Owen Bonnici: From human rights violator to echo chamber-in-chief

In a country desperate for leaders with courage, accountability, and an ounce of integrity, Bonnici is a master class in how to fail upward.

He has once again shown us who he is, this time by attacking The Shift, an independent investigative news portal.

During a speech in parliament, Bonnici accused the newsroom of being politically motivated and selectively attacking the government.

That’s not just false—it’s laughable coming from someone who has spent his career dodging accountability and gutting institutions meant to keep people like him in check.

In parliament, Bonnici launched a full-throated attack on the newsroom for, well, doing journalism.

He seemed personally offended that a media outlet would dare question those in power. Last we checked, this is exactly what a free press is supposed to do.

It wasn’t just said in parliament. Bonnici repeats the line with individuals he meets. Did he think we wouldn’t get to know about it?

But here’s where the real embarrassment begins: he didn’t even write the attack himself. He just parroted word-for-word what Prime Minister Robert Abela had already said publicly.

No new thought. No original critique. Just a faithful echo, trying to impress the boss.

It’s so unoriginal, in fact, the line is now the subject of a lawsuit. Yes, we are suing Prime Minister Abela for defamation – because his statements were not only false, but made with the clear intent to discredit the newsroom’s work.

The Shift has spent years exposing corruption, abuse of power, and public contracts handed out like party favours.

So when Owen Bonnici took the floor in parliament and repeated those same accusations – without evidence, thought, or even bothering to rephrase them – he didn’t look weak. He looked complicit.

He aligned himself, yet again, with the project of silencing dissent, attacking press freedom, and shielding the powerful from scrutiny.

Bonnici isn’t just some ineffectual politician trying to stay relevant. He is a symbol of everything wrong with Maltese governance – a man who suppresses protest, repeats propaganda, and calls it leadership.

Bonnici was found guilty by the Constitutional Court for trampling on human rights. This is a point that seems to have been forgotten as he sways with the wind, picking up any role he can while failing to achieve anything.

In 2020, Malta’s Constitutional Court ruled that Bonnici violated citizens’ rights to freedom of expression when he repeatedly ordered the removal of a protest memorial to journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia during his time as Justice Minister.

But did he step down in shame? Of course not. He was promoted because in Maltese politics, failing upward is apparently an art form.

He doesn’t defend Malta’s democracy. He trims it down, censors its critics, and rebrands that as “public order”.

He doesn’t protect culture. He sanitises it to suit his masters.

And he doesn’t challenge corruption. He quotes it.

What kind of person sees candles and flowers for a murdered journalist and thinks, ‘Better bring in the cleaners every day’?

Owen Bonnici is not a minister of the people. He is a footnote in the downfall of public trust—a career yes-man dressed in the hollow language of public service. Malta deserves better than this echo with a title.

The court saw Bonnici’s actions for what they were: a systematic suppression of protest and free expression, a blatant abuse of power, and a pattern of behaviour that was calculated, persistent, and authoritarian.

In any self-respecting democracy, that would’ve ended his political career. Instead, he was rewarded and given portfolios in culture, public broadcasting, and national heritage – because nothing says ‘guardian of Maltese heritage’ like someone who tried to erase it.

Bonnici’s political career is a cautionary tale in slow motion. He represents a brand of politicians who confuse compliance with competence and loyalty with legitimacy.

He doesn’t defend Malta’s democratic values – he erodes them, one court ruling, one press attack, one spineless speech at a time.

He is not a minister in the service of the people. He is a placeholder in the service of the powerful. But he remains a footnote pretending to be a headline.