This Is What Daphne Caruana Galizia Had To Say About PN Leader Bernard Grech
Bernard Grech became a well-known public figure long after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination – however it seems like the journalist had some strong opinions about his potential election as leader years ago.
In a reply to a comment posted on her iconic blog Running Commentary, Caruana Galizia detailed why she didn’t think that Grech would make for a good leader.
“Forget it – he’s too nice and not tough or steel-knife-sharp enough. He’s not got a sharp tongue, either. All these suggestions tell me that the supporters of the party – let alone the party itself – haven’t understood what the problem is here, and what sort of person is required,” Caruana Galizia wrote.
Grech’s initial claim to fame involved the 2012 anti-divorce campaign launched prior to a referendum. On the basis of that campaign, Grech had built a reputation as an ideologically conservative lawyer who seemingly shunned liberal ideals.
“Why exactly do you think Eddie Fenech Adami saw off three Labour leaders, including the totally nasty and vicious Dom Mintoff?”
“Not because he was nice or good, but because he was a tough and mean piece of work with an attitude of ice-cold contempt for those he disapproved of, steely character and a really, but really, sharp tongue.”
Whilst Bernard Grech’s relationship with Caruana Galizia is practically non-existent, the journalist had had a lot to say about the party’s former leader – Adrian Delia.
Before Delia was elected as PN leader, Daphne Caruana Galizia had accused him of laundering money from a Soho prostitution ring in the early 2000s – an accusation which the former leader vehemently denied.
Delia and Caruana Galizia’s run-ins didn’t end there however.
During his leadership campaign, Delia mocked Caruana Galizia as an insignificant blogger and claimed she was only writing about his past business dealing because she was scared her “grip” over the PN would end with him in charge.
The relationship between the two served to cause serious rifts within the Nationalist Party.
Having said that, a number of actions Grech has taken to revitalise the Nationalist Party can be seen as ‘reflective’ of his opinion of Caruana Galizia.
For starters, Grech’s first parliamentary move was to call for a public inquiry into the Electro Gas power station project – the scandal which police believe could have been the motive behind Caruana Galizia’s assassination.
Three years after the journalist’s passing, Grech also became the first leader of a major Maltese political party to meet up with Caruana Galizia’s family. This happened when Grech accompanied the Caruana Galizia family to the Bidnija site on the three-year anniversary of her assassination.