Late on Thursday night, the Prime Minister did the right thing, a year too late. Joseph Muscat told the Police Commissioner, through his lawyers, to ask the duty magistrate to investigate the incredibly serious allegations made by Daphne Caruana Galizia in her blog.

The allegations concern not just the ownership of Egrant but the transfer of funds to the company’s account at Pilatus Bank. The claim that Egrant belongs to the Prime Minister’s wife, something he strenuously denies, effectively means the Prime Minister himself is now under investigation. This country has never been in such a situation before.

The Police Commissioner does not, and should not, need the Prime Minister to tell him what to do. His duty was to act when the serious allegations on money transfers emerged over a week ago. The Criminal Code gives him this right and duty. And there lies the crux to the whole problem this country has found itself in – an institutional failure. The police have let the country down.

When the Panama Papers scandal emerged over a year ago, that had already called for an inquiry. Instead, the police commissioner resigned, as did the head of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit. No explanation was ever given. These are institutions that should keep the government in check.

The emergence of hidden trusts and companies owned by the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, and then energy minister Konrad Mizzi had called for their immediate removal. Nothing was done except for cosmetic changes to the Cabinet.

There was then the third company, Egrant, the ownership of which remained unknown. The government has since been haunted by Panama, only now the allegations are far more serious: it is no longer a case of secret structures that could be used for illicit purposes but that big money has passed through the bank accounts of those companies. If that is proved, it would mean corruption of the highest degree at the highest levels of government.

Ms Caruana Galizia said she has documentation in her possession to support her claims.

She does not own those documents, they belong to the country now, given the gravity of the situation. They should be published in full.

The Prime Minister called an immediate press conference as soon as the latest allegations were made but made no reference to any magisterial inquiry. In the meantime, crucial hours were lost. Pilatus Bank officials were seen carrying bags out of their offices, although, of course, the contents are unknown.

The Prime Minister repeatedly stressed he wanted to have the authenticity of any published documents verified. That may not be easy if the originals are gone.

Dr Muscat can still try to save the day. He owes it to the country that once showed so much confidence in him. If he wants to close the matter once and for all, he must apply the principle of the openness he promised so profusely before the election.

He must free all his financial advisors of their obligation to client confidentiality. They must be free to speak openly. Most of all, he must avoid the mistakes Dr Mizzi made in handling his Panama scandal. Word games won’t work.

Effectively, the government is under investigation. There is no worse situation for the country to be in and the economic, diplomatic and political repercussions of this institutional meltdown remain to be seen.

The country has been let down by the institutions that were meant to keep the government in check. The Prime Minister’s position may now be untenable.

The last thing he should do is call a snap election and ask the electorate to give its verdict. The information is not all out there. His duty now is to lay it bare and then ask the people to decide.

It will then be a priority of the next administration to rebuild this country’s institutions, strengthen them and restore the public confidence they should have.

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