No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar. - Abraham Lincoln As someone wittier said of another prime minister, for Joseph Muscat lying is not second nature: it is nature. He lied to get to power and kept on lying throughout his short tenure. The damage he inflicted in our country, [...]

Can we at least agree on the targets here? Few would disagree that our justice system is in a desperate need for reform. Trying to argue that the problems we have, are created by the Labour Party is childish and silly. And for the Labour government to wash its hands of the problem because they [...]

Here are my reflections on how participatory and deliberative measures across political society could complement a revisited representative democracy in our country. Modern democracy could be termed as a “government by discussion” when public speaking and voting for representatives are the only direct formal rights adult citizens are entitled to. Paradoxically, the only moment the [...]

So Rosianne Cutajar conducted private business while serving as a quasi-minister, breaching her conduct rules. That's a dismissible offence. She took payments in tens of thousands of euro in cash. That's a dismissible offence. She used her official car and driver for private business. That's a dismissible offence. She did not disclose her income in [...]

In bookshops tomorrow Justice for Daphne is Justice for Your Right to Know, a book curated by Repubblika president-elect and #occupyjustice activist Alessandra Dee Crespo. The book pays tribute to Daphne Caruana Galizia and records in paintings, poems, photographs and cartoons the rise of Malta's civil society demanding justice, that remains elusive. Buy it from the [...]

From my article in The Sunday Times today: "The government never minded having senior government officials indulge in a bit of critic-bashing that would be popular with the rank and file. "Consider Tony Zarb, paid advisor on Konrad Mizzi’s staff, calling Occupy Justice activists whores more fitting in Strait Street than Castille Place. Consider Jason [...]

It is with pride and gratitude that my co-authors, John Sweeney and Carlo Bonini, and I receive tonight the National Book Prize for literary non-fiction awarded by Malta's National Book Council. Murder on the Malta Express: Who Killed Daphne Caruana Galizia was first published in Malta by Midsea Books and was then released worldwide by [...]

"Ittraħbar" is circulated to civil servants with news from the principal permanent secretary's office. The name of the publication is a literal riff on 'newsletter'. Geddit? My daughter would palm her face round about now. So the newsletter is all of 8 full-colour pages. And apart from the fact that Mario Cutajar is the cover [...]

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Now that the Blockchain related laws are in effect, and our vision in making Malta the Blockchain Island is materializing, we can start looking at new economic niches, finding ways to incorporate them in our ecosystem. We want Malta to become a powerhouse of economic innovation. – Silvio Schembri, July 2018 Blockchain is the technology [...]

A socially-distanced vigil is being broadcast right now from Great Siege Square in Valletta marking 38 months since the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Proceedings opened with a brief speech by Repubblika's president, Robert Aquilina, and a stark warning to Prime Minister Robert Abela. Robert Aquilina said that as was expected, the NGO did not [...]

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This article is a continuation of my previous analysis of Vitals Global Healthcare which was registered on 13 May 2015, and which, on 30 November 2015 signed the services concession agreement with the Government for the redevelopment, maintenance, management and operation of the sites of St Luke’s Hospital, Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital and the Gozo [...]

‘Irrelevant!?’ - How insensitive! What a morbid, dark, evil sense of humour! 16th October 2017 – 2.35 p.m. - ‘There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate.’ - 25 minutes later Daphne Caruana Galizia is assassinated. I wonder how many of us had ever imagined how prophetic her incisive last piece of conversation [...]

Manuel Delia · Robert Abela is a self-fulfilling prophecy When Robert Abela’s predecessor lost all control of circumstances and authority over events, he signed the document he had been rejecting for two years: setting up an inquiry to determine whether the state, including of course the government he had been leading, was at least in [...]

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) has condemned today’s court ruling in the criminal proceedings against Neville Gafà for threats he made on Twitter against Italian journalist Nello Scavo. “We take note of this verdict,” commented Scavo. “This case has given me an [...]

In an earlier post, I wrote about Keith Schembri declaring himself governed by the ethics of a tax avoider and applying that as a justification, as he sees it, for his conduct in public office. That wasn’t the worst bit of the character evidence he gave on his own behalf yesterday at the Daphne inquiry. [...]