Opposition Leader Adrian Delia has filed a parliamentary motion demanding government consultant Tony Zarb be stripped off his Ġieħ ir-Repubblika honour after he publicly expressed delight at Daphne Caruana Galizia’s death.

The motion, filed by Delia and MP Jason Azzopardi, said that Zarb’s comments were divisive and totally unacceptable from someone awarded with the country’s highest honour.

Zarb, a consultant to the Tourism Ministry and former secretary-general of the General Workers’ Union, caused controversy last month when he said that it is a good thing for Malta that Caruana Galizia is no longer alive.

In a video blog directed to activists seeking justice for the assassinated journalist, Zarb said: “You can carry on with your stupid antics (bużulotti), you can carry on placing flowers for her and you can carry on adoring her, but the most important thing for our Malta is that she never returns. Let’s keep creating wealth for Malta, let’s keep on defending Malta and let’s keep on saying ‘Viva Malta’ because our Malta is truly going through the best of times”.

The Ġieħ ir-Repubblika Act allows the President to revoke such honours from recipients guilty of unworthy conduct, but only after a parliamentary resolution. Such a resolution has never been issued in Malta’s history.

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]