Jacobean Cildania (5321 - 5369)

[Wu Han]

New leader Zammit-Barca heralds "era of reform" for Order of Saint Sebastian

July 11, 5335 | On the 21st of September last year the founder and first leader of the Order of Saint Sebastian, Deputy Ilarju Rizzo, went missing together with his wife and teenage daughter. The national police force have been unable to crack the case and have offered no explanation to the disappearance. Calls from friends and relatives for Rizzo to return or for those that harmed him to come forward have gone unanswered. Private investigators hired by the Order have made no progress either, according to official party statements. Theories of what may have happened vary wildly, with some believing he chose to disappear himself after his alleged corruption being discovered. However no accusations of corruptions ever surfaced during the past few months. A more grim theory sketches the scenario that organized crime may have disposed of Rizzo, who in the weeks leading up to his disappearance sometimes behaved erratically and talked about "reforming the movement". The hardcore members of the Order, led by former deputy leader Valentinu Pizzuto, firmly believe in the theory that the government is behind his disappearance. Prime minister Alagona has made no statements on the disappearance apart from uttering his regret and best wishes to the family and calling on the public to remain calm and await the investigations. According to Pizzuto this distant approach to the case of the missing leader is a clear admission of guilt. Pizzuto himself made this very clear during the weekly questions of Alagona two weeks after Rizzo's disappearance when he draped a red stained bed sheet over Rizzo's empty spot, the incident caused minor outrage but had no repercussions. Order Deputies have been unable to find support across the Council for a tougher investigation.

Since the disappearance Pizzuto has acted as the interim leader of the party until "Ilarju returns to us or a conference has to be held". Deputy Pizzuto himself was unhappy about his position as acting leader: "My job was always to help Ilarju, not to take over." It was in February when the media became interested in the future of the party that the question was posed to Pizzuto whether he would stand for election. "Without my good friend I will not lead," said the Deputy. Since the disappearance of Rizzo the party had taken a milder tone, with only Pizzuto carrying on the early Order rhetoric. The swap to the left from the One Flag party, sympathy for the disappeared Rizzo, and increased outrage at the sitting government caused a large influx of new party members. The general tone however seemed to be less fringe than what the Order initially stood for, a development that started after the unfortunate death of Denzilee Despares. Many party members began to ask themselves the question: if there's no Despares, no Rizzo, and no Pizzuto: then who?

Several candidates stepped forward like seasoned Deputy Karlu Loporto, long-time party member and former actor Frenc Quattromani, and defence industry titan Izabella Paias. The most surprising candidate was Dumniku Zammit-Barca, a former officer of the Sacred Band who later served as a senior police investigator in the organized crime unit of the National Police. Several years ago he resigned out of protest declaring it all "inherently corrupt". Though Zammit-Barca's claim to fame came later after it came out he survived three different assassination attempts. After this Loporto was the first to withdraw from the race, putting his support behind Zammit-Barca. A visibly bruised Quattromani announced his own withdrawal and support the day after. In the end Zammit-Barca only had to face Paias at the conference.

At the purposely kept sombre conference the voting became a formality, with a nervous Paias calling on every member to vote for her opponent right before the ballots opened. In the end Zammit-Barca won the leadership election with 92% of the vote. In his acceptance speech Zammit-Barca paid his respects to Denzilee Despares stating they did not see the same way but that the same men that killed Despares are now after him. "He fought for what he believed in and died for it," said the newly elected leader. A moment of silence was then held on his request for Ilarju Rizzo and his family. "They tried to kill me three times, they killed Despares, they might have killed Rizzo. This country fails to admit it but we are at war. And right now we are losing, I will take the fight back to them. To the highest levels of government where we will take the corruption out root and stem." A notable detail is that Zammit-Barca was openly carrying a firearm during the entire speech, a fact he emphasized at the end by calling upon all Order members to arm themselves. "It is our duty to protect ourselves, our families, our voters and our nation."

Dumniku Zammit-Barca has openly promised a reform of the Order of Saint Sebastian: "We will work on it, a milder approach on many levels. We will think on what the people desire, but I promise you this: our main goal will be the complete and total eradication of organized crime and foreign meddling within our nation. That or I will die trying."

The Ħarald tas-Sur is one of the oldest Cildanian newspapers, which nowadays lays its focus on investigative journalism. It usually remains politically neutral but has a history of writing for the upper middle class.

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Originally posted by Kubrick on 21 Jul 2023.