With the Prime Minister’s chief of staff under pressure to resign and the Sliema deputy mayor Cyrus Engerer facing criminal charges, Christian Peregin picks the brains of political commentators.

The case of the PM’s head of secretariat, Edgar Galea Curmi

Mr Galea Curmi phoned the Police Commissioner and asked him to assure the lawyer in the case of Cyrus Engerer’s father that his arrest over marijuana possession was not politically-motivated. The Police Commissioner felt uncomfortable with the request and did not accept.

Mr Galea Curmi, a close family friend of the Engerers, made the call in the presence of Cyrus Engerer after they met in Mdina and discussed the arrest of his father whose lawyer feared the police raid was prompted by his son’s resignation from the Nationalist Party and joining Labour.

Former adviser to the government Martin Scicluna

Mr Galea Curmi’s direct intervention in the affair with the Police Commissioner was, at best, ill-judged and, at worst, the exercise of undue interference into the wheels of justice.

As somebody who is so close to the Prime Minister, this is embarrassing and his personal position must, sadly, be judged as precarious. Only the forthcoming inquiry can explain what lay behind it.

Columnist Claire Bonello

Mr Galea Curmi has done a Silvio Berlusconi (Italian Prime Minister). Instead of intervening with the police on behalf of an underage call girl, Mr Galea Curmi intervened on behalf of his godson.

Regardless of Mr Galea Curmi’s links or relationship with Cyrus Engerer, he did not act in the appropriate manner as his actions could be viewed as those of an influential member of the Prime Minister’s secretariat attempting to influence a police investigation.

In a country where standards in public ethics are observed, this would definitely be a resigning matter.

Blogger Fr Joe Borg

I think it was in the interest of the police to be informed of the allegation that the Prime Minister’s office was instigating the actions of the police against Cyrus Engerer’s father. Describing such a telephone call as a means of exerting pressure or an attempt to interfere in the work of the police is a colossal exaggeration. The Police Commissioner took the call for what it was: a suggestion made to nip in the bud a potentially damaging allegation against the police. The controversy about this telephone call is a typical storm in a tea cup, which is quite convenient for certain sections of the media to fill space or air time at this usually quiet time of year.

Former Labour minister Lino Spiteri

This is Malta. This is happening all the time. It shouldn’t happen but it is the culture that has to change. I will not get into whether he should resign or not.

The case of Sliema deputy mayor Cyrus Engerer

Mr Engerer is facing a series of charges, including computer misuse and circulation of pornography. He allegedly circulated pornographic images of his former boyfriend to employers and friends to harm his reputation after their break-up. Mr Engerer never told the PN about this criminal case. Nor did he inform Labour leader Joseph Muscat when he defected. The charges were made public days after his father’s arrest over mar-ijuana possession. The lawyers of his alleged victim said they were willing to drop charges but the police denied receiving such a request and said they would proceed anyway ex-officio.

Martin Scicluna

The crossing of party lines by Cyrus Engerer and the arrest of both his father and himself just a few days after leaves one with an extraordinary whiff of political chicanery, payback and pressure about the whole family episode.

Claire Bonello

If Cyrus Engerer is in fact found guilty of circulating naked pictures of his former lover, then he cannot expect to be considered as a blameless victim of a conspiracy to bring him down. Although the timing of the police investigations of the Engerers is highly suspect and understandably reinforces the public’s lack of trust in the force and its links to the political class, I do not subscribe to the view (expressed by Dr Muscat) that the circulation of the photos of an ex-lover is a purely private matter. It constitutes a criminal act and reflects badly on the person committing it. It is also proof, if any was needed, of the abysmal vetting of candidates of both parties.

Fr Joe Borg

I think any person elected on the ticket of a political party should immediately inform the leader if s/he is being investigated by the police.

The same applies to any high profile person – especially an elected official – who decides to change one’s party. Mr Engerer should have informed both the secretary of the PN and the Labour leader about these investigations.

Lino Spiteri

These are personal matters. If the peccadilloes of each one of us were aired, the newspapers would not have enough space to carry them. We must also not forget a person is innocent until proven guilty. However, it would have been better had he briefed the Labour leader, even though it remains, as I said, a personal matter.