If anyone was surprised that Malta obtained its worst score on the Corruption Perceptions Index, published last week by Transparency International, then they are living on a different planet.
If the Prime Minister and his Cabinet were surprised by the result, then it is another confirmation that they are not fit for purpose.
Malta obtained only 46 of the 100 available points, the first time that it dropped below 50. Only Hungary and Bulgaria, in the European Union, have a worse score than this country's as, according to the organisation, "the rule of law breaks down".
It is sad to see Malta in this state. A few years ago, we were grey-listed by the Financial Action Task Force as Malta was labelled as being an untrustworthy financial jurisdiction. It does not appear that any lessons have been learnt. The government is digging an even bigger hole.
Malta lost 10 places in the rankings, dropping to the 65th position after data from 13 independent sources were collected and analysed.
There was no reaction from the government or the Labour Party about this. It's as if nothing happened. They did not even bother to try to come up with an excuse. No press statement was issued to address the issue.
What contributed to the plunge was, no doubt, the fact that since last year's report former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and three former ministers, Chris Fearne, Edward Scicluna and Konrad Mizzi, were charged in court in connection with the three hospitals' magisterial inquiry. Mizzi's name also appeared on the list of people accused following another magisterial inquiry, this time into the company known as 17 Black.
The irony of it all is that, on the same day that Transparency International's report was published, the government started a debate in Parliament on legal amendments it wants to rush through which will make it harder for magisterial inquiries to be launched. Instead of supporting the search for truth, the government is taking steps to lessen the possibility that inquiries are initiated to investigate alleged wrongdoing.
The government is more and more isolated on this front. There is opposition to the bill from all quarters.
These last few days, we had the former Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri saying that what the government is proposing will "only serve to shield politicians and their persons of trust from investigation", and that it deprives "the citizen of its only remaining instrument, a judicial investigation... into any suspected criminal conduct by politicians or their acolytes and proxies."
These comments were endorsed by former European Court of Human Rights judge Giovanni Bonello, who described it as a "sordid and desperate keep-me-out-of-jail card".
Law professor Kevin Aquilina, writing in this newspaper last week, said the bill presented by the government is the "fatal torpedoing of the rule of law", and is not "dictated by the common good of society but by the selfish interest of a few who have turned the state of Malta into their fiefdom, the Maltese into their vassals, the government coffers into their own private wealth, and public property into their own possession". The bill, he wrote, will "stonewall or block outright all possible remedial avenues," going on to describe it as "fascist, illiberal and retrograde".
The Chamber of Advocates also expressed its opposition to the bill, saying that it "cannot accept amendments that obstruct a citizen's right to effectively report abuse."
The Chamber of Commerce said it cannot agree "with the increased level of proof imposed on" anyone who wants to seek the launch of a magisterial inquiry. Private citizens do not have the resources to seek evidence as other institutions do.
The Malta Employers said that limiting or prohibiting the access by individuals to an inquiring magistrate, by having them first resort to the police, is an erosion of their rights. The system in place is already filtering out cases which may be deemed to be frivolous.
The SMES chamber said that the reform, as presented, undermined the independence of the judiciary and led to more distrust in the system.
Moviment Graffitti, for its part, has said that the reform "hammered another nail in democracy's coffin" and is "a threat to liberty and accountability".
These arguments are not coming from the Nationalist Party, which might have its own partisan interests to gain some political mileage, and which, rightly so, is opposing the bill at all stages of the parliamentary process.
These messages are coming from respected individuals who are experts in the legal field and non-politically affiliated organisations which are seeing that the government's intentions are to suppress the truth, rather than lead to more accountability and transparency.
When, next year, Transparency International will again publish its Corruption Perceptions Index, it is more than likely that we will find out that Malta will have lost more ground and plummeted down the rankings even further. The only question that remains is by how much.
In the meantime, the government will continue to lead the country towards the precipice.