A threesome in a bedroom
The Marquis De Sade dedicated his book La Philosophie dans le boudoir to libertines of all ages and sexes. For him sexual liberty leads to political emancipation.
Dr Simon Mercieca is senior lecturer, Department of History
Many thought that this principle should guide Malta’s politicians in this new liberal world until a story came out in the news that a government minister allegedly visited a brothel in Germany while on an official visit. At this point, all discourse of sexual liberty came crashing down around us. Liberals, who until recently where pushing the libertine agenda, started calling out that this is a political scandal.
If one is to adhere to the liberal agenda that today dominates the two main political parties, there should be no controversy regarding a government minister involved with prostitutes, having a threesome or an orgy. In this liberal age, there should be nothing wrong with prostitution. Indeed, both parties have recently agreed to legislate in favour of pornography. Therefore, trying to make a case against individuals who visit brothels – irrespective whether this is true or not – seems to many Nationalists as pure hypocrisy.
In all frankness, men’s clubs have been operating for quite some time in Malta and the operators found the backing, full support and protection of the previous Nationalist administration. Therefore, it is suicidal now to try to bring in traditional cum conservative arguments and declare that it is wrong for a minister to be with prostitutes. The Nationalists are shooting from the hip. The most offended are not the liberals but the conservatives within the party whose stand is only used and operated when it suits the liberal agenda and not by way of principle.
Voltaire, the person who pushed for the right to vilify Christianity, did not have nice words about prostitution. In Candide, Voltaire describes prostitution as an “abominable business.” He uses Paquette, the chambermaid, who was forced into prostitution and has her declare “that abominable business which you men find so pleasant and which for us is nothing but a bottomless pit of misery.” Then, as now, some women have to do it to survive and this is what is wrong with prostitution. However, for liberals, the suffering of women is no consequence. Sexual liberty has taken the upper hand and the exploitation of women is now sanctioned and protected by Law.
One can argue that ministers, who go abroad on official business should not visit such places. The Australian speaker Peter Slipper had to quit because of a sex scandal. Luckily, Malta lacks a Protestant culture. While it is the right of the media to report worthwhile news, still it should be remembered that ministers too, whether on official business or on private ones, are entitled to their own time. Some prefer going to a restaurant, others to a bookshop or museum and if they wish to, they should have a right to visit a brothel. This right derives from the fact that in Malta, brothels are today legal. Therefore, those who visit them are in no way breaking a moral code that is protected by our Laws.
The father of the liberals, the economic theorist Joseph Schumpeter, used to go out in public with prostitutes and invite them into his carriage and paraded himself with them in the main streets of Vienna. He even went to work accompanied by prostitutes.
For the sake of argument, if a male minister pals up with two men, would the media react in the same way as it and the Opposition have reacted when a minister allegedly consorted with women? I am sure that the same liberal media, which is crying out scandal and shame in this alleged case, would have been all up in arms denouncing this story as homophobic.
Thus, as the Liberals have removed all sorts of moral arguments from issues of adult sexuality, the real problem here is not the brothel but whether a minister is paying for these services himself or out of the taxpayers’ money. If a minister wants to go with prostitutes, or gigolos, for that matter, he or she can do so, provided that he or she does not do so during working hours and he pays for the services out of his own pocket.
Frankly, I don’t think that the real issue here is whether a government minister went with prostitutes or not. I am convinced that we have here a political story, similar to the one that the nation witnessed prior to the 2013 election when the person at the centre of the stunt was the current Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia, who back then was Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
Anglu Farrugia has recently stated to The Malta Independent that his disagreement was not with the Labour Party but with Joseph Muscat. It is a known fact that Joseph Muscat was not happy with either Anglu Farrugia or Toni Abela as deputy leaders. A whole strategy was set up using the media so as to tarnish the image of both men. This was done to pave the way for Muscat to remove them from office at the right time. In the meantime, Muscat made sure that after removing Farrugia, he gained political mileage out of his decision. The reason back then was that the Nationalist Party was basing its campaign strategy around the political image of both Farrugia and Abela. Farrugia was going to be the focal point of this political campaign. Muscat wanted Farrugia out of the way to lessen the damage or better, neutralize his political opponents.
Today, it is an open secret that Muscat is not happy with Dr Chris Cardona as Deputy Leader. Therefore, despite all Labour’s liberal agenda, Muscat conveniently uses the modern cacophony surrounding issues of sexuality for his political advantage. Michel Foucault would describe these political tactics as ‘polymorphous techniques of power’. In more simple words, the way is being prepared from Castile so that Cardona’s image is destroyed. I am sure that Cardona knows of this internal opposition to the extent that recently he has been keeping a low profile. What can be concluded is that election time is fast approaching and Muscat is already starting to oil his engines and wants to eliminate Cardona at all costs. I am sure that someone, somewhere, tipped Muscat that the Nationalists want to put Cardona at the centre of their political campaign although this was already revealed when the Leader of the Opposition spoke up in Parliament on this issue.
I am convinced that most of those who feign they are scandalized by this story, were not driven by any sympathy for women in being used as sex machines, but because they still conceive sexuality in the same form and pattern that has been with us when Malta became a British colony. Sexuality is no longer an issue of honour and shame but has assumed the added aspect of political guilt. By using the Nationalists to do the dirty work for him, Muscat wants to cash in on this political guilt to rid himself of a political candidate who could sully his electoral result. This will permit Labour to launch, at the appropriate time, an attack on one of the PN’s principal MPs, using the same sexual arguments that the PN are using today against Labour. The difference would be that the PN would not be able to counter attack using the Cardona factor, as Cardona’s sexual life is being judged now and not in the heat of an electoral campaign.