Rosianne Cutajar’s resignation from the Labour Party’s parliamentary group is the latest case whereby our ruling political class has made headlines for the wrong reasons. Her departure – albeit she stays on as an independent MP – follows those of former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat who was forced to step down in the wake of the huge protests of 2019, former Energy and Health Minister Konrad Mizzi who piloted the infamous hospitals concession agreement, former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri and former Economy Minister Chris Cardona.

Putting it mildly, one can state that none of these exits contributed to cover our political class in glory. Instead, they all followed the same pattern whereby our politicians tried weathering the storm of allegations and at times damning evidence, until they had no other option but to bow out, seeing that they had become a liability to party and country.   

Genuine party supporters who worked incessantly to see their party back in government and who never compromised their principles have been left with a bitter taste. While they might not pronounce their disappointment publicly, deep down they know they have been let down by the political class whose standards of integrity are leaving much to be desired.

Unfortunately, it seems that finding politicians who want to stand up to be counted has become something of the past. Many have been asking where are the likes of Franco Debono or Marlene and Godfrey Farrugia, who sacrificed their political careers to defend what they believed was right. Others might have been tempted to rock the boat or sound the alarm bells about but lacked political courage or only emerged from their shell after they had nothing to lose – were not returned to parliament. Were this not the case, how can anybody explain that no government MP has ever taken the executive to task over issues like the hospitals’ concession agreement? To add insult to injury some have even gone to town to defend the indefensible as their ultimate concern seemed to be safeguarding their own personal interests.

Making hay while the sun shines even at the cost of stooping to the lowest levels and disregarding standards in public life, seems to be attracting certain individuals to politics.

However, just like Catholics celebrate Christ’s resurrection at Easter, in politics anything which might be left concealed or buried will eventually resurface and come back to haunt those responsible