The code of ethics governing members of parliament speaks very clearly.
MPs cannot accept gifts from any person, group or company that have or had any direct/indirect interest in legislation before the House of Representatives.
If an overseas visit is fully or partially funded by a person, group or company that has a direct interest in legislation before the House, the MP must declare it.
Whether such provisions refer to a draft law actually before parliament may be debatable. But even if the letter may be open to interpretation the spirit is not: the noble idea is to ensure MPs are always free from any shackles that could hinder their work as legislators.
Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi admitted he allowed one of the country’s top businessmen to pay his hotel bill in Tel Aviv in 2017, acknowledging he should have acted differently and he apologised publicly.
Azzopardi insists the incident, which occurred more than three years ago, did not influence “one iota” his duties as an MP. That may well be the case.
It is also a fact that this incident may rank as a mere misdemeanour when compared to the litany of blatant abuse and corruption by senior politicians over the past few years.
Still, an erring MP is rightly expected by law-abiding citizens to assume full responsibility for any wrongdoing. After all, MPs are supposed to be role models.
This especially so in the case of Azzopardi, a vociferous and persistent advocate of transparency, accountability, good governance, the rule of law, justice and political correctness. He must lead by example.
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life raised a very valid point in his decision not to take cognizance of this case because it happened before his office was established.
Referring to Azzopardi’s decision to return the favour, by sending a silverware gift to Ray Fenech of the Tumas Group, the commissioner noted that this would not “cancel” the gift received by the MP . Neither would it exempt him from the relevant clauses in the code of ethics.
Azzopardi decided to suspend himself from the parliamentary group and shadow cabinet when he asked the standards commissioner to look into the matter.
Now that the commissioner will not be doing so, one assumes Azzopardi is waiting to see what his party’s ethics commission will decide.
Azzopardi’s supporters see his ‘sin’ as trivial in comparison to the deluge of freebies/bribes/favours given to other politicians and other individuals during the Labour administration.
How many times has Robert Abela and, more so, his predecessor, defended the indefensible? The latest case also involved the Fenech business and a hotel stay in Las Vegas by a person who had just relinquished his top post at the Malta Gaming Authority to take up a similar office at the financial services watchdog.
He too self-suspended and Abela’s response when challenged was: how dare the government tell the regulator’s board of directors what to do – as if the government has no say in who sits on the board and occupies top positions.
This country, or, rather, its politicians, must stop playing fast and loose with the standards in public life.
If it is the poor remuneration for politicians which prompts such behaviour then let’s engage in discussion to compensate them adequately for their time.
We cannot continue ignoring the way ethics have flown out of the window at the altar of potential abuse and ransom. It has weighed down too heavily on the country for generations.