Just over two months after her ‘admonishment’ by the standards committee, Rosianne Cutajar has been appointed as chair of Parliament’s health committee.

We now understand why the government had shot down a motion by the PN to suspend Cutajar from Parliament for a month. Instead of chastising her, the government had plans to reward her with yet another appointment.

Let us refresh our memory on the case. Cutajar was investigated by the Standards Commissioner over her role in a failed property deal worth millions. That deal involved none other than 17 Black owner Yorgen Fenech, who also happened to be a close friend of Cutajar’s.

Standards Commissioner George Hyzler found that the Qormi MP violated ethics when she acted as a broker and that, more likely than not, she had received a brokerage fee of €46,000. She had also accepted a €9,000 cash gift from Fenech.

While Cutajar denies receiving a brokerage fee, she admitted that she took the cash from Fenech, and that she failed to declare it with the Speaker.

In the meantime, she is still under investigation by the tax department and was also facing legal action by the would-be seller, who wanted his money back after the deal fell through.

There are also suspicions that the other broker, Cutajar’s close friend Charles Farrugia, took the fall for Cutajar by declaring that he had pocketed the entire brokerage fee.

In a rare occurrence, Parliament’s standards committee had adopted Hyzler’s report and agreed to its publication. But the government MPs, who have a majority on the committee, had rejected a PN motion to suspend Cutajar from parliament for a month. They had argued that Cutajar had already paid a heavy political price when she lost her Cabinet seat.  

Instead, they voted to ‘admonish’ Cutajar. The admonishment later turned out to be nothing than a toothless letter written by the Speaker. To say that Cutajar got a ‘slap on the wrist’ would be a gross overstatement.

Now, Cutajar has been given a promotion. The dust hadn’t yet begun to settle on this serious case of ethics violation, yet the government decided it was time for a promotion. This is the kind of example that is being set by this government. This is how bad behaviour is dealt with.  

Prime Minister Robert Abela has insisted that there was not a single instance of bad governance under his leadership. When questioned about Cutajar’s appointment on Wednesday, he justified the decision by saying that she is still an MP, and that the Opposition had not objected to her appointment.

Indeed, the Opposition must have been fast asleep when the Deputy Prime Minister tabled the motion. It took the PN a full 24 hours to react and oppose the appointment.

But then again, the Opposition could not have blocked the appointment – it does not have the numbers to do so.

The Prime Minister’s argument is ludicrous. Just because she is still an MP doesn’t mean she should be given the chairmanship of a parliamentary committee. After all, she is only an MP because the government did not agree to suspend her.

And just because the Opposition did not object to something doesn’t necessarily make it right, either.

Cutajar’s appointment is an insult to the Standards Commissioner, to Parliament, to good governance and to the public.