Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s behaviour at a party in his official residence at Girgenti Palace was not a breach of ethics, Commissioner for Standards in Public Life George Hyzler has concluded.
Dr Hyzler was asked to investigate the party by indepedent MEP candidate Arnold Cassola after a video of the Prime Minister and his wife Michelle Muscat chanting a partisan Labour Party anthem during a boozy party at Girgenti Palace went viral back in February.
In the leaked video, Dr Muscat can be seen jumping and chanting with the crowd to the former Mintoffian tune "Ma Tagħmlu Xejn” while his wife Michelle dances in front of him, waving a bottle of champagne.
The historic Girgenti Palace is used as the Prime Minister's summer residence.
In his five-page report on the matter, Dr Hyzler concluded that Dr Muscat’s behaviour, even singing along to the chant did not constitute a breach of the ministerial code of ethics or any other statutory duty.
The commissioner also concluded that the organisation of a private event in the official residence which, he found, was not financed in any way by public funds was also not in breach of ethics.
“Not everything that might offend the sensibilities of some, necessarily constitutes a breach of ethics,” the report reads.
It was true that the Code of Ethics for Minister and Parliamentary Secretaries obliged ministers (or, in this case, the Prime Minister) to behave to the highest order, Dr Hyzler wrote in his conclusions.
The commissioner however added that each situation must be assessed objectively as to whether the contentious behaviour had indeed broken any codes of conduct.
In this case, there was no basis to reach the conclusion that the Prime Minister had behaved in such a manner that was improper.
For one to celebrate within the limits of decency in one’s house cannot be considered to be behaviour that should be censored, Dr Hyzler said.
If a person is entitled to live in a state residence, then that person has the right to organise celebrations or private events in that residence and invite friends and relatives, Dr Hyzler said. If the guests of a private event sing a partisan chant, this does not mean that the activity somehow ceased from being private and instead became a political activity, the commissioner concluded.
In these circumstances therefore, it cannot be concluded that the residence was used for political purposes, he wrote.
Prof. Cassola, a former Alternattiva Demokratika chairman, had written to the Electoral Commissioner and the Standards Commissioner, saying that the video constituted "unethical behaviour".
"I urge you to open an investigation into unethical behaviour by an MP (the prime minister) and the fact that a state property is being used by a political party, something which breaches party financing laws," he had said in the letter, copied to the press.
The undated video clip also irked a number of Nationalist Party exponents, including MP Jason Azzopardi who wrote on social media: "The former Chapel of Girgenti Palace... such a suitable setting indeed."