The new scandal being talked about last week was an alleged visit to a sex club in Germany by Economic Affairs Minister Chris Cardona, as reported by journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia on her blog. Cardona has completely denied it and announced that he will institute a libel case. Whatever comes of that, the public response to this kind of story is a story in itself.
Television appearances have been made, and accusations of lies have been traded. Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said in Parliament that “if all this is true, this amounts to disgusting behaviour, and the Opposition is expressing the people’s disgust and shock”. Reading the online comments under the various newspaper reports and on Facebook, at face value it does seem that most people would find such conduct to be shockingly inappropriate.
Among the internet crowds, however, some individuals shrugged it off, mentioning “private life” or “not illegal”. Others retorted that official trips abroad are paid for by the taxpayer, so a visit to a brothel during a trip would be unacceptable. But this is missing the point, surely.
In principle, are visits to a steamy sex club acceptable for any senior Cabinet minister at any time?
Leaving Cardona aside, what emerged is a worrying lack of clarity on expectations of how senior public officials should behave. Politicians and their admirers then use these holes and gaps to justify their dubious conduct. We faced this situation in the Panama Papers scandal, with the argument that the complex financial structure set up in Panama and New Zealand by Minister Konrad Mizzi was not illegal – and therefore presumably acceptable. On the back of this, he still holds a high position at Castille.
Besides financial interests, the media today take a huge interest in the private lives of politicians and public figures worldwide. One of the first international sex scandals was the famous Profumo affair in 1963. John Profumo, then Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan’s government, eventually resigned because he misled Parliament, and there were also national security concerns. But Profumo clearly knew that his involvement with Christine Keeler was unacceptable, or he would not have concealed it to start with.
The Monica Lewinsky scandal had led to the prospect of impeachment for former US President Bill Clinton. Again, he had tried to deny having had sexual relations with “that woman” because he understood the serious implications.
In principle, are visits to a steamy sex club acceptable for any senior Cabinet minister at any time?
There are plenty of scandals from other countries to mull over. Extramarital affairs, visits to sex clubs and penchants for prostitutes have all featured in the lives and affairs of politicians here and there. Some led to resignations, others to notoriety. There was a time when things were politely hushed up, but the private lives and sexual conduct of politicians has been under increasing scrutiny for decades.
Here in Malta too, the private lives of politicians were left out of the media in the past, although that is not the case anymore. But have we ever had a sex scandal leading to resignation?
I can’t think of any political resignations, but in one sleazy incident the former political candidate Cyrus Engerer was found to have circulated pornographic images, or what is known as revenge porn. Apart from a nasty action, revenge porn must involve some pretty lewd photographs to be effective. Not very much time had passed before he was publicly embraced by the Prime Minister and given a nice post in Brussels. Granted, last week’s scandal centres around a senior Cabinet Minister, which is potentially far worse, but the attitude is telling.
What is the standard of conduct expected from politicians and public figures in Malta? What are the attitudes of Maltese society to sex scandals, and is there political fallout?
Cracks at St Paul’s
St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral is one of the great buildings of Valletta. Today its spire is a familiar architectural landmark in the skyline of the city, especially viewed from the Marsamxett side. An urgent fundraising appeal for essential restoration works has been launched, as parts of the church have been declared unstable.
This church was built on the initiative of Queen Dowager Adelaide, aunt of Queen Victoria, who visited Malta in 1838. Until then, Anglican services in Valletta had been held in the former kitchen of the Grand Master’s palace. Adelaide provided the finances for it herself. The old Auberge d’Allemagne of the German Knights of St John, built by Gerolamo Cassar, was knocked down to make way for it.
The first attempt to erect the church had run into trouble. The head of works was not familiar with Maltese building materials and construction methods. The church immediately began to display serious cracks in the building fabric and was unsafe before it was even finished. The project was then taken over by the accomplished admiralty architect William Scamp. He redesigned, strengthened and rebuilt the defective structure, and the church was consecrated in 1844.
Unluckily, this lovely building has serious structural problems once again, although now due to a lack of funds and maintenance. I hope that all necessary financial support is found quickly.
petracdingli@gmail.com