While, in Malta, a former Prime Minister on Tuesday was shamed as he faced criminal charges related to corruption, another European country, one that aspires to become a new EU member state, was facing its own predicament.

And while, in Malta, hundreds were demonstrating in support of the people who are being accused of stealing from them, in Georgia people were in the streets protesting against a law that restricts media freedom, one which has been described as the “Russian law” because it resembles measures pushed by the Kremlin to crack down on independent news media.

Here in Malta, journalists have become targets too. One of them, Daphne Caruana Galizia, was killed in 2017 for doing her job – that of exposing what the Labour government was up to, highlighting the corruption which, in her time, was being assiduously denied but which now, years later, has led to the arraignment of Joseph Muscat and so many others.

In Georgia, people were protesting to safeguard the interests of journalists and defend the work of the independent media. In Malta, people were showing support to politicians and their allies who are being charged with corruption, money laundering, trading in influence and more.

That’s the depth our country has fallen into, with a Prime Minister who is more intent on distributing cheques to remain in power than to lead the country the way it should be.

Why are we mentioning Georgia? On Tuesday, as soon as the Georgian Parliament overrode a presidential veto to pass the law, the European Union was quick to respond, saying that the decision “negatively impacts Georgia’s progress on the EU path.” The EU offered Georgia candidate status last December but, after this law, the situation has deteriorated.

“The EU has stressed repeatedly that the law adopted by the Georgian Parliament goes against EU core principles and values,” an EU statement said. “We urge the Georgian authorities to reverse this trend and to return firmly on the EU path. There is still time to change the dynamics – but a strong commitment by the governing authorities is needed.”

So the question we ask is this: if Malta was still seeking EU membership today, would it be on the right path, given all that has happened in the past years?

We know it is a hypothetical question, but we think that it is a pertinent one to make, and we are not sure about the answer.

Because the way Malta – and by this we mean the Labour government – has behaved and is behaving does not bode well. We mention, for example, the passport scheme that Labour introduced soon after the 2013 election (without having mentioned it in its electoral programme), and about which Malta has been taken to the European court.

We mention the many instances when the Maltese government has been reprimanded for the way the rule of law has been trampled upon, for the way institutions have been hijacked, and for not doing enough to tackle corruption, which led to Malta being grey-listed for one year by the Financial Action Task Force.

So, we ask again, would the EU accept Malta’s membership today?