MPs have not been on their best behaviour in recent weeks, with rowdy sessions and “unparliamentary” language, which experts believe could be the result of live broadcasts.

Psychologist Paul Attard-Baldacchino said what has been happening in the House, including the trading of insults and questionable language, could be down to the introduction of TV cameras since Parliament moved to its new building in City Gate, Valletta, in the beginning of May.

Dr Attard Baldacchino, president of the Malta Union of Professional Psychologists, said MPs could be going through an experience similar to that often observed among those participating in reality TV shows, such as Big Brother.

“When people are in front of cameras and they know they are being observed, you often get different reactions. Some conform to the rest of the group; others clam up. However, it is not uncommon for certain people to really open up and experience behavioural changes,” he said.

Even Speaker Anġlu Farrugia sees a possible link between the bad behaviour and the transmission on the Parliament Channel. In a ruling on Monday he warned he would consider suspending MPs if things did not improve.

The ruling was given at the request of Nationalist deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami after Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg told the House the speculation contained in a parliamentary question tabled by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi did not make him have an orgasm.

Dr Farrugia said Parliament was a forum for serious debate but that seriousness was lacking. If the situation did not improve, he would apply Standing Orders that had not been in use for several years to ensure there was order in the House.

The powers enabled the Speaker to suspend MPs for one week on first offence, two weeks on a second and a month for any subsequent infringements.

The Clerk of the House, Raymond Scicluna, said such measures had not been in use for at least three legislatures and had all but been phased out. Mr Scicluna said the last “naming” of a parliamentarian occurred in 1990 when Labour MP Lino Debono had called then Nationalist minister Michael Falzon a “thief”.

Former speaker Lawrence Gonzi told Times of Malta he had invoked the standing orders a few times during his time in the parliamentary hot seat. However, he used to prefer imposing what he termed “waterpolo” penalties, that is, ordering an MP to leave the House for a few minutes, similar to the man-out penalty in waterpolo games where players are suspended for 30 seconds.

Dr Gonzi recalled an incident, before his time as Speaker, when the late former Labour Cabinet minister Lorry Sant crossed the floor during a heated debate in 1986 and approached then Opposition leader Eddie Fenech Adami who was making a speech.

Asked whether he felt the live broadcasts of parliamentary debates could be behind the noisy sittings, Dr Gonzi jokingly remarked that politicians always donned their Sunday finest when TV cameras were brought into the House. However, they still were rowdy in front of the cameras.

“I don’t know if they were more animated but what I can say is that the cameras certainly didn’t stop some people from putting up a show,” he said.