Mgr Alfred Xuereb
"My first reaction was to talk him out of it, to encourage him to think about it"
– Mgr Alfred Xuereb, a personal secretary to the late Pope Benedict, on what he told the pontiff when the latter told him he had decided to abdicate, January 1.
Alex Torpiano
"My prediction for the construction industry in Malta in 2023 would be plus ça change"
– Alex Torpiano, president of Din L-Art Ħelwa, on how nothing will change with the way the construction industry behaves in Malta, January 1.
Maria Pisani
"The well-being of the nation depends on the well-being of all. If migrants continue to feel unwelcome, then community relations will continue to disintegrate, marked by distrust, poverty, and broader inequalities"
– Maria Pisani, director of Integra Foundation, academic, January 1.
President George Vella
"That’s what you are saying"
– President George Vella responding to a question by Times of Malta about whether the postponement of his trip to Australia was connected to the abortion vote in parliament, January 15.
Maria and Ena Marie Mifsud
"She is a fighter. She keeps smiling"
– Maria Mifsud describing her 15-year-old Ena Marie Mifsud as she prepared to treat a brain tumor, January 15.
Rita Borg
"The courts failed us"
– Rita Borg, the eldest sister of Sion Grech, speaking after a jury acquitted two men of killing her brother, who was stabbed 17 times in a killing frenzy 18 years ago, January 22.
Aaron Farrugia
"Public transport is not reliable"
– Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia, on why so many people prefer to use their cars, January 22.
Joseph Portelli
"Shame on Bjorn. After all I did for Maltese football, is this how I am thanked?"
– Ħamrun Spartans president Joseph Portelli criticising MFA president Bjorn Vassallo after his application to play a Premier League match for a few minutes was rejected, February 5.
Godfrey Farrugia
"No one was ready to speak up because they did not want to jeopardise their position"
– Former Labour health minister Godfrey Farrugia on why none of his cabinet colleagues at the time had raised the matter of the hospitals’ deal, February 26.
Laurence Gonzi
"We now have an economy that is addicted to money coming in from the sale of passports, construction, crypto, cannabis and nothing else that really matters"
– Former PN prime minister Lawrence Gonzi commenting on 10 years of a Labour government, March 12.
Alfred Sant
"More wealth became available as a result of economic growth, causing good governance to take a hit and corruption to intensify"
– Former prime minister Alfred Sant taking about 10 years of a Labour government, March 12.
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca
"While a section of our population is admittedly wealthier, this has come at a huge cost to our country which has lost out to greed and personal interests”
– Former president Marie Louise Coleiro Preca speaking about 10 years of a Labour government, March 12.
Adrian Delia
"Five years of commitment, hard work, sleepless nights and sheer perseverance fuelled by an unquenchable thirst to see justice and the truth prevail"
– Former PN leader Adrian Delia, who waged a five-year legal battle challenging the hospitals’ deal, writing in Times of Malta in the aftermath of the landmark court judgment on the privatisation of three state hospitals, February 26.
Joseph Muscat
"In the grand scheme of things, for all our faults, life for the up-and-coming middle class and those most in need became much, much better than in the previous decade of Nationalist rule"
– Former prime minister Joseph Muscat analysing 10 years of a Labour government, March 12
Darren Debono
"From the first day Daphne was killed, there was a push from the top to implicate me. This was all coming from the Office of the Prime Minister. From Keith Schembri"
– Suspected fuel smuggler Darren Debono accusing ex-OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri of attempting to frame him for journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination, March 19.
Michael Stivala
"More development is needed, and the country must welcome more tourists and import even more foreign workers"
– MDA president and developer Michael Stivala refuting the argument that Malta has too much development and too many people, April 2.
Alfred Mifsud
"It is heartbreaking to see the political capital gained through three consecutive electoral landslide wins eroded by sleaze, egoism and corruption"
– Former Central Bank deputy governor and ONE chairman Alfred Mifsud writing on the country’s political situation, April 2.
Peter Cauchi
"The system is screwed up"
– Peter Cauchi expressing his despair at the fact that a speeding driver who mowed down his wife Moira, leaving her seriously disabled, was given a three-year driving ban as punishment by the court, May 7.
Alison Galea
"It took me a whole summer to train them to hold a pencil"
– Alison Galea speaking about her twins, Len and Jacob, who were diagnosed with a rare metabolic degenerative disease six years after first experiencing symptoms aged 3, May 28.
Sandra Gauci
"If I managed to influence my own staunch Labour family, it might reflect on all the other people I have yet to meet"
– New ADPD leader Sandra Gauci speaking on her Labour background, June 4.
Miriam Cassar
"Not knowing is a horrible feeling"
– Miriam Cassar, who suffers from an undiagnosed condition where her body does not retain food, her skin feels dry, and water tastes sour, June 4.
Carmen Ciantar
"I am collateral damage in a frame-up against Chris Fearne"
– Carmen Ciantar, a close political aide to Chris Fearne, after corruption claims surfaced against her in the Pakistani media, which she said were intended to discredit the deputy prime minister, June 11.
Isabelle Bonnici
“They told me my son was found alive”
– Isabelle Bonnici recalling what the police first told her when a timber factory under construction collapsed, burying six people and leaving her 20-year-old son Jean Paul Sofia dead, June 18.
Sheeza Ali
“I just wish the government of Malta would help us in some way after he died. We lost everything”
– Sheeza Ali, widow of Abbas Ali, one of two Pakistani men killed when a car crashed into the motorcycle they were riding while heading to work in Malta, effectively ending all the family’s income, June 25.
Agnes Mudembo Zigli
“I wanted to give something back to the country, so I was looking forward to being of service within the public sector”
– Agnes Mudembo who was granted refugee status, reunited with her children and after having completed a University of Malta nursing course, yet not allowed to work in the public health sector, June 23.
Gordon Manche
“It’s not me. Don’t say I’m saying this. It’s not Gordon, it’s God. It’s Jesus Christ. I am Jesus Christ’s parrot”
– Controversial pastor Gordon Manché defending his hardline views on homosexuality, July 9.
Kim Borg Nicolas Virtù
“Something is telling me that my daughter wants me to go see where she died”
– Martin Borg Nicolas Virtu speaks about his daughter Kim (pictured), who died by suicide in prison two years ago, July 9.
Ian Ritchie
“I warned Muscat against high-rise buildings. I got silence”
– Celebrated British architect Ian Ritchie recalling alerting former prime minister Joseph Muscat to the impact of high-rise structures in the vicinity of the Farsons project in a meeting about a masterplan for the Mrieħel industrial area, July 16.
Doriette Rizzo Naudi
“My husband died in mysterious circumstances, I want answers”
– Doriette Rizzo Naudi, widow of Mario Rizzo Naudi, who allegedly died after a series of bizarre incidents, calling on the attorney general to give her a copy of the conclusions of the magisterial inquiry into his death, August 6.
Andrea Dibben
“If anyone feels uncomfortable by the way men are treated in Barbieland, then they should feel uncomfortable about how women are treated in the real world”
– Social policy academic Andrea Dibben giving her views on the film Barbie, August 6.
Anonymous
“I got social benefits in exchange for my vote and a kickback”
– A man who received illicit disability money from the benefit fraud racket explaining that a Labour Party canvasser and a former minister’s aide lured him into the scheme in return for his vote and a kickback amounting to a year’s worth of benefits, September 10.
Saddam Tarfaya
“It’s like my soul was destroyed”
– Saddam Tarfaya, a Maltese resident from Derna, Libya, explaining how he felt when he was told his hometown had experienced massive floods in which three of his aunts and their entire families were killed, September 17.
Anonymous
“If you’re desperate, you’ll fall for it”
– A retired medical professional who paid almost €5,000 to a woman he met on Facebook, even though he suspected he may be the victim of a romance scam, because he was lonely, November 5.
Mark Gauci
“Politicians and businesses kept OHSA small to avoid stifling economy” –
Outgoing Occupational Health and Safety Authority CEO Mark Gauci stressing the watchdog was not given enough resources because politicians feared too much enforcement would stifle the economy and irk business people, September 24.
Maria and Georgia Debrincat
“It is not worth it”–
Sisters Maria and Giorgia Debrincat preparing to shut down their century-old traditional Coney Island Bar in Victoria, Gozo as the rent shoots up, December 3.
Tomer Zadik
“It’s like fire inside you, burning everything”
– Israeli Tomer Zadik, 24, who was shot by Hamas gunmen on October 7, describing how he lived through the most horrific ordeal of his life, October 29.
Qassem Ali
“I saw despair in people’s faces, from little children to the elderly. People in Gaza are simply coming to terms with the fact that it’s the end of the road for many of them. They’ve become used to the stench of death” –
Qassem Ali, a Gaza resident who holds a Maltese passport speaking about the Israeli attacks on Gaza after he was evacuated from the enclave to Cairo, November 5.
Martin Balzan
“I warned Konrad Mizzi that Vitals were clueless”
– Martin Balzan, the doctors’ union head, reacting to claims by ex-prime minister Joseph Muscat who insinuated that medical professionals with “hidden interests” contributed to the concession’s downfall, November 5.
Evarist Bartolo
“A nation of parasites has no chance of survival in a world in the 21st century”
– Former minister Evarist Bartolo warns that clientelism could turn Malta into a failed state, October 22.
Samantha Pace Gasan
“If there is one thing I’ve learnt – even through the experience of others – is that a woman should never stay for the children”
– Domestic violence commissioner Samantha Pace Gasan, who herself was a victim of domestic violence, explaining that women should leave their abusive partners, December 10.