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Political Corruption in Malta
posted in World Events
1
#1
0 Frags +

I would just like to put this out there, even if it does not spark a discussion. If just a few people learn about what's currently happening here, then that's good enough for me.

Malta is currently undergoing one of the biggest political scandals in European history.
For the uninitiated, 2 years ago, Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated. She was the only major investigative journalist in Malta, and in the months leading to her assassination, she was uncovering a lot of corruption within our island's government. Amongst other things, she revealed that our prime minister, as well as his chief of staff and other ministers, all had companies set up in Panama for tax evasion. Two years have passed and up to a few days ago those people were still in power, with not much progress made on the investigation of her murder.

However, these past 10 days have been like a fever dream for this country. People with ties to her murder one by one got caught and were quick spill the details and rat out other suspects in return for presidential pardons. Not long after, the prime minister's chief of staff, Keith Schembri, resigned from his position, only to be arrested the following day on suspect of being the mastermind behind Daphne's assassination. On the same day of his arrest, one of the ministers (Konrad Mizzi) related to the Panama Papers scandal resigned from his position. Another minister, Chris Cardona also 'suspended himself' until investigations regarding the murder concluded.

At the time I'm writing this, our prime minster, Joseph Muscat, has maintained his position. Despite the fact that, even if Muscat had no involvement in Daphne's murder, there isn't a shadow of a doubt that he was aware of everything going on. Those were his right-hand men who resigned amidst all this unfolding. That was his chief of staff who got arrested and is suspected of being the mastermind behind Daphne's murder.

Unfortunately, the situation seems to be such that the ball is always in our prime minister's court. He is involved in the investigation of Daphne's murder, despite those being his ex-colleagues and close friends suspected in the case and despite the fact that the general public sees him as a suspect as well. He is also calling the shots on who gets their presidential pardons and who doesn't. To top it all off, not more than 2 hours ago as of writing this post, Keith Schembri was released from custody. This is a mere two days after he was arrested for being the suspected mastermind behind Daphne's assassination.

Malta has reached an all-time high in terms of mass hysteria and scepticism. There are mass protests taking place in the capital city and in front of parliament everyday now. Today, people actually went back to form a second protest after the news got out that Keith Schembri was released from custody. It is unquestionable at this point - our prime minister and his associates were willingly involved in the planned assassination of the one person who could have ripped them out of government with the touch of a button. I can only hope that it is only a matter of time before our prime minister resigns and our government collapses.

For those who want to do more research about the situation, look up about Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder. I've linked a blogpost by her son, which offers a good, although emotionally charged, rundown of the events currently going on. I still implore those interested to do more research.

If you've read this far, thank you for your attention. Again, I don't really anticipate much of a discussion will bloom out of this post, but I suppose there's no harm in spreading word of what's happening here.

I would just like to put this out there, even if it does not spark a discussion. If just a few people learn about what's currently happening here, then that's good enough for me.


Malta is currently undergoing one of the biggest political scandals in European history.
For the uninitiated, 2 years ago, Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated. She was the only major investigative journalist in Malta, and in the months leading to her assassination, she was uncovering a lot of corruption within our island's government. Amongst other things, she revealed that our prime minister, as well as his chief of staff and other ministers, all had companies set up in Panama for tax evasion. Two years have passed and up to a few days ago those people were still in power, with not much progress made on the investigation of her murder.

However, these past 10 days have been like a fever dream for this country. People with ties to her murder one by one got caught and were quick spill the details and rat out other suspects in return for presidential pardons. Not long after, the prime minister's chief of staff, Keith Schembri, resigned from his position, only to be arrested the following day on suspect of being the mastermind behind Daphne's assassination. On the same day of his arrest, one of the ministers (Konrad Mizzi) related to the Panama Papers scandal resigned from his position. Another minister, Chris Cardona also 'suspended himself' until investigations regarding the murder concluded.

At the time I'm writing this, our prime minster, Joseph Muscat, has maintained his position. Despite the fact that, even if Muscat had no involvement in Daphne's murder, there isn't a shadow of a doubt that he was aware of everything going on. Those were his right-hand men who resigned amidst all this unfolding. That was his chief of staff who got arrested and is suspected of being the mastermind behind Daphne's murder.

Unfortunately, the situation seems to be such that the ball is always in our prime minister's court. He is involved in the investigation of Daphne's murder, despite those being his ex-colleagues and close friends suspected in the case and despite the fact that the general public sees him as a suspect as well. He is also calling the shots on who gets their presidential pardons and who doesn't. To top it all off, not more than 2 hours ago as of writing this post, Keith Schembri was released from custody. This is a mere two days after he was arrested for being the suspected mastermind behind Daphne's assassination.

Malta has reached an all-time high in terms of mass hysteria and scepticism. There are mass protests taking place in the capital city and in front of parliament everyday now. Today, people actually went back to form a second protest after the news got out that Keith Schembri was released from custody. It is unquestionable at this point - our prime minister and his associates were willingly involved in the planned assassination of the one person who could have ripped them out of government with the touch of a button. I can only hope that it is only a matter of time before our prime minister resigns and our government collapses.


For those who want to do more research about the situation, look up about Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder. [url=https://members.tortoisemedia.com/2019/11/23/daphne-caruana-galizia-malta-arrest/content.html?sig=tsUGIy3PWbwaHNbvQYrJhyv3o7uEungTMqVVJsQxC5Q]I've linked a blogpost by her son[/url], which offers a good, although emotionally charged, rundown of the events currently going on. I still implore those interested to do more research.

If you've read this far, thank you for your attention. Again, I don't really anticipate much of a discussion will bloom out of this post, but I suppose there's no harm in spreading word of what's happening here.
2
#2
tf2pickup.org
0 Frags +

I suppose with all this going around, a huge revolt could happen within the next few months or year or two. I'm not the one to say anything though, so hopefully all "goes well"...

I suppose with all this going around, a huge revolt could happen within the next few months or year or two. I'm not the one to say anything though, so hopefully all "goes well"...
3
#3
tf2pickup.org
11 Frags +

Snack, thank you for this post. It is a big deal to be interested in your own country's history and political situation, not everybody can afford that. Even in a form of a small post like this you show your commitment to what makes your reality and future. It is a great wisdom.

Snack, thank you for this post. It is a big deal to be interested in your own country's history and political situation, not everybody can afford that. Even in a form of a small post like this you show your commitment to what makes your reality and future. It is a great wisdom.
4
#4
tf2pickup.org
10 Frags +

Btw I'm polish, Snack's flag is wrong

Btw I'm polish, Snack's flag is wrong
5
#5
5 Frags +

I'm sorry that your country's going through all of this, Snack. If following politics has taught me anything is that it's really goddamn difficult to hold anyone who is in a position of power accountable. Hope that you guys can pull through.

I'm sorry that your country's going through all of this, Snack. If following politics has taught me anything is that it's really goddamn difficult to hold anyone who is in a position of power accountable. Hope that you guys can pull through.
6
#6
4 Frags +

thats fucked

thats fucked
7
#7
5 Frags +

Update: Articles are circulating that Joseph Muscat is set to announce his resignation from his position as prime minister in the coming hours. If this turns out to be true, this is fantastic news, as he will no longer be in a position to pull the strings regarding the investigation of the murder.

On a personal note, I am partly relieved, but I remain skeptical as to who will take his place, as they are coming from and will still represent the labour party, which to me, is still guilty for unanimously supporting Muscat in his position in the events leading up to this announcement.

Thank you guys for your kind comments thus far. This seems to be a step in the right direction, though the case is far from closed.

Update: Articles are circulating that Joseph Muscat is set to announce his resignation from his position as prime minister in the coming hours. If this turns out to be true, this is fantastic news, as he will no longer be in a position to pull the strings regarding the investigation of the murder.

On a personal note, I am partly relieved, but I remain skeptical as to who will take his place, as they are coming from and will still represent the labour party, which to me, is still guilty for unanimously supporting Muscat in his position in the events leading up to this announcement.

Thank you guys for your kind comments thus far. This seems to be a step in the right direction, though the case is [i]far[/i] from closed.
8
#8
5 Frags +

Also, please, if you are interested or want to remain aware of this situation, please do not get all your information from me. I am simply relaying the information I hear from our local media outlets. I am not a journalist. I am not guaranteeing that everything I say is 100% factual. I could be biased and not know it. Please make sure to do your own research. For all I know, I alongside the rest of the Maltese population who believe our government is corrupt, could all be hideously wrong, though I hope and feel confident that this is not the case. Do your own research and above all, think for yourself.

Also, please, if you are interested or want to remain aware of this situation, please do not get all your information from me. I am simply relaying the information I hear from our local media outlets. I am not a journalist. I am not guaranteeing that everything I say is 100% factual. I could be biased and not know it. Please make sure to do your own research. For all I know, I alongside the rest of the Maltese population who believe our government is corrupt, could all be hideously wrong, though I hope and feel confident that this is not the case. Do your own research and above all, think for yourself.
9
#9
-3 Frags +

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10
#10
11 Frags +

Hi, and my apologies for essentially using this forum however which way I please with this bump. Something deeply upsetting took place here yesterday, and despite all those around me echoing the same frustrations I'm going to relay here, I feel like tftv is still the only space wherein I'm comfortable expressing such things.

It's been three years since I made this thread and the situation here feels abysmal and hopeless. Overdevelopment has been rampant. Property prices keep soaring. Wages are still as miserable as they were pre-covid. Despite all this, our economy appears to be doing splendidly (selling fucking passports for minimum 600K a pop helps). The goldrush to keep developers happy and in business has long surpassed its tipping point, and a complete disregard for structural regulations manifested itself in the form of an endemic of buildings collapsing.

Seven months ago, one such building collapse took the life of 20 year old Jean Paul Sofia. His mother has been pushing for an independent public inquiry into the cause of his death ever since. Yesterday, an Opposition motion introduced in parliament calling for such an inquiry was defeated, with every single government MP voting against the motion.

This was an opportunity for the government to possibly right the wrong of a series of systemic injustices that resulted not only in Sofia's death, but in the deaths of the many other lives lost in building collapses, and the potential lives saved in the future. Everyone around me is beyond furious. In a country where political culture is extremely black-or-white, even lifelong Labour voters have boldly and rightfully expressed disgust towards their government. To me, the motion's defeat signals more clearly than ever whose pockets are lined with the money and interests of developers...

https://www.change.org/p/petition-to-members-of-parliament-to-support-a-public-enquiry-on-the-death-of-jean-paul?recruiter=27273884&recruited_by_id=3b45f100-d2ae-012f-40a8-4040b91ba155&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_medium=copylink

Hi, and my apologies for essentially using this forum however which way I please with this bump. Something deeply upsetting took place here yesterday, and despite all those around me echoing the same frustrations I'm going to relay here, I feel like tftv is still the only space wherein I'm comfortable expressing such things.

It's been three years since I made this thread and the situation here feels abysmal and hopeless. Overdevelopment has been rampant. Property prices keep soaring. Wages are still as miserable as they were pre-covid. Despite all this, our economy appears to be doing splendidly (selling fucking passports for minimum 600K a pop helps). The goldrush to keep developers happy and in business has long surpassed its tipping point, and a complete disregard for structural regulations manifested itself in the form of an [url=https://lovinmalta.com/news/construction-crisis-here-are-the-maltese-buildings-that-have-collapsed-since-2018/]endemic of buildings collapsing[/url].

Seven months ago, [url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/mother-jean-paul-sofia-corradino-constriction-victim-calls-justice.1003918]one such building collapse took the life of 20 year old Jean Paul Sofia.[/url] His mother has been pushing for an independent public inquiry into the cause of his death ever since. [url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/motion-public-inquiry-sofia-death-defeated-mps-vote-party-lines.1043237]Yesterday, an Opposition motion introduced in parliament calling for such an inquiry was defeated, with every single government MP voting against the motion.[/url]

This was an opportunity for the government to possibly right the wrong of a series of systemic injustices that resulted not only in Sofia's death, but in the deaths of the many other lives lost in building collapses, and the potential lives saved in the future. Everyone around me is beyond furious. In a country where political culture is extremely black-or-white, even lifelong Labour voters have boldly and rightfully expressed disgust towards their government. To me, the motion's defeat signals more clearly than ever whose pockets are lined with the money and interests of developers...

https://www.change.org/p/petition-to-members-of-parliament-to-support-a-public-enquiry-on-the-death-of-jean-paul?recruiter=27273884&recruited_by_id=3b45f100-d2ae-012f-40a8-4040b91ba155&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_medium=copylink
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