From heartfelt calls for justice to cool political calculations, these are some of the quotes given to Times of Malta in 2022 that captured hearts and minds and helped set the national news agenda.
Fiona Cauchi"It seemed like he was trying to choke me to unconsciousness so that I stop being restless and he could rape me. I stared death in the eye"
– Fiona Cauchi telling the story of her ordeal when a man tried to strangle and rape her when she was 14 years old, January 9.
Luciano Busuttil"During the last [2017] election campaign, I spent five entire weeks with my office full of people coming up with demands, the most common of which was a government job or social housing"
– Former Labour MP Luciano Busuttil on how clientelism led him to quit politics, January 9.
Renee Laiviera"Paulina was murdered simply because she was a woman"
– National Commission for the Promotion of Equality Commissioner Renee Laiviera commenting on the brutal murder and rape of Paulina Dembska in Sliema, January 16.
Charlotta Palmroos"The Maltese are probably some of the kindest people I’ve ever encountered and they welcome strangers with open arms. It’s like the Mediterranean sun lives within the Maltese people"
– Finnish national Charlotta Palmroos on why she likes living in Malta, January 23.
Cottonera resident"Cruelty! Cruelty! Cruelty"
– Cottonera resident criticising the police search of Joseph Muscat’s house in connection with a corruption investigation, January 23.
."The rape has broken me and completely changed my life, however, I am at a point in life where I am more hurt by the police’s behaviour than by the rape itself"
– Maria, who was raped in June 2020, lamenting that nothing was done about a police inspector who left her case in limbo for 15 months, January 23.
Albert Fenech’s sister Priscilla"It is tragic and ironic that he saved so many lives of people who were in that same situation but wasn’t able to save himself when it happened to him"
– Albert Fenech’s sister Priscilla after the renowned heart surgeon was found dead with ECG leads on his chest, January 30.
Clyde Caruana"At times, Air Malta was used as another government department"
– Finance Minister Clyde Caruana on the poor state of Air Malta, February 6.
Martin Ellul Mercer"It’s not the explosions that frighten me but the silence. The silence of not knowing what to expect, where the next shell will fall"
– Martin Ellul Mercer, a Maltese man living in Kharkiv, north-eastern Ukraine, describing the terror of the Russian invasion, February 27.
Roberta Metsola"No"
– European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, replying to whether she would shake Joseph Muscat’s hand if he offered, more than two years after she had refused a similar gesture by the then prime minister at the height of the 2019 political crisis, March 6.
Marceline Naudi"Men are still seen as the breadwinners"
– University lecturer Marceline Naudi on why so few women candidates contested the March election, March 12.
Former Marillion frontman Fish"I was en route to killing myself"
– Former Marillion frontman Fish explains how he re-routed grief and mental health issues towards his music, April 10.
Alfred Sant"It’s like we’re back in the 1960s"
– Former prime minister Alfred Sant commenting on the decision to cancel Mario Philip Azzopardi’s play, Ix-Xiħa, following an outcry about its depiction of a character inspired by Daphne Caruana Galizia, April 3.
Evarist Bartolo"I would speak about my discomfort with the situation. I would say we need to take action and that we cannot go on like this"
– Former foreign minister Evarist Bartolo, describing what he said when in government after links emerged between top government officials and the Panama Papers as well as their connection to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, April 10.
Emil Marinov"How can it be that this man was out on bail? It’s just not right"
– Emil Marinov, who was slashed more than 20 times with a butcher’s cleaver, speaking about his alleged attacker, who was given bail and was later charged with murder in another crime, April 24.
Bernard Grech"Receiving cheques on the eve of the election, signed by the prime minister, is much more powerful than the opposition leader promising you something in the future"
– PN leader Bernard Grech giving his first interview after the party’s heavy electoral defeat, April 24.
Andre Callus"Politicians will not act unless angry people rally"
– Graffitti leader Andre Callus on why he and so many citizens resort to environmental activism, June 19.
Moira Strafrace"I lost three pillars in my life in the space of a year, it’s not easy"
– Singer Moira Stafrace speaking about losing her husband Chris and both of her parents in one year, June 26.
Declan Treanor"She received the guilty verdict and a fine of €1,000 and some points off her licence, which mean nothing to me"
– Declan Treanor, an Irish national, speaking about the driver who left him permanently disabled in a car accident in 2017 while he was on holiday in Malta, July 3.
Carmen Calvagna"I don’t want to live in anger"
– Carmen Calvagna, widow of much-loved paediatric cancer specialist Victor Calvagna, who died after being hit by a car, speaking about her determination not to let anger poison her life and that of her daughters, July 17.
."I’m sure I will be judged. But, unless you are the one carrying a dying baby, it’s easy to say: ‘she should have waited it out’"
– A woman who flew to the UK to terminate her unviable 17-week pregnancy, speaking about the mental “torture” she endured as she waited for the inevitable to happen naturally due to Malta’s blanket ban on abortion, July 31.
Marie Briguglio"Malta lacks calming factors like contact with nature and the arts"
– Environmental economist Marie Briguglio reacting to an international study which showed that the Maltese are the angriest people in the EU, August 21.
Christian Zammit"For the British, Malta was two chunks of rock filled with priests and prostitutes, where people spoke a weird African dialect and were too close for comfort to Rome and the pope"
– Xagħra mayor Christian Zammit giving his opinion on whether Malta should erect a monument in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth, September 11.
Victor Buttigieg"My own mother told me I’m Tumas Fenech’s son. What more evidence do you need?"
– Victor Buttigieg, who wants the late magnate’s children to undergo a DNA test with him, to establish the identity of his real father once and for all, September 18.
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca"We lost the long-standing respect and trust we enjoyed as a nation"
– Former president and Labour minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca speaking about the impact of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, five years on, October 16.
Robert Abela"He’s definitely not a person who would unite the country"
– Prime Minister Robert Abela when asked if he would consider appointing Lawrence Gonzi to the post of President of the Republic, November 6.
Aldo Lombardi with his wife Marie Claire"We have this ‘everything goes’ mentality, and look what happened – a van of olives killed my wife due to negligence"
– Aldo Lombardi, whose wife Marie Claire was killed when her motorcycle skidded on spilt olives on the road, November 20.
."My baby doesn’t exist"
– Lara (not her real name), who has been battling to register her child under the rightful biological father but is being blocked from doing so because Maltese law presumes that a child conceived in wedlock is the child of both spouses, December 4.