If he does not bow out gracefully, Ian Borg must be removed as foreign minister. Apart from the immediate reports at hand – that he is directly embroiled in organised corrupt practices aimed at voter buying – and their implications for Malta’s democracy, there are serious consequences for Maltese foreign policy.

Malta’s international reputation has already suffered several blows in the last years. The current government has made attempts at moving past these and regaining trust and lost ground. Having the post of foreign minister compromised by a person suspected of criminal offences related to electoral integrity certainly constitutes a new body blow and risks undoing the recent work at the international level.

There are also direct implications for important aspects of Malta’s foreign policy agenda. A key political issue in Europe and the Mediterranean is migration. When listing so-called “root causes” of migration, gross government misconduct and corruption figure prominently. The reasons are clear: corruption makes it harder –and sometimes nigh impossible – for people without connections to make an honest living and, more broadly, entails economic mismanagement and decay.

With these allegations hanging over him, Borg can hardly now, with a straight face or any kind of credibility, discuss such issues outside of Malta.

Another important question facing us is the decline of democracy in many countries around the world. This is so serious because democracy and human rights have ensured unprecedented decades of peace in Europe. Again, one of the key reasons for democratic backsliding is corruption. People simply lose faith in the democratic system. This is a key preoccupation of Malta and fellow members of the largest bloc of democratic countries globally, the EU. Again, with the recent allegations, Borg becomes part of the problem rather than the solution.

Malta’s international reputation has already suffered several blows in the last year- Anna Khakee

One peculiar narrative among some government politicians is that it is somehow others – journalists, NGOs, opposition politicians, MEPs – that tarnish Malta’s reputation abroad. But it is, of course, people like Borg that do so. What is known inside Malta will inevitably very soon be known outside its borders too.

We can rest assured that, even without a single journalist, NGO, opposition politician or MEP, every foreign ambassador to Malta reports back to their capitals all around the world. And they will now be asking themselves how deep the rot goes. A not very audacious bet is that they are now busy writing reports trying to anticipate which other government ministers – The minister of X? The minister of Y? – may have also seen their voters as customers and offered them “advanced customer care”.

Borg’s shame is the country’s. Therefore, the members of government should show that their love and care for the country is greater than their love and care for the party. And, as a first step, ease out Borg.

Anna Khakee is an associate professor at the University of Malta.