Of course Tonio Fenech should not have accepted a free trip to watch his favourite team in Spain. And of course he has not been corrupted by doing so. Heavens forbid we have ministers who are corrupted just by hitching a free ride to a foreign country! However, he is wrong in insisting that he has done nothing wrong. He has and should be man enough to accept it.

It was wrong because as in the case of justice which must be seen to be done, so in the case of a minister his integrity must not be compromised in the eyes of the public by accepting freebies from anyone, least of all from two of the most prominent businessmen in Malta.

My advice to Mr Fenech is to apologise unreservedly to the public for doing something which has diminished him in their eyes and move on. He has enough on his plate which requires his undivided attention, without the constant worry of having to defend the indefensible.

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