Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo has been called to testify in the public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia following a controversial interview with Deutsche Welle’s Conflict Zone.

During today’s sitting, Caruana Galizia family lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comodini Cachia, both PN MPs, submitted the recorded interview and included a formal request for the testimony,

No official date has been set yet, but it will probably take place within the next few weeks.

In the interview, Bartolo said that  “the rule of the family and friends” was far stronger than the “rule of law” in Malta, bringing a stunned reaction from host Tim Sebastian.

Bartolo did express his regret at not taking a firmer stance against government corruption but has said it was only recently that it became clear how bad the rot was.

“You might think I’m trying to get away from this, but it was only recently that things became so clear to us,” Bartolo said. “In 2016, I had warned there was a shadow government and a network of decision-makers that were influencing what was happening. I think it was clear who I was referring to. I made internal pressure, but I didn’t manage to get them out, I’m ready to concede that.”

Although Bartolo didn’t mention any names, he appeared to be referring to the former Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri and former minister Konrad Mizzi, who were both embroiled in the Panama Papers back in 2016.

When the scandal erupted, Bartolo was one of the most vocally critical people within the PL government and had publicly called for both Mizzi and Schembri to resign but ended up voting for Mizzi in a parliamentary confidence vote.

Faced with questions as to whether he failed to act sufficiently, Bartolo conceded that he did not stand up for his principles.

“My single vote wouldn’t have made a difference. I tried to use that to negotiate measures to hold the government to account. Some measures started getting introduced, but when the news started coming in back in November [following the arrest of Yorgen Fenech], I made it very clear that I was going to resign.”

“I said either they go, or I go, and I made enough pressure for them to go,” he said.

Bartolo’s testimony should be revealing when it reaches the public inquiry. Next Wednesday’s sitting should also have its own revelations with Chief Homicide Inspector Keith Arnaud set to testify.