When the country’s highest institution is ridiculed by the same members who preside over it you know it’s time for all of us to have an inward look at ourselves and start questioning what we really stand for.

Last night, the Opposition walked out of Parliament because of an unsatisfactory ruling by the Speaker. The Speaker reprimanded both Joe Debono Grech and Marlene Farrugia for an exchange they had in Parliament. The only difference between the two MPs is that Joe Debono Grech physically threatened Marlene Farrugia. While the recordings may not be crystal clear the physical threat can be heard well. This kind of abusive language against women has no place in the 21st century, let alone in the Parliament of a democratic country.

But as usually happens, people like Joe Debono Grech will not suffer repercussions for their behaviour and this is something which is becoming increasingly common with this administration. Heading to Twitter, specifically Glenn Bedingfield’s Twitter account, there are a handful of tweets which are downright shameful.

There was that time when he retweeted an anti-Islam message about the Mein Kempf being more moderate than the Quran (which he later apologised for), then there was that time when he ridiculed a journalist for his speech impediment and the former AD Chairperson because of their opposition to the “American University,” and recently he even posted a photo on Facebook of a woman with a hijab and a bag that spelled “boom” saying it was a very apt choice - this just days after the Paris attacks.

Of course everyone may be entitled to their opinion, but Mr Bedingfield isn’t just anyone. He is the communications consultant for the Prime Minister. He not only has a responsibility towards his employer but also towards the state and its constituents who are paying his consultancy fees at the end of the month And if someone like Mr Bedingfield doesn’t care about either his employer or the ones paying his bill than he should at least muster up a sense of honour or dignity.

Self-respect shouldn’t go out the window as soon as you sit in front of a keyboard and start typing, and it shouldn’t disappear as soon as you step into Parliament and you’re covered by Parliamentary privilege. The more the Prime Minister lets things such as racist remarks on Facebook by the special envoy to the World Tourism Organisation and sexist remarks by the ETC CEO the more he is reinforcing this lassaiz-faire attitude that in turn is eroding our principles.

This is the reason why it is important for the Prime Minister to act on the recent comments Joe Debono Grech made in Parliament. It’s already ludicrous that violent threats were made in Parliament. The fact these were made towards a woman MP make it that little bit worse, especially in a time when we have damning reports saying the Malta has the worst gender gap disparity in all of the EU (even after we were supposed to have the most gender balanced government).

It is worthless for the Prime Minister to go on Twitter and boast about the CHOGM Women’s Forum and retweet his wife’s comments appealing for “every country to treat women with dignity” when government MPs are doing the exact opposite right under the PM’s nose.

There’s no better time like the present, and even if the Speaker has given out his deplorable ruling, the Prime Minister can still show us he values self-respect.

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