The report of the Venice Commission published last week confirms what many of us, including this newspaper, have long been saying. The rule of law in our country is at serious risk.

Yes, they said, the independence of our judiciary is not guaranteed because judges are, in practice, appointed by the Prime Minister.

Yes, the Attorney General cannot continue serving as the government’s lawyer when he also has the duty to prosecute members of the government itself.

Yes, the Police Commissioner is not independent and cannot investigate corruption effectively.

Yes, too much power is concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister. His powers should be shared with or controlled by a President of the Republic elected by a two-thirds majority and an emasculated Parliament, both of which are currently unable to keep the Prime Minister’s abuse under check.

And yes, the authorities knew that Daphne Caruana Galizia’s life was at risk and failed to take action to avoid her death. It’s as damning as that.

Here’s the long and short of it: we do not have a functioning democracy.

It is a pity that it took an outside commission to confirm that what many of us have long been saying is true, rather than treasonous as we have long been ridiculously accused.

Europe’s leading rule-of-law experts gave a verdict so strong that it cannot be disputed; not even by Castille’s spin machine; not that they did not try.

Even though he was travelling, the Prime Minister felt compelled to deliver a video message stressing that none of the findings are his fault because, you see, “he inherited all these problems from previous governments”. He certainly never takes responsibility.

I, for one, have long said that a crucial mistake of previous PN administrations was that public institutions were not left strong enough to withstand abuse by future governments. Perhaps we felt safe enough in the knowledge that we were members of the European Union. Or perhaps we thought that no future government would ever dare meddle with our democracy again.

Whatever the reason, it was a mistake.

Here’s the long and short of it: we do not have a functioning democracy

However, that takes absolutely nothing from Joseph Muscat’s direct responsibili­ty in having presided over the steady deterioration of our democracy. Since he took office, our country has witnessed widespread and unprecedented abuse of power in the form of anything from conflicts of interest to nepotism and from sleaze to corruption; at all levels of government, including ministerial.

Even worse, our public authorities have been crammed with Muscat’s cronies, rendering them unable to keep his abuse in check and effectively giving his friends impunity from any possible investigation or prosecution.

That is why an inquiry into Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri’s plans to net an illicit €5,000-a-day from the new power station project has not even started after almost three years since they were exposed in Panama Papers. And that is why they are still in office.

There is another point.

Even if previous PN governments had indeed left stronger institutions, there is no way they could have withstood this sort of voracious abuse. As Judge Giovanni Bonello said last week: “Better poor laws in the hands of good people than perfect laws in the hands of crooks.” Or to put it in other words, you can have the best Constitution in the world, but if you leave it in the hands of crooks, the rule of law will be sucked straight out of it.

Now that we have it from the Venice Commission that the rule of law in Malta is truly at serious risk, one would have expected someone to carry responsibility. That’s expecting too much from Muscat who has long dumped his promise of accountability.

What is certainly not too much to expect is an urgent reform to deal with the problems that are putting our rule of law – and ultimately, our democracy – in jeopardy.

Some changes, such as removing government MPs from their conflicting jobs at the head of public authorities , are not at all complicated. All it takes is a serious Prime Minister who can bite the bullet. So we can easily test Muscat’s good faith.

Others will require constitutional changes, but again these must be made in a reasonably short timeframe. Otherwise, Muscat would use the reform as an excuse to keep his friends’ impunity until the end of his term.

The reform process should be inclusive and transparent and certainly not limited to secret meetings between the two big parties. All those who want to contribute should be given the space to do so.

Alternatively, Muscat might opt to play for time and do nothing meaningful.

But there is a price to pay for that.

The Venice Commission’s conclusion that our rule of law is at serious risk now exposes us to proceedings under Article 7 of the EU Treaty as well as proceedings in the Court of Justice of the European Union, already triggered against Poland and Hungary.

This may lead to the suspension of our rights as EU Members.

The implications are so serious that they will hopefully leave Muscat with no option but to act.

Simon Busuttil is the former leader of the Opposition.

This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece

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