Just over a year ago, this newspaper broke the news that two former Nationalist Party Ministers, Michael Falzon and Ninu Zammit, were named in the Swiss Leaks documents, showing that they both held bank accounts in Switzerland.

Let us start by putting it into context. At that time, the two men in question were not party of government and not sitting members of parliament. However, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced that he would take all necessary action and publish the list once the Commissioner of Inland Revenue gave him the names of those who were deemed to be politically exposed.

At the time, he said investigations were launched to the origins of the funds hidden by former ministers Ninu Zammit and Michael Falzon. The list was formally handed over to the Maltese tax authorities by the French government.

The Prime Minister said he instructed the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to investigate the data immediately and to give the documents ‘absolute priority’. The first question we have to ask is why the Swiss Leaks case and the Panama Papers cases are being treated with two very different weights and measures.

So, the Prime Minister ordered an investigation into two former ministers – rightly so – who held accounts in a secretive jurisdiction (incidentally, what was the conclusion of those investigations?). Yet two of his most powerful allies – his Energy Minister and his Chief of Staff – are not deemed to be politically exposed and subject to investigation? It simply makes no sense whatsoever. Both Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri are politically exposed. One is an elected member of parliament and one of Malta’s most important ministers who has signed several deals which have been opaque to say the least, while the other is the Prime Minister’s right hand man and most trusted confidant and advisor. Both of them hold companies in Panama and the latter also owns holdings in the British Virgin Islands.

What is the Prime Minister waiting for? Dr Mizzi said he will subject himself to audit, and auditing a Panama firm is close to impossible. Why has Dr Muscat not charged the Inland Revenue Commissioner to investigate the both of them and the companies that they own? Dr Mizzi insists that there is nothing to hide and there  are no funds in the company, but the Panama Papers revealed by ICIJ show that he tried to open an account in Panama and in Dubai but was rejected by both banks because he is a politically exposed person. It seems there is more to the story than he has so far let on.

The Prime Minister also spoke in general terms in parliament on Monday night, saying that the case is harming Malta’s reputation. It is not only a case that is harming Malta’s reputation, it is the fact that a leading Minister and the Prime Minister’s right hand man hold companies in secretive jurisdictions, period. While the rest of the world is doing what it can to contain the damage, we actually have the only EU minister in the world to hold a company in Panama and then have the sheer brass neck to say the Panama Papers proved him right. It’s is absolutely ludicrous, absurd and incomprehensible.

And this takes us to our final point. Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmunder David Gunlaugsson was found to have interests in Panama and masses of people descended on the country’s parliament to demand his resignation. He submitted a request for snap elections, but the President of the country said he would consult with the coalition parties before taking a decision. Certainly democracy and good governance are in full swing in the state of Iceland.

How odd, cast your minds back to the EU referendum campaign in Malta, where Dr Muscat advised Iceland not to join the EU. Does it seem that the shoe is now on the other foot? Iceland giving Malta a lecture in what political accountability is supposed to look like? We believe so.