Another week of political turmoil has gone by and yet the Prime Minister has remained tightly stuck to the seat of power.

More shocking revelations have emerged this week regarding Keith Schembri’s alleged involvement in a murder scandal that has shocked not only Malta but the entire world. Testimony heard in court indicates that Schembri, who was privileged to sit for briefings on the murder investigation, was passing on information to the mastermind who was, in turn, passing the information on to the middleman, now pardoned.

The testimony paints a clear picture of the cosy relationship Yorgen Fenech had with the man who was, until recently, one of the most powerful people in Malta and often described as the de facto Prime Minister.

This is the man who rubbed shoulders with members of the Cabinet, who was involved in most major deals made by this administration, the man who was allowed to keep his job despite the revelations that he, along with twice-disgraced minister Konrad Mizzi, had opened up secret offshore companies.

In one sitting this week, the court heard how Schembri allegedly said to Fenech: “You should have come to me sooner” after he learnt of the latter’s involvement, and that super-sensitive information was being leaked by the right-hand man and close friend of the PM who is still defying calls for his immediate exit.

This is, at the very least, obstruction of justice.

Now, these are so far only allegations, and we firmly believe that every individual is innocent until proven guilty. But Schembri has not exactly tried to defend himself. Instead, he has resigned and gone into hiding. The fact that Muscat let him go this time around is also very indicative.

What is certain so far is that the country’s name has continued to sink deeper and deeper into the mud and, despite talk to the effect that the actions of one individual do not represent those of a nation, all of us will have to pay for what has happened.

In his Republic Day speech on Friday, President Vella said that “Malta is far bigger than the gang of people who brought shame on our country.

“Let us defend our country’s name, especially with those who could use this turn of events to harm and belittle Malta’s image abroad.”

But it is very hard for us ordinary citizens to defend our country’s name when Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is still representing us abroad. There is so far nothing to show that Muscat was directly involved in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, but the fact remains that all this has happened under his watch, that his government has struck a major deal with a consortium that included the alleged mastermind and that he has, for years, defended the person who is being accused of collusion in the cover-up of this heinous crime.

Muscat lost his credibility and legitimacy as a Prime Minister a long time ago and yet we are stuck with him, because he refuses to budge, at least until mid-January.

Not even his own supporters want him now, with many feeling that he should have resigned immediately. Gone are the days when Muscat was revered as a god by Labourites.

Even photographs from the latest Summit of the EU heads of State shows that Muscat is no longer the popular leader he used to be. For the so-called family photo, he was relegated to the back row, barely visible.

He has already been shunned by Pope Francis and by Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte. And one can only guess the reason why he pulled out of a EuroMed conference at the very last minute.

It would have been much better for the country’s reputation had it been represented at the Brussels Summit by the deputy Prime Minister acting as an interim leader.

Just this week, the influential newspaper The Economist took Muscat to task, calling Malta “A nation on the brink”, highlighting the fact that our embattled Prime Minister remains at the helm while many of his European counterparts have stepped down over far less serious situations.

“At the beginning of December, news came of the resignation of Finland’s Prime Minister over a dispute involving that country’s postal service”, says the article. “A deputy minister in Greece stepped down after getting caught inventing a degree on his CV. In Kosovo, an MP was sentenced to two years in jail for hate speech.  But on Malta – a state that continues to portray itself as a European success story – the island’s most powerful man still clings to his seat in the stout Crusader bastion known as Castille,” the article continues.

This is not like the times when only the Nationalist Opposition was calling for Muscat’s resignation. No, this is much bigger than that. This is a Prime Minister whose best friend is embroiled in the biggest scandal the country has ever seen.

Muscat has tried to play it cool, saying that the country will see a ‘serene’ transition to a new PM. The situation is anything but serene: it is a full-on crisis that requires justice to be done and full political responsibility to be shouldered.

Above all, it requires that those in power who are even remotely responsible for this mess step down immediately so that the country can stop bleeding.