A very predictable pickle

In fact, its origins can be traced to before the election, when the Labour opposition started rattling the government's cage about the honoraria increase around 2009.

Joseph Muscat rightly deplored the secrecy with which this payrise had been carried out, and the apparent insensitivity whereby people were simultaneously being asked to 'make sacrifices'.

As this newspaper has repeatedly stressed ever since, this fact alone was arguably the most crippling blow to the former government's credibility... even if the concept of raising salaries for MPs was not, in itself, a bad idea.

Still, the opposition leader chose to rather shortsightedly extend his criticism also to the increase itself; and even more rashly, it promised to reimburse the money if elected.

This set the future Labour government on a collision course with destiny; for while the honoraria increase was clearly mishandled, the low wage structure for parliamentarians does cause serious headaches for any given administration. Prospective Cabinet members often have to forego lucative private practices, and this automatically limits the pool of talent available to prime ministers for important executive appointments.

It was this shortcoming that Gonzi was trying to address by increasing the honoraria for MPs. Unfortunately, however, he did this so clumsily that what was already a sensitive issue to begin with suddenly became politically explosive.

Now that the dust from that explosion is beginning to settle, the problem itself is beginning to be visible to everybody, including, rather belatedly, to the government which so recently (and unwisely) committed itself not to solve it. From this perspective, Labour is now reaping the dividends of its own former exuberance... which was not limited only to the honoraria issue, but also included a promise to strictly adhere to a parliamentary code of ethics, and to be intolerant of transgression.

These are the forces underlying Franco Mercieca's present dilemma; and it must be said that Muscat's handling of the matter until now has not been very impressive.

Having appointed a specialist surgeon to a Cabinet post, the prime minister will surely have been aware of the sacrifice he was demanding of his MP. And having himself cited the code of ethics so often in the recent past, one would expect he would also know it specifically prohibits Cabinet members from doing private work for remuneration.

One therefore has to wonder why Muscat did not foresee a very predictable conflict of interest before it arose, to the extent that he appeared to retroactively 'amend' the code to allow a little room for Mercieca to manoeuvre.

From this point on, however, it was up to Mercieca to take on the message. He had already embarrassed the prime minister by failing to flag the problem before it became public; but once he had been given a reprieve - or at least, an opportunity to rectify his position - he did what was arguably the worst thing possible. He gave the impression that he was defying the concession already made to him, and then shrugging off his responsibility when caught in the act.

This is not acceptable, for two reasons. One, his breach of the code, although not very serious in itself (to be fair to Mercieca, there was nothing malicious or corrupt in the transgression) pushes a number of very specific buttons which his government has accentuated throughout the election campaign, namely, transparency, ethical behaviour and above all accountability. Two, the original excuse that he is indispensable in the opthalmology department - and therefore qualified for a 'special exemption' - did not hold water in the first place, still less now.

The issue here is not so much whether Mercieca is the only person who can carry out certain types of eye operations in Malta; it is whether he is also the only person who can handle a parliamentary secretariat for the elderly. No doubt specialised knowledge is required here too... but Mercieca surely cannot claim to be irreplaceable in this regard.

Now that the fat is in the fire, there are very few options left open to correct the damage.

Certainly the 'limited waiver' - already ignored in its limited form - cannot be further amended at this stage. If so, it would only confirm that Muscat was all along tweaking rules and regulations here and there, to patch up leaks as they spring.

Mercieca himself could theoretically put a lid on the issue by stopping seeing private patients altogether; but as he already undertook to play that card once, it would be likewise absurd to try and play it again.

This leaves only one option: to step down as parliamentary secretary with immediate effect. Mercieca should do this as quickly as possible - thus sparing Muscat the further embarassment of having to force him out - if nothing else, to make a public display of the higher ethical standards Labour has set for itself.

Having said that, there is no reason why the door should not be left ajar for a possible return to executive posts in future. After all, he would not be the first Cabinet minister to 'temporarily' resign.