The Neville Gafa case has added another tassel to an administration that has collected such cases that one almost forgets to list the whole sequence for fear of forgetting many of them.

Admittedly, this is an administration that got back in office after 25 years, so it has lost touch with the reality of governing. Case after case, these scandals (for scandals they all are) show a degree of incompetence and superficiality, and a complete lack of filtering of who is to be trusted and who cannot be trusted at the head of the public administration.

We know now that in its eagerness to win the election, Labour went in for overkill. Where one commitment could have been enough, ten were made. The result was the huge margin that was obtained but that was obtained at a huge cost – of commitments that have had to be honoured.

The cases or scandals now show the pre-existence of a closed group which has a very low level of public ethics and which skimps on checks and counter-checks. A group which gets things done but which time and again lands the administration in hot water, not just in Malta but even internationally.

This is Labour, for it is based on a long adherence to the party, but at the same time it is not Labour. For there are many in the party and in government who do not act like this and who in private admit they are saddened and angry these things have happened and that these are bringing a bad name over the whole party.

Being so near the top, they are untouchable and in fact somehow they have survived all the attacks, all the scandal-mongering. They have had their wings clipped but it is as if nothing has happened to them. What’s a change of nomenclature, if the real power is still in their hands?

It is also becoming clearer that they are supported by a phalanx of supporters with a long range of weapons. Supporters in key positions where they can defend each other.

While they are intent on covering their own backs, and that of each other, they do not realize how they are bringing their own government down in public esteem. Maybe this will not translate into a defeat at the polls, but then this is not the be-all and end-all of political activity. There is such a thing as political ideology, principles, the place of a party in the history of the country.

And above all, at least we think so, there is these persons’ self-esteem, how they look upon themselves, how they would like to be remembered. Or has that gone out of fashion as well?

There is also another angle to consider: the impact of such stories on Malta’s international relations, with the EU to begin with but also with Libya and with Libyans. We said it at the time of the deluge of visas to Algerians, we say it again: such actions bring not just the individual who was responsible but all Malta in disrepute.

As in the Algeria case, so too in this medical visa case, it would seem that the government has taken steps to stop the rot. If that is the case, well done. It’s a pity the government cannot boast of it because that would mean admitting to what has happened.

But will the perpetrators go scot-free just because they form or formed part of the gilded circle of untouchables?