Having thrown overboard Michael Falzon, Joseph Muscat rowed furiously as far away from his ditched colleague as he could, hoping to avoid being tarred by the same scandal.

But can Muscat avoid being damaged by this latest of the scandals that have become the hallmark of his government?
Unlikely, I would say, bearing in mind that Muscat, barely in power, had set an example with the Café Premier scandal.

Both scandals have the whiff of a pre-election deal, both sandals involved a government department of which Muscat is the minister, and both were denounced by the Auditor General.

Thinking about it, the Café Premier scandal was worse than the Gaffarena one. In the latter, we paid over €3 million in cash and land to get half a building, whereas in the Café Premier scandal we paid over €4 million – to get what?

To get what was ours in the first place! So if Falzon had to resign, surely Muscat cannot be far behind.