The timing could hardly have been worse.

It was pure coincidence that the President's State of the Nation conference took place less than 48 hours after the verdict in the Yorgen Fenech trial. The event had been planned long before, and it could not have been anticipated that the date would have been so close to the end of court proceedings which had kept the whole of Malta on edge for more than two months. It is also likely that President Myriam Spiteri Debono herself was not particularly pleased that the forum intended to take the temperature of Maltese society was overshadowed by one of the most consequential moments in the country's recent history.

The Office of the President should have recognised the circumstances and considered postponing the conference. Instead, an occasion intended to generate serious discussion about where Malta stands today was almost completely drowned out by the fallout from the trial.

It was not a surprise that some speakers, including European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Opposition leader Alex Borg, used the occasion to address the verdict and its wider implications.

Even Archbishop Charles Scicluna, without referring directly to the trial, appeared to touch on the wider malaise the trial has exposed when he questioned whether Maltese society had become seduced by money.

Prime Minister Robert Abela was then effectively forced to respond, urging caution in discussing the case while continuing to highlight the economic advances the country has made.

But the real state of the nation cannot be measured simply through statistics showing economic growth, employment levels, tourism numbers or other indicators of material prosperity. A country is also judged by the strength of its institutions, the integrity of its public life, the confidence citizens have in the rule of law, and the extent to which those in power are held accountable.

By those measures, Malta is facing another deeply uncomfortable moment.

The Fenech trial was about the alleged masterminding of the assassination of a journalist, an act so appalling that it should never have been possible in a democratic European country. But what emerged during the proceedings goes beyond the crime itself. The evidence and testimony raised questions about relationships between business, politics and power, and about whether people operating within or close to the corridors of power believed that they could exercise influence far beyond what should be acceptable in a democracy.

That is why the aftermath of the trial cannot simply be wished or washed away.

The Prime Minister appeared offended when Alex Borg referred to the possibility that the plan to assassinate Daphne Caruana Galizia had tentacles reaching into Castille. But rather than taking offence, the government should be asking why such a perception has emerged and what can be done to restore public confidence. That the court felt that one of the on-site visits for jurors takes place at the OPM is enough to signal how his office - under a different Prime Minister - was fundamentally connected to the case.

Abela's repeated calls for caution also risk becoming a convenient shield against uncomfortable political discussion. Caution must not become an excuse for silence. A democratic society has every right to discuss what a trial has revealed about the country's institutions and political culture.

And this is where the State of the Nation conference perhaps inadvertently provided its own answer.

Malta may be doing well economically, but many of its citizens are increasingly confronted by the consequences of years of neglect: traffic congestion, strained infrastructure, energy problems, environmental degradation, and the relentless pressure of development. Above all, there remains the unresolved question of whether our institutions are sufficiently independent and strong to withstand political pressure, and whether they are really delivering.

Meanwhile, the government continues to sell its version of prosperity through vouchers, free schemes, handouts and a constant stream of announcements and projects, often accompanied by carefully choreographed publicity. It is a political formula that has clearly worked. The most recent election result demonstrated that a substantial part of the electorate continues to accept Labour's vision of the country, while ignoring all its flaws.

But electoral success does not mean that the country is necessarily in good health.

A government can win elections while serious institutional and social problems remain unresolved. It can distribute benefits while avoiding the harder questions about accountability and governance. It can point to economic indicators while citizens wonder whether the systems designed to protect them from abuse of power are actually working.

The government insists that it has strengthened Malta's institutions. The events of recent years, and particularly what came to light during the Fenech proceedings, make that claim increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to accept.

The State of the Nation was meant to tell us where Malta stands.

Unfortunately, the clearest answer may not have come from any statistic presented at the conference. It came from the national conversation that followed the trial.

And the picture it presents is deeply troubling.