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Thank You For Everything, And Sorry This Took So Long. The Cleanup Begins Today.

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Malta weeps today.

We cry tears of joy because it seems we might finally start to see justice for the bravest woman Malta has ever known.

But we also shed tears of pain and disbelief at the sham that has been our government for the past six years.

Like the vast majority of people in this country, I voted to bring Joseph Muscat’s Labour Party to power.

Today I realise just how duped we were.

This seems to have been nothing but a get-rich-quick-scheme, ironically by some of the richest people in this country.

And when they were caught redhanded by a serendipitous leak called the Panama Papers – instead of hanging their heads in shame and stepping away – a murder was plotted.

The murder turned into a cover up, and for two years Malta has had to endure absurdity that became the new normal.

Memorials of a slain journalist wiped away shamelessly in the dead of night by our Justice Minister.

Trolls coordinated to torment Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family, even blaming them for her murder.

Activists named, shamed and pursued as if they were the ones in the wrong.

And a Prime Minister who endowed him and his friends with more power instead of taking a step back.

Meanwhile, an entire political party structure watched and gave its tacit, and sometimes explicit, consent.

Today, the right-hand man of Joseph Muscat has finally been questioned by the police.

After three long years, he has submitted his resignation.

Till the last day, Muscat allowed him to dictate his own future.

But this is just the beginning.

Everybody who has been a part of Keith Schembri’s network of influence must go.

Muscat, who spent three years taking full responsibility for Schembri, must leave right now. He simply cannot be trusted to not obstruct justice. He has done so for too long.

Konrad Mizzi cannot survive on perceived naivety. He too must go. This is the price for tying your future and your illicit bank accounts to Keith Schembri.

Chris Cardona must go too. We should not tolerate ministers remaining in their position after being called into questioning over murder. And that’s not to mention how he treated Caruana Galizia in the months before her murder.

Nexia BT must be removed from any government contract and seriously investigated. Brian Tonna, who enjoyed an office in Castille, must be brought to justice as well.

The Egrant inquiry must be published in full and re-examined by another magistrate.

The list is endless. It is difficult to justify the position of anyone in a serious position of power: the Attorney General, the Justice Minister, the Police Commissioner…

Even Adrian Delia should go for fostering a culture of hatred towards this brave journalist who was simply doing her job and holding him accountable.

We simply cannot afford to have any people any longer whose loyalty to the Maltese public can be questioned.

Even though we have finally started to see the wheels of justice turn, it is becoming more clear every day that spokes were placed in these wheels for too long.

Daphne Caruana Galizia should have never been allowed to be killed.

But she was.

In broad daylight. With complete impunity. And with zero remorse.

These wounds will take very long to heal, but the process must begin as soon as possible.

We must start afresh.

We also have to take a good look at ourselves.

Were we duped too easily? Were we bought too cheaply? Did we look away too quickly when our conscience told us otherwise?

Are we too guilty by association for not speaking loudly and quickly enough?

And what can we do now to redeem ourselves?

The least we can do today is show up at tonight’s protest and tell the world: We realise our mistakes and we are ready to start cleaning things up.

READ NEXT: INFOGRAPHIC: Daphne Caruana Galizia, Yorgen Fenech... And A Whole Web Of Alleged Criminals, Politicians And Companies

Christian is an award-winning journalist and entrepreneur who founded Lovin Malta, a new media company dedicated to creating positive impact in society. He is passionate about justice, public finances and finding ways to build a better future.

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