You scratch my back, and….

In today’s The Times, Lino Spiteri writes about MisterMartinSchulz’s strategic error in endorsing DoctorJosephMuscat. (In marketing-speak, when a well-known person promotes a product by saying that he’s used it and it does what it says on the label, that’s called a testimonial.) Dominic Fenech posted this comment beneath the on-line version of the article.

The question that begs itself is, what’s in it for the endorser? Martin Schulz didn’t get to be where he is by doing anything for nothing. Does the kingmaker hope to gain control over the king’s men in the EP eventually? I’m sure it’s the last thing Joseph Muscat had in mind, but at this level of play, favours once done will be called.

Perhaps. And perhaps not. What was in it for Sant when he made Muscat his pet poodle and court favourite? Nothing that I can think of. Muscat strikes me as one of those characters who flirts outrageously with men in the same way that he might do with women, flattering them, telling them they’re right, making them feel wonderful and then getting what he wants. I’m not imputing that anyone is homosexual here. I am merely taking note of something that I have long since observed: that there is a certain kind of straight young(ish) man who shows no compunction about flirting with other men, usually older and more powerful ones, who are also straight, in exactly the same way that a certain kind of woman would do, as a means to an end. The extraordinary thing is that straight men respond to it – but as my cynical friend said, what’s to be surprised at?