The drunken idiot is going to sue me when he knows full well that he was at the brothel and that all my details were correct

The Minister for the Economy has said that he is going to sue me for libel.

This is the standard response of the cornered Maltese politician, particularly in sex-and-corruption cases. And not just Maltese – think Jeffrey Archer, one of the most notorious cases in political history. Archer, too, sued a newspaper for libel for reporting that he went with a prostitute. He won half a million pounds in damages, bankrupted the newspaper, ruined the editor’s career – and was later imprisoned for four years for perjury, because he really had gone with the prostitute and lied about it under oath.

Suing for libel, or just announcing that you are, is a way of dealing with the immediate pressure of public opinion and your political bosses. Sue for libel – and then we’ll see. Take Alfred Mifsud, deputy governor of the Central Bank, for instance – he sued me for libel about this story, and also sued his former companion and mother of his children. But seven months later, neither of us has been served with notice of the suit.

And take Konrad Mizzi, too. He rushed to sue me, got the police to prosecute me, had the Department of Information issue a press statement late at night about the state of his happy marriage – and when he realised I knew about his Panama and New Zealand underhand dealings, he suddenly lost all his passionate interest in seeing the case through. Since then, his lawyers have come up with one excuse after another to postpone and delay hearings, and the wife to whom he is so happily married even though she lives permanently on another continent has not appeared in court at either my request or his.

These are the facts. The Minister for the Economy was at a brothel called FKK Acapulco in Velbert, 30 minutes from Essen, where he had been invited to address a conference, between 7pm and around 10.30pm last night, accompanied by his ministerial consultant Joe Gerada. They had a sauna, then a shower, then they went to the bar where they negotiated with a prostitute. Gerada went into a room with the prostitute, and after a couple of drinks, Cardona followed. All three of them were in the room together.

They were there at the same brothel again this afternoon at 4pm, but I don’t know what time they left because my source left before they did. Nor do I have any information on what they did there today, unlike yesterday night. I suspect it wasn’t sex but an attempt at getting hold of any video footage which will compromise them, and/or making sure that their backs are covered in other ways as journalists are now bound to start ringing for information.

Another drunken night with Malta’s Minister for the Economy – this picture was taken at Hugo’s Lounge. There is no suggestion that this woman is a prostitute.