered.

Francis Zammit Dimech is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.