When he was leader of the Opposition, Eddie Fenech Adami would repeatedly warn against declining moral values. Such wise counsel remains just as valid today as it was then, especially in view of the manner in which certain observers are interpreting the election outcome.

Analysing why the Nationalist Party fared so miserably at the polls, the issue of corruption inevitably surfaces. The PN – rightly, in the view of this newspaper – made corruption its central plank in the electoral campaign. Certain quarters – even within the party in Opposition itself – are now saying that, perhaps, the PN gave much more priority to corruption and good governance than bread-and-butter issues and that the electorate did not think the PN was better suited than Labour to fight corruption.

It would be tragic were anybody to even hint that a political party should not bother speaking about corruption because it is not a ‘selling’ issue at election time.

The latest Corruption Perception Index painted an ugly picture of the situation in Malta, which has dropped 10 places in ranking, down from 37 to 47.

It got even uglier when a survey commissioned by The Sunday Times of Malta just two weeks before the election found that 54 per cent of respondents declared they had little trust or no trust at all in State institutions to take the necessary steps against corruption.

This was confirmed by the findings of a Eurobarometer study, published in April, which shows that Malta is among 13 EU countries where only a minority of respondents tend to trust justice and the national legal system.

Corruption is very costly to a country, so no government can bury its head in the sand and pretend it is not there or, worse, alienate the people by promising them heaven on earth and a land of milk and honey. That could well lead to decadence.

There is another danger, a very serious one: a political party may argue that if it cannot beat its rival then it might as well join in its antics to win the next time the people are asked to vote.

Against this background, the role of the independent media becomes even more crucial.

In an editorial titled ‘When governance is corrupted’, two years ago this month, the Times of Malta had warned that, given the way he was behaving, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was risking corrupting the country’s system of government.

“Good governance makes specific and clear demands on those running a country. A prime minister corrupts that at his own peril,” it had said.

In another leader, just under a year later, it said: “When governance is corrupted, a civilised country would be playing with fire. An attack on institutions – notably those meant to ensure that a sound system of checks and balances is always in place – and an attempt to stifle freedom of expression would be the spark that sets Rome on fire.”

That bears repeating, not only because the elements that existed then remain – or, rather, the Prime Minister decided to retain them – but, especially, in view of emerging ideas that talk of corruption should, indeed, must, not be given too much weight.

This newspaper, for one, will keep harping on good governance and the rule of law. Man does not live by bread and circus alone.