Say what you like, when the British get it wrong, we're pretty good at holding up our hands and admitting it. Or, maybe slightly closer to the truth, when we've been found out and can't deny it any longer, then we're okay about taking the punishment that comes our way.
Late last Sunday night, RBS boss Stephen Hester did the honourable thing and returned his just-short-of-a-million-pound bonus, earning himself some grudging admiration from the general public and more than a few raised eyebrows from the boys in the City who, as one high-earning individual pointed out to me a few days later, couldn't work out why one would bother to give up "such a small bonus anyway". Oh, to think of a million pounds as small change.
Fast-forward a few days and it wasn't bonus cheques causing U-turns, but speeding tickets, with Chris Huhne and estranged wife Vicky Pryce finding themselves back in the headlines and, in Huhne's case at least, out of the cabinet after prosecutors charged them with perverting the course of justice. Never has so much been made of so few licence points.
His bosses, Cameron and Clegg, covered their backs with carefully worded statements that stopped short of saying they believed his side of the story, but left the door open just wide enough to welcome him back into the fold should he clear his name. If time teaches us nothing it's that even if he doesn't, the cabinet isn't adverse to a little rehabilitation once the public's memory fades the sting of a particular politician's foibles. We forgive and forget all too easily these days (or at least that's probably what Liam Fox is counting on).
With public office comes a responsibility to uphold the morals, not to mention, the law of the country you serve, but as John Terry found to his cost this week, with public adulation comes an even greater responsibility.
Our footballing stars, with their zillion-pound paycheques (funny how no-one demands those get returned alongside the bankers' bonuses) might be able to shrug off numerous kiss-and-tells, adultery and drug taking, but there is a line over which it seems we are finally going to hold them to account: allegations of out-and-out racism.
The England skipper wasn't in court to hear the charges levelled against him on Wednesday, but he woke on Friday to find himself stripped of the captain's armband, despite his lawyer entering a not guilty plea on Terry's behalf.
The FA had hoped its members wouldn't be forced to oust Terry, but were left with few other options after the court hearing into Terry's alleged racist rant against QPR defender Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League game last October, due to be completed before the Euro 2012 games, was adjourned to July.
We shouldn't forget, in both the Terry and Huhne cases, that in the eyes of the law neither has been proven guilty yet, both are protesting their innocence and both could be reinstated in their positions of authority before the summer is out. However, one thing was made very clear this week: no matter how large your pay cheque, how important your position, or how many fans cheer your name from the stands on a Saturday afternoon, slip up and be prepared to face the consequences.
Follow Carla Buzasi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CarlaBuzasi
* "never has so much been made etc" -- is NOT the point. A Minister and his wife both LIED to the police to pervert justice, and then maintained thisover time. Penalty points really are a much lesser problem, and on that his judgement was also wrong - points were infinitely better than lies. This is no man to be an MP.. and his wife was little better...
* " funny how etc " re-footballer bonuses etc....misses the point, that we taxpayers are paying RBS bonuses, just as we bailed out the entire damn bank. Footballers bonus are paid by the backing of TV companies and other sponsors/owners,and if they are so stupid, its unfortunate but its their choice. Bonuses for publically owned firms staff are our problem.
Her conclusion is naive -- of course some do get called to account when they "slip up" (what a strange phrase...), but very many do not.... Just read Private Eye. And why start by saying they are "OK about taking the punishment" -- what a joke that is: most politicians lie and dodge for as long as they possibly can (Archer? trusty shields of truth? etc etc).
Not very thoughtful Ms Busazi.