Joe Cassar has given up his seat in parliament

All I can say at this stage is “That is the way to do it”. In the fight against this government’s corruption, the Opposition can’t afford the merest slip off the moral high ground.

Meanwhile, all those corrupt cabinet ministers remain exactly where they are, because none of them will step down voluntarily (what, and give up the teat?) while the only two that Muscat sacked were Godfrey Farrugia, to oblige Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando in his spite and malice and to clear the way for Konrad Mizzi to become health minister in preparation for some corrupt hospital privatisation deals, and Manuel Mallia because it simply could not be avoided after the shoot-out and the ensuing leaked telephone calls made through the police control room.

Joe Cassar, who had no history of involvement in politics in general and the Nationalist Party in particular, entered the field around 12 years ago despite having a busy practice as a psychiatrist. He did so for the right reasons. He was interested in politics as an area of public service and was motivated originally by his (professional) analysis of Alfred Sant, the then Labour leader, as posing a real risk for Malta even in Opposition let alone should he be returned to government.

Because he was clean, new, committed and came from a professional background radically different to what the Nationalist Party was accustomed to, he was elected on the PN ticket in 2008 and was immediately appointed parliamentary secretary for health, promoted to Health Minister when John Dalli left that position to become European Commissioner in 2010.

But he had been in parliament for four years before that already, having been coopted (he had stood for election in 2003 but failed to make it) to fill the seat vacated by Josef Bonnici when he left to take up a post at the European Court of Auditors.

This meteoric rise may be partly responsible for the end result we are seeing today. When Joe Cassar became a cabinet minister, he had been in parliament for only just over six years and that was the sum total of his experience as a politician. Questions of principle aside, a more seasoned operator would have known how to handle individuals like Joe Gaffarena, and how to protect his interests when handling them.

It is sad to see how he torpedoed his own lucky streak, but I’m glad to see that he stepped down because that, at least, fits in with my overall impression of him as a fundamentally decent chap and the least likely to knife anyone. And that is probably why he is the only one resigning today when the spectacularly corrupt are all hanging on for dear life.