Barely had the smoke from the celebratory fireworks died down in 2013 when the jolt came out of the blue: All serving permanent secretaries were requested to “offer” their resignation in the first substantive move by Mario Cutajar, the newly appointed head of the civil service and a former GWU militant.

All but three resignations were accepted, an unprecedented move that signalled a crucial step in Malta’s governance. It was the first major step towards dismantling institutional arms specifically set up to keep a close check on the administration and to ensure continuity.

It was a precursor to the new Labour government’s plan to eliminate and subvert the checks and balances that would have stood in the way of the new administration’s misdeeds. Not by coincidence, during those early days Commissioner of Police John Rizzo and AFM Commander Martin Xuereb were also elbowed out.

In the following months, we saw a proliferation of entities and quangos, while the heads of several government organisations were replaced with party acolytes or by those who switched sides and publicly pledged loyalty. The image of an impartial public service started vanishing and the government fast morphed into the traditional każin.

A number of permanent secretaries – who are meant to uphold independence and objectivity and kept in the loop on all important decisions – abandoned their gatekeeper role and merely became an extension of the minister’s secretariat, approving and executing political instructions without questioning.

Public servants need to understand that the seemingly easier path of no resistance in the face of the improper function of government can have severe consequences

This is why we continue seeing a disproportionate number of direct orders in clear violation of public procurement regulations. This is why Freedom of Information requests are being turned down for the most bizarre excuses. This is why many parliamentary questions are never answered. This is why media questions to government entities end up having to be sanctioned by the minister.

After a litany of abuses and scandals – from the Panama Papers exposés to the power station and hospitals scandals to the killing of a journalist – the country was roundly chastised internationally.

Suffice to note that in 2019, the Council of Europe found a series of fundamental weaknesses in Malta’s system of checks and balances, which have paved the way to numerous major scandals, seriously undermining the rule of law. While some measures were taken to rectify the situation, and new Prime Minister Robert Abela initially sought to make amends, it is clear that the problem is deeply rooted.

This is why the magisterial inquiry into the hospitals scandal could be Malta’s watershed moment. Dozens of top government officials, politicians and businesses will be marched to court in the coming weeks to answer to accusations. Some might have steered the crimes, others merely signed on the dotted line without questioning, while others turned a blind eye. Some might even have to answer for crimes done behind their backs.

Word on the street has it that the hospitals inquiry has set off alarms and concern behind the doors of every single entity. As it should. Public servants need to understand that the seemingly easier path of no resistance in the face of the improper function of government can have severe consequences.

We are in no way saying or even implying that all of those being charged over the hospitals scandal are guilty. That is not our job to do. And it will be no surprise if a number of those charged will be acquitted.

But Malta needs to reboot the system of good governance. Senior public officials need to understand that they are there to serve the public, not to bow to the whims of every minister. And if their requests are turned down, they need to blow the whistle. And if that doesn’t work, they should step down.