BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS, SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

RC on her High Horse  by COSIMO

Malta's population is 99% Roman Catholic, and the Church proscribes Adultery in the Sixth Commandment. Nevertheless, chronic infidelity has stained the reputation of the ruling Labour Party since the days of Dom Mintoff. Apparently, a secret life of philandering, such as Mintoff freely admitted in his memoirs, is the rule, rather than the exception, at PL.

One senior government minister had an affair with a blonde opposition MP; their affair was kept secret for a very long time. They used the Hilton for a rendezvous; she received a no-show job at MGA as one of the perks she derived from the trysts. When the official's wife found out that her partner was shagging the opposition, she kept it quiet because of her fears that there would be a negative reaction from her husband's fellow party members to her complaints. The affair, which was a favourite subject of conversation on certain WhatsApp chats, did eventually leak out. Why won't he obey the calls to resign ?

Another official, who carried on a drug-infused affair with a wealthy married man, who was himself also romantically involved with the secretary of the Chief of Staff at OPM, later sought to provide cover for him in the EU when the fur started flying in the Daphne investigation. She also received a "commission" which was not properly disclosed. She remains in office, notwithstanding calls to the PM to remove her.

Not Ecstatic, but Crucified  by COSIMO

These sins expose the violators to potential blackmail, and more importantly make them vulnerable to corrupt influences. They may be unable to resist "requests" to favour certain requests that they would no otherwise honour. In plain English, they might be forced to commit criminal acts, to keep their dark secrets buried. Those acts will usually involve injuring the interests of the voters who have elected them, to the tune of many millions of dollars lost in revenue, or securing an advantage in business that is at the expense of others. They are forced to use their government position for evil purposes.

Whatever the bad actors request of the cheater, it hurts the public interest in some way. Since the personal morality of the individuals above is lacking, the risk that they would be compromised is high. No wonder the levels of corruption in Malta, amongst government officials, exceeds any of the other Members of the European Union.