The publication of the Daphne inquiry report calls for action against those responsible criminally or politically

What can be rightly termed the State of the Country report was published on Thursday around noon. It is penned by Judge Michael Mallia, Chief Justice Emeritus Joe Said Pullicino and Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro. The conclusion of their months-long public inquiry shows that the state is rotten to the core.

How else can one describe a state which has been found responsible for the assassination of a journalist? Malta would have become a Mafia state, the judges said, had Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination not thwarted and reversed the rapid erosion of democracy at full speed in our country.

Malta has been reduced to a country that, instead of protecting a journalist, demonised and dehumanised her at the behest  of the Office of the Prime Minister, thus signalling to the cabal of corrupt politicians and big business (saying corrupt big business would be a tautology) that she was fair game.

And what was the nefarious crime that merited such demonisation? She was telling the Maltese that they were being robbed in broad daylight by the people whom they had elected to govern the country like a good pater familias.

The judges noted that the government policy of business friendly was changed to a policy of money friendly from which the anointed few benefitted. I would put it slightly different. Instead of a pro-business government, we had a government that became a ‘clique’ business.

The people were betrayed. Robin Hood, instead of hunting the barons, aka the big-monied bullies, was hunting for and together with the big moneyed bullies. The peasants pay the taxes, the barons and Robin Hood rake in the millions.

The board of inquiry shifted through hours and hours of evidence and stamped as guilty the cabinet – collectively and individually – and the parliamentary group of the Labour Party. They either turned a blind eye or cooperated with what was happening, thus defaulting on their oath of office. The inquiry also had harsh words for Joseph Muscat, then police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar, senior officers of the police corps, regulatory bodies and… you guessed it: big business.

Anti-vaxxers do not only disdain the common good but they also disparage the truth

Though not named, there is no doubt that Electrogas is the prime suspect. This project may have produced cleaner air but it also produced a dirtier political and business environment. Only the shameful stay as shareholders.

Now is action time.

Those responsible criminally or politically must pay the price for their criminal actions or their betrayal of the Maltese people. Unless this happens, this country will neither have closure nor reconciliation. It risks staying rotten to the core.

Anti-vaxxers: victims of their own imagination

Malta’s homegrown anti-vaxxers protested in Valletta. Like other anti-vaxxers in other countries, they feel that they are the victims of an overbearing state. They are angry, believing that they are suffering horrendous injustices. Faced by such onerous impositions such as wearing a mask, social distancing and travel restrictions, they felt that they must take to the streets.

Pope Francis lambasts the anti-vaxxers in his book Let us Dream. He does not mince his words. Anti-vaxxers are victims of their own imagination, the pope writes.

And if you think that these words are too harsh a judgement, keep reading on. What follow is harsher!

The following are some of the pontiff’s descriptions of the anti-vaxxers:

* They “forget or do not care about those who cannot rely, for example, on social security or who have lost their jobs”.

* They are “incapable of moving outside of their own little world of interests”.

* They are people with armour-plated selves who live off grievances thinking only of themselves.

Why, one may ask, is the pope so harsh on anti-vaxxers?

Anyone who is familiar with the writings, homilies and addresses of Francis will immediately know the answer.

The attitude of anti-vaxxers is a manifestation of one of the most negative characteristics of our culture:  the hyperinflation of the individual. It is also a negation of the concept of the common good. Pope Francis repeatedly speaks of both topics.

Ours is a culture which inflates the importance of the individual at the expense of the common good.

The mantra “it is my life and I do what I want” is just one manifestation of the hyperinflation of the individual. It is false and erroneous as much as it is popular. COVID-19 more than anything else showed that our lives are intrinsically interconnected.

Anti-vaxxers, with their pitiful and myopic self-awarded status of victimhood, are a manifestation of this hyperinflation.

How on earth can anyone with a modicum of respect for others describe the measures the government imposed for the good of their people as “some kind of political assault on autonomy or personal freedom”?

Is it not irresponsible for some doctors and other healthcare workers to refuse vaccination and tell people not to vaccinate?

If we want the post-COVID-19 world to avoid the grave mistakes of the pre-COVID-19 world, then we have to opt for the common good and not for individualism.

The common good is not some airy-fairy concept. It is the only way forward for a more humane world.

In the same book, Pope Francis wrote:

“Looking to the common good is much more than the sum of what is good for individuals. It means having a regard for all citizens and seeking to respond effectively to the needs of the less fortunate.”

Anti-vaxxers do not only disdain the common good but they also disparage the truth. Theirs is the reign of inane conspiracy theories and fake news. They are, consequently,  a danger to society and the state is obliged to protect law-abiding citizen from their irresponsibility.