By the time you read this editorial Manuel Mallia will have officially sent his resignation to the Prime Minister from his role of Minister. He is doing so because you cannot hang on to a post when your boss asks you to step down. But what if he said no?  This is why it is baffling that the Prime Minister leaves the ball in Manuel Mallia's court whether to resign or not. The Prime Minister told the press last night that there was no political cover-up but that the cover-up was one amongst police officers.  

The head to roll on this 'police-cover up' is that of acting Commissioner Ray Zammit who will not be made Commissioner. Instead  Michael Cassar who was shelved by the Labour Government, now came handy and was asked to step in as Commissioner. Michael Cassar wasn't good enough to be Commissioner six months ago but is now up to the job. If according to the Prime Minister Ray Zammit is not good to be Commissioner than how can he be left to go back to his role before Peter Paul Zammit resigned? Ray Zammit handled the situation awfully. He acted like a politician when he is not. Why did he accept OPM's Communications Officer to handle the press release on such an important and serious event?

It should have been the police force to inform the public just like they do when other crimes occur? The reluctance with which he let a junior communicator like Kurt Farrugia to guide him in the matter only shows that he should go, far away from the police force and not retain his post.  But to go back to Manuel Mallia, what if he said no? What will the Prime Minister do? Force him out? If the Prime Minister is convinced that Manuel Mallia should shoulder political responsibility than why didn't he act like the Prime Minster he is and sack Manuel Mallia the day after the incident or at best when the PN media released the recordings.  

It is clear that the Prime Minister wanted to give Manuel Mallia a graceful exit, sharing some of the flak himself by exposing himself to criticism that he's weak with some and over zealouswith others. Anglu Farrugia springs to mind. He was sacked and humiliated before the election only to find his way chairing the House as a token after the election.  Will Manuel Mallia get a token later on during this legislature? We'll wait and see, but nothing will surprise us after what we've seen during the past twenty days.  

But in all this, perhaps the government ought to look at another equally important issue. What has become of our Police Corps? Has this happened before? An examination of the transcripts shows that most of the officers on duty at the Control Centre that night, are inept, to say the least. Also, given that the board of inquiry found that there was an attempted cover up for Sheehan, do we have a corrupt Police Corps where if they gang up on you, you are done for? The only reason this who affair came to light was because the media were on the case before some police officers could cover Sheehan's tracks. Perhaps it is time to open another inquiry - just how many people have fallen victim to the unwritten code in the Police Corps?