People like to have confidence in their politicians. Not just in their ability to play the political game, but also in their ability to fight for issues close to their heart. The moral fabric of that minister has to be intact. This puts Keith Vaz in a political maelstrom.
The Minister for Parliament, Leicester East was caught on tape with male prostitutes, discussing cocaine and party poppers, the latter of which is a lifestyle drug that is very popular in England right now. The tape and screenshots of WhatsApp messages revealed a lot, that the minister pretended to be a washing machine salesman, that he offered to pay for one of the prostitute’s cocaine, and that he also indulged in unprotected
sex.
This is a married man with two children, and a man that many
in Goa look to as a Goan who has become an outstanding
member of society in another country. That façade has been
shattered. Now other papers have uncovered CCTV camera
footage of Vaz with young men in
a London hotel years ago. On further
investigation, the hotels have
admitted that he was a regular visitor
and always in the company of
young men. This is damning for
Keith Vaz, especially when there
are claims that he was drugged and
set up for the recent sting.
What is even more intriguing is that
Vaz was the chairman of the Home
Affairs Select Committee where he was one of the loudest voices
asking for the relaxation of prostitution laws. The committee
was opposed to the idea of the ‘sex buyer law’, which transferred
the onus of illegality on to those who pay for sex rather
than those who sold it. Then there’s also the fact that Vaz has
argued that criminalisation of certain drugs, party poppers in
particular, on the floor of the House. This puts Vaz in a peculiar
position as the conflict of interest here in very apparent.
One could argue that this was indeed a sting, backed by his
political opponents, perhaps those who were more conservative
in nature. But even then, these are indiscretions that were
morally incorrect. It’s not like Vaz is a stranger to controversy
either. He’s been in the middle of a media storm with the Lalit
Modi visa issue, his u-turn on Salman Rushdie decades ago
has been brought up again and his blocking of a probe into
child abuse allegations against former Leicester MP Janner is
now being seen in a new light. He managed to dodge those
bullets then but this recent controversy is made of sterner stuff.
There is very little belief that Vaz will be able to recover from
this politically. Perhaps the best way to avoid illicit habits getting
exposed is to not indulge in them at all.
