Practically all opinion polls on the public’s level of trust in the different professions rank politicians in the lowest positions. But even if many consider political sleaze to be an unavoidable evil, the misbehaviour of politicians impacts the country and the lives of its citizens.

In the last few weeks, the public has learnt more about the extent of sleaze that permeates Maltese politics. The publication of WhatsApp exchanges of messages between Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and murder suspect Yorgen Fenech should have sent a clear signal to this minister that his time in politics is up.

He should have had the decency to admit that his servile fraternising with a leading businessperson went beyond the limits of ethical behaviour. Worse, the fraternising went on after Fenech had been exposed at the owner of the secret offshore company 17 Black.

Instead, Zammit Lewis insists that his behaviour was beyond reproach and that he will keep doing his duty for the good of the people who elected him, even if he considers them village idiots.

Former minister Konrad Mizzi, who was kicked out of the Labour Party, initially refused to appear before the Public Accounts Committee, arguing that this would amount to a political trial.

When he eventually appeared, he played the victim card and, in a monologue of self-praise, he has so far avoided answering questions about the Electrogas deal.

He sticks to his illusion that this deal, and the privatisation of three public hospitals, among other public procurement scandals he was allegedly involved in, were, in reality, a crucial contribution to the common good.

One of the most significant signs of political sleaze in the last few years was the award of the contract for the management of those three public hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare and,  later, to Steward Health Care, when Joseph Muscat was prime minister. Times of Malta has now revealed that Muscat was paid €60,000 last year, with the first payment being made just two months after he stepped down.

These payments were made by Swiss companies Accutor AG and Spring X Media under the terms of an indefinite consultancy contract drawn up between Muscat and Spring X Media in February 2020, just one month after he resigned as prime minister.

Accutor served as a fulcrum for payments involving figures connected to the deal between VGH and Steward for the takeover of the hospitals.

Muscat insists the payments were above board. He was unconvincing, though, when asked to explain what could at best be seen as a revolving door practice that goes against political ethics and should be investigated by the police.

“There are some who will never forgive me for helping bring about the change in the country. They believe that I do not even have the right to work,” Muscat said on social media, in an evident call for support.

Elections may be approaching but Prime Minister Robert Abela must take action to dissociate his administration from the sleaze that permeated Muscat’s government. This would admittedly not be easy to do: Muscat still has significant support among PL supporters, asking Zammit Lewis to resign may ruffle feathers, while Mizzi may be out of the Labour but still has many admirers... and potential secrets! The anatomy of politics has increasingly become the anatomy of sleaze. Sleaze cannot be accepted as an inevitability in politics.

It is not acceptable to turn a blind eye simply because the majority of the electorate might not be directly impacted by corrupt practices.