Much has been discussed in these past days about the repercussions falling on Dr Chris Cardona, now ex-deputy Labour Party leader for party affairs, of the testimony that played out in court in connection with the criminal case against the accused Yorgen Fenech.

The first outcry from civil society was for Cardona’s resignation. The repeated references to the ex-Minister for the Economy, in one way or another, during the compilation of evidence by the pardoned state witness in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, denied by him but tainting his innocence, became yet another stain on the Labour Party leadership.

On his part, Dr Robert Abela, Prime Minister and Labour party leader, stood motionless and silent. While his party was thrown into the sewer once again, the pathetic response was conspicuous by its absence.

We have grown used to the rigmarole of denials, of the “let the police do their work” or “let justice take its course”, but this fake and sorry attitude by the PM exposed the reality we are mired in.

Alongside the Cardona allegations, there swirled as well the ex-Commissioner of Police, Lawrence Cutajar’s hooliganism throughout his time from the famous Fenkata on the night of the Pilatus bank run to the pats on the back of the suspects in the investigation of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Robert Abela, it transpired, needed to juggle his memory and retrieve some hindsight. The same Lawrence Cutajar had been given a job as a consultant for security with the Home Affairs Ministry on resigning his job as Commissioner of Police. Let us remind the PM that Lawrence Cutajar’s resignation had followed on the heels of Joseph Muscat’s own resignation. Their fortunes were linked and both had shared more indecent proposals than one can imagine. This association never seemed to factor on his new appointment, where he kept the same salary he had before.

With all these sordid personalities falling victim of alleged disgraces, right in the PM’s own backyard, it had to take a slight word in the ear of Chris Cardona, with some gentle advice for him to do the right thing and not hurt the Labour Party and a little hindsight in the case of the ex-Commissioner.

If a Prime Minister is not fully engaged, informed, decisive in the face of accusations of impropriety and aware of the harm being inflicted not just on the party but on the nation as a whole, which should be his first priority, then who gave him his job? Even the independent press are able to assess the seriousness of the situation in minutes and expect one conclusion. Or if not the PM himself, what about his advisors, his consultants, his neighbourhood One TV, his Cabinet?

This country is in the hands of a fake PM who only figures there for the daily thought of the day. We can find more substance in a Facebook meme or a newspaper cartoon.

Eventually, the word in the ear became a little nudge in the side of Chris Cardona and Robert Abela said that Chris Cardona would step down. Step down! People who step down have an error of judgement, a slight accusation, a blemish on their conduct, an incident which unavoidably made it difficult for them to continue in their job without harming the party or the office they hold, not a whole litany of errors. It basically relates to something personal. In this case, however, we have not only the individual who must defend himself but the whole of the Labour echelon.

The fake leadership extends to the Opposition too, who did not go unmentioned either amongst the many testimonies heard this week. The leader of the Nationalist Party is being implicated in an allegation of bribery, that he should have stopped the MEP David Casa from contesting the EU election. The usual denial has been swift to arrive but there are calls for an enquiry to establish the truth. It was an open secret at the time that David Casa was facing a hostile party.

If not fake, then what are these leaders who we are supposed to trust with the good name and security of our country?

These days, not just in Malta, but around the world, people are calling for a deep and honest reassessment of values and actions which promote justice and accountability. The days of fooling the voters with the right coloured tie and a happy family image are melting in the heat of the revolt against the false and the complicit politicians.

People now are becoming conscious of the tangled web and the hold of the greedy few on the compromised society. Others prefer to stick with the Devil we know and go with the Step Down politics.

We would expect more from a leader than patch work. We are not talking here of an idiocy that happened on a drunken night with friends. Or of what happens in Malta stays in Malta. These facts are now going around the globe and labelling our island amongst the dredges of the disorderly states.

It is looking more and more inevitable that changes must be made right across the board. From Abela to Delia, from the President to the Cabinet, from Mizzi to Peter Grech, from the canvassers to the business conglomerate, from Stewards to Electrogas, from the MDA to the PA. Whoever is trying to save their skin is doing so on the back of the tax payer, in the face of the population that placed their trust in them and is causing irreparable harm not just to their party or themselves, but to the psyche of the nation.

Words can no longer save the day. Action, with a clean sweep from top to bottom is the only way that people can start to rebuild confidence and trust in their new leaders and their country. Without unity there is faction and stagnation. A country cannot ever thrive on division and poor judgement, on corruption and never-ending error.

As if it was not enough that we should have been hearing of the allegations in the first place, with Daphne’s family having to listen to all the painful details, all we needed was to be part of more cover-up. There is so much cover-up that anymore is superfluous.

On the pain caused to the Caruana Galizia family alone, the Prime Minister should resign and take the government with him.

Unfortunately for many, truth has a way of coming out. In that we trust.