Malta’s democracy has been on life support since the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017, former Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said in his last speech as a member of Parliament. 

Addressing the House on Tuesday just before handing his resignation letter to the Speaker, Dr Busuttil accused the government of filling the judiciary with "Labour activists" and said he left parliament with half the country thinking he was "a monster". 

Dr Busuttil dedicated most of his speech to lamenting the state of the island’s democracy.

“Since Daphne was killed, we haven’t been living in a real democracy. Democracy is in a coma, Actually, it is on life support.

“Unlike what Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday, we have yet to return to normality,” Dr Busuttil said as he held aloft a picture of Ms Caruana Galizia.

The former Nationalist Party leader has been appointed general secretary of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and will, from March, effectively be the right-hand man to Manfred Weber, the leader of the EPP in the European Parliament.

‘Pillars of democracy destroyed’ 

Highlighting what he believes has been causing damage to the state of Malta’s democracy, Dr Busuttil said corruption had eaten up the government. Likening corruption to cancer, the former PN leader said that if a cancer is not removed, it kills. 

“That is what happened to Joseph Muscat and that is what will happen to the Labour government if it does not remove this cancer of corruption. And that is what will happen to the country, which means all of us,” he said. 

Moving on to parliament, Dr Busuttil said this was not carrying out its function of scrutinising the government, as is expected from a democratic country. 

“How can there be such scrutiny if the members of parliament on the government’s side have been bought off with salaries worth thousands of euros for positions of trust? It was only [independent MPs] Marlene Farrugia and Godfrey Farrugia who resisted this,” Dr Busuttil went on. 

He also pointed out it was useless expecting people with integrity to enter politics if MPs are still not paid enough.

‘Judiciary full of Labour activists’

On the courts and the judiciary, Dr Busuttil accused the government of abusing the system and appointing those closest to the Labour Party. 

“The government blatantly abused of the system of appointments and so the judiciary is full of Labour activists. As a result, the judiciary’s independence has been destroyed,” he said. 

While acknowledging that there those on the bench that were “competent and of great integrity”, Dr Busuttil said there should not be a situation where justice is only served depending on who the person presiding over a case is. 

“Let’s be clear – without justice we cannot have unity. If we are not going to show that our country is capable of bringing to the courts whoever truly killed Daphne or the corrupt politicians, nobody will take us seriously,” he went on. 

‘Half the population thinks I’m a monster’ 

The fourth and final pillar of democracy is the media, Dr Busuttil said, whose independence was shattered when Ms Caruana Galizia was killed. 

Accusing the Labour government of having a “disproportionate dominance” of the media common in dictatorships, Dr Busuttil also blamed political party media houses for spewing hatred.

“I know what that feels like because I am attacked by [Labour Party media house] One every day and as a result half of the population think I am a monster.”

Turning to the people

Shifting his attention to the people, Dr Busuttil said he was disappointed to still see some blinded by their party. 

“Do not let parties abuse of your loyalty. If there is proof that a party is corrupt, you cannot keep clapping. Political parties are not football teams you keep supporting even when they don’t play well or when they lose,” he said. 

Political parties should work to earn the people’s vote by respecting their intelligence, he said. 

Dr Busuttil expressed satisfaction at the birth of civil society in recent years, saying this was keeping politicians in check and served as “a rose amid all the thorns” of the past seven years. 

He ended the speech by quoting Mahatma Gandhi: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you. Then, you win.”

His thanked a number of people including his partner Kristina, who he described as a great woman, and Opposition leader Adrian Delia saying there was only one faction on the government side, the faction against corruption. The other faction was that in favour of corruption, on the government side.

Later, speaking on Net TV, Opposition leader Adrian Delia thanked Dr Busuttil and praised him for his fight against corruption.

Resignation letter

In his resignation letter, handed to the Speaker, Dr Busuttil said that as from the end of February, he would no longer serve as a member of parliament. 

He said the years he had spent as an MP were not easy ones and he hoped that, despite his limitations and mistakes, he had contributed to the strengthening of Malta’s parliamentary democracy. 

“I do not feel that today, democracy is stronger than it was in 2013 but I am convinced that the MP has a big part in making this stronger,” he said. 

Read Dr Busuttil's resignation letter below.