The year started with yet another political bang as it was reported that the conclusions of a magisterial inquiry will lead to the arraignment of former Minister Konrad Mizzi and former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri, among others.

The two, along with former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, are already in the dock in relation to another magisterial inquiry which looked into the infamous hospitals deal.

But, as we wait for the wheels of justice to turn - and they do so very slowly, too - it is pertinent to also refer to the repercussions which go beyond what happens in the law courts building.

To go back a few weeks, we had Prime Minister Robert Abela saying that he had asked the Justice Minister to work on a reform of the way magisterial inquiries work. This happened after a call for a magisterial inquiry was made to look into possible wrongdoings by Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri and his wife Deborah, head of the Gozo section of Transport Malta, in connection with mooring spaces at Mgarr Harbour.

Reports that another magisterial inquiry had been sought irked the Prime Minister because he knows that if this investigation will eventually uncover some form of wrongdoing, the Labour Party and government will once again suffer the costs.

That, just a few days later, the news surfaced that the conclusions of a magisterial inquiry into the company known as 17 Black will lead to more arraignments of former top Labour government officials makes it even clearer why Abela wants to curtail the way the magisterial inquiry system works.

Magisterial inquiries have caused so much political damage to the Labour government and party, and reducing their functions will limit such consequences. The latest example has shown that the evidence that sparked the 17 Black inquiry turned out to be more than "pizza boxes" that Labour and its defenders described them to be when they were first presented in court.

We all remember how Abela reacted as the hospitals inquiry was about to be concluded, and how he pointed fingers at what he described as the "establishment" (a word he has not used since the June elections, as he realised that it cost him and his party too many votes). That magisterial inquiry and subsequent arraignments hurt Labour.

It is pointless, not to say quite ridiculous, for Labour to try to distance itself from what is happening. In its statement soon after news about the 17 Black inquiry surfaced, the Labour Party said that the people mentioned currently have no connection or role with the PL. The Prime Minister himself went one further by putting blame on the Nationalist Party - for speaking about these situations - rather than take responsibility for what happened under a Labour administration over the last decade. For the PM, abuse is when people speak up, not the abuse itself.

Abela may have not been the head of government when the hospitals and energy saga were in full swing, but he is certainly responsible for continuing to defend the indefensible when he replaced Joseph Muscat at Castille. For one thing, his government kept on pumping millions of taxpayers' money to run the three hospitals until a court of law rescinded the deal.

It also needs to be pointed out Abela, apart from facing the challenges of scandals that he inherited from his predecessor, is not immune to controversies that happened under his watch. The social benefits racket, the driving licences scam, the identity cards debacle, the Siggiewi votes and the job given to a minister's partner without her having the necessary qualifications are all issues which embarrassed the PL and, in particular, the PM.

One side of the story is that magisterial inquiries have done what other institutions, including the police, have failed to do. Muscat and Co were charged in court over the hospitals deal not because the police did their job, but as a result of what the hospitals magisterial inquiry uncovered. And the same now goes for the 17 Black inquiry.

This takes us to another institution that has been a target of so much criticism, and which continues to be steadfastly defended by the Prime Minister - the Attorney General, who has so far adamantly refused to publish the 17 Black inquiry report.

As he celebrates five years as Prime Minister, Abela must give signs that he is really in favour of good governance and the rule of law. For one thing, he must cut off the umbilical cord that still links him to Joseph Muscat. If Abela wants to be seen differently, he must denounce the man he replaced five years ago. Otherwise, Abela will still be seen as a continuation of all the wrong that took place under Muscat, and for which Labour is still suffering.