Watch: ‘I looked under my car’

Jason Azzopardi has admitted he fears for his life and personal safety, but has vowed not to let this get to him.

In an exclusive interview with Lovin Malta, to be published soon, I asked the lawyer and former PN MP if he fears for his own safety.

“If I had to say no, I would be lying, but if I had to say yes, I would let myself be conditioned by it,” he said, quoting Giovanni Falcone, an Italian prosecutor who was murdered by the Corleonesi mafia in 1992.

“Falcone was once asked the same question and he replied that courage is not the absence of fear, but the knowledge of how to live with that fear. Without comparing myself to such a great man, an idol, I will try to answer in a similar way.”

Azzopardi said that while driving he sometimes wondered whether the motorcycle that had just passed him was being driven by someone who was about to shoot him.

He also confirmed that he had looked under his car, fearing that a criminal had placed a bomb there, similar to what happened to Daphne Caruana Galizia.

He said he once offered someone a ride, but the person was afraid to get in his car for fear of being targeted. Even his girlfriend said she was afraid of an assassination attempt.

“But no matter what happens, I won’t let it condition me,” he said. “I’m not special, I’m just doing my duty, and if I let it condition me, it will paralyze me. You overcome fear by fighting it, and by showing resilience and courage to show that you won’t be conditioned by it.”

Azzopardi added that police chief Angelo Gafà refused to protect him and Repubblika activist Robert Aquilina, but that he does not want to talk about the incident in detail because he is not looking for self-pity.