Watch Tim Sebastian interview Chris Fearne for Deutsche Welle in the aftermath of the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia. It’s 20 minutes long. Sit quietly and invest the time. It is not entertainment as such. It is actually an utterly painful cringe-fest. But it is a vindication that the worldwide press has made an objective assessment of the situation and has reached an inescapable conclusion: a corrupt gang has taken over the government of Malta and created the atmosphere where journalists are killed.
From Tim Sebastian’s point of view it is a masterpiece of research and depth of understanding of the issues this government burdens our country with. From the government’s point of view it’s an utter shambles. It is the political PR equivalent of nuclear meltdown.
It’s like watching Bashar al Assad or the King of Swaziland or some other rogue dictator flapping his arms in over-gesticulating justification of the unjustifiable on an international news channel.
Except this is Malta’s Deputy Prime Minister flapping his arms in over-gesticulating justification of the unjustifiable on an international news channel.
And where’s the Prime Minister anyway? Why is he avoiding the international press?
Chris Fearne is hopelessly poorly briefed, embarrassed to have to lie and cover for his colleagues, entirely out of his depth and unable to recollect with any coherence the complex, contradictory and convoluted lies accumulated since March 2013. He is utterly flummoxed by a journalist who does not accept the absurdities we are fed every day and pounces back on the silly responses he tries to give him.
It’s sickening to see our country shamed in this way in front of the entire world.
Tim Sebastian has it all: corruption in hospital contracts, secret companies in Panama, anonymous passport sales, abuse of court process, manipulation of investigative bodies, political demonisation of journalists, abuse of libel laws. You name it, he knows about it. And he throws it at Chris Fearne. Watch Chris Fearne dissolve in a shambles of an interview.
After a long series of pathetic non-answers, Tim Sebastian concludes “This is the permissive atmosphere in which you get killings of journalists”.
Yes it is. And the world is watching. The disgraceful shame.