Slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia considered stopping her blog after the June 2017 election, her husband reveals in an interview.

Peter Caruana Galizia tells the 'Daphne Project', a collaborative project between international journalists, that he was ready to support whatever decision she took when it came to the continuation of her popular blog.

"I didn't feel I had the right to ask her to stop. After the last elections she considered stopping the blog because she felt it hadn't helped at all and she wasn't getting anywhere with people.

"And she spent a few weeks not writing in fact. I didn't tell her to stop or not to stop. I said, it's your decision, it's making you anxious, and maybe it would be a good idea to have a break. But it was up to her. And eventually she started again."

He describes how the years of constant attacks took their toll on his wife.

She changed over the years. She wasn't the person I met when she was 21, 20. And I don't think she was very happy towards the end

While many viewed the steely journalist as being impervious to all that was thrown at her, Dr Caruana Galizia said the private reality was different.

"She changed over the years. She wasn't the person I met when she was 21, 20. And I don't think she was very happy towards the end.

"The only time I saw her happy in recent years was when Andrew [her son] got married, at the wedding... I think it affected her. She had a thick skin you know, but still very vulnerable."

Dr Caruana Galizia says there was definitely a sense of things closing in on his wife towards the end as she was constantly anxious and unsettled.

"It was the libel suits, the Labour Party machine always attacking her and dehumanising her. She ended up with very few friends in the end in the press and whatever."

The election of Adrian Delia as Nationalist Party leader isolated Ms Caruana Galizia even further.

Suddenly, he says, both parties had his wife in their sights.

"Something had to give. It had become impossible, practically." 

Dr Caruana Galiza admits his wife was ruthless in her writing.

"If she got a story she would go for it, you know, and no holds barred. I used to feel sorry sometimes for the people but I knew that at the end of it she was right. She was strong so she could deal with it."

Far from deterring her, Dr Caruana Galizia says the constant attacks galvanised her.

He recalls how his wife had even predicted her own death by contract killing.

Subconsciously, she knew this was the only way she could be stopped, Dr Caruana Galizia says.

 

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