To err is human. To try to be vindictive and exploit human error for partisan political gain is diabolical. That applies to the way the Nationalists are handling the Cyrus Engerer issue, if an issue it still is. It is possible to build a profile of the man in the news from what has appeared about him in the press. He is an energetic young man with an eye on politics.

He started his career as a staunch Nationalist, heartily welcomed within the ranks of the Nationalist Party – to the extent that four years ago, although a report had been filed against him with the police, he was prompted and helped to become the Nationalist deputy mayor of the Sliema local council.

Engerer is gay. Unlike some others in public places who really ought to know better, he makes no bones about his sexuality. He is also, like the rest of us, subject to lapses. He fell out with his lover and stooped to sending objectionable photos to his employers to harm him. The lover reported to matter to the police.

At the time Engerer was a Nationalist darling, on the way up. No action was taken against him as he continued to militate on the local council. Until, that is, in 2011 when he came out against his leader’s stance on divorce. Many Nationalists disagreed with Lawrence Gonzi on that issue. Engerer was one of the rare few who had the guts to do anything about it. He crossed over to the Labour Party.

Coincidentally, that was when the Police decided to press charges against him, and also against his father over an unrelated issue. In parallel, as time went by, Engerer became very active within the Labour Party, helping it make firm inroads within the gay movement. Separately he was found not guilty in the case the police had instituted against him.

The Attorney General, correctly oblivious to any political implications since Labour was then in office, appealed. A few days ago the court of appeal overturned the first judgment and sentenced Mr Engerer to two years in jail, suspended. Engerer, who had been accepted by the Labour Party as an MEP candidate, immediately withdrew his candidature.

They want his head stuck on the walls of the city, never to be forgotten. They twist facts and accuse him, a leading gay activist, of being homophobic

That was not enough for his enemies within the Nationalist Party. The party mounted a vicious personal campaign against him, even intruding in the affairs of the Labour Party and demanding that he be ejected from it.

The sordid story continues with the MEP electoral campaign a background to the Engerer story. Politics will be politics. But, do the Nationalists have to be so personal and vicious? Even if within their ranks they were squeaky clean, which is not the case, descending to such levels is inhumane and covers politics with dirt.

Engerer is not a soldier of steel, as oddly dubbed by the Labour leader, who really ought to review his campaigning style somewhat. He is a man who has erred, been found guilty for it according to the laws of the land, and for that he is also paying a political price. His political career is over. He was man enough to resign his MEP candidature and that should be the end of it. Especially since, in personal terms, his former lover, more Christian than Engerer’s political foes, has publicly forgiven him.

What the Nationalists are doing is further proof of what is wrong with Maltese politics. Instead of concentrating on issues, far too often the parties, especially in Opposition, resort to disgusting personal attacks. The Nationalist leader may claim that his calm style of doing politics is a result of his experience in the European Parliament. The personal campaign he is leading against Cyrus Engerer belies that statement.

It is not simply a question of Mr Engerer as a person. It is essentially about the way we do politics. The Nationalists are not satisfied that Engerer is paying the ultimate price for his folly. They want his head stuck on the walls of the city, never to be forgotten. They twist facts and accuse him, a leading gay activist, of being homophobic.

The immediate outcome has so far been to make the Labour Party scour the records of Nationalist activists to try to reply in kind. What has Malta gained through all this? The perception that politics is a dirty game has simply become stronger.

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