Lawrence Gonzi has backed calls for an independent commission to be given responsibility for overseeing recommendations made by the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry.
The former prime minister said that the recommendations needed to be implemented “as soon as possible” but that the manner of doing so required careful consideration.
“I count myself amongst those few who would agree that implementation needs to be overseen by an independent commission made up of competent persons who are free from the shackles of political partisanship – whether real or perceived,” Gonzi wrote on social media on Saturday, in his first public comments since the inquiry report was made public.
The inquiry concluded that the Maltese state must bear responsibility for the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, as it had failed to take reasonable steps to protect her from risks while fostering a culture of impunity involving politics and big business that left her isolated at every turn.
Prime Minister Robert Abela has since apologised to the Caruana Galizia family on the state's behalf and committed the government to implement the reforms the inquiry has called for.
Praise for judges and family
Gonzi had words of praise for the three judges who formed the board of inquiry, saying they had instilled trust in Malta’s justice system. “In the face of a near total collapse of our institutions in such a brief span of time, at least today the judicial system has given us a ray of hope to which we must all cling as if all our lives depend on it,” he wrote.
He also cited the Caruana Galizia family and its tenacity at forcing the government to hold a public inquiry as examples to be emulated.
“They have shown us all what needs to be done when faced with evil : stand up and be counted. Fight it till the very end and believe that truth and justice will prevail,” he said.
'Our country's reputation is in tatters'
Gonzi, who was ousted from office after losing the 2013 general election to Joseph Muscat, said that the country’s reputation now lied in tatters, and laid the blame for that on people choosing “what was popular rather than what is right”.
“Some refused to see the writing on the wall. Others refused to accept reality when this was staring them in the face,” he argued. “And others chose to look the other way because they were making hay while the sun was shining only on their pockets”.