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Encouraging a prurient interest in the private lives of public figures does nothing for our political culture, as overseas examples show. But where Mr Joyce is responsible is for what he has done since – and there, we believe, his record has been failure after failure after failure – until the present utter debacle.

As most of his colleagues recognise, Mr Joyce has made a huge mistake by accepting payment for an interview. The practice is always objectionable – and the results always suspect – but for a politician paid from the public purse to serve the public interest it is more than objectionable. It is outrageous. It is too late now for him to pull out, because the film is in the can.

Mr Joyce’s judgment where money is concerned has long been suspect. His decision to accept a $40,000 prize as a champion of agriculture from the mining magnate Gina Rinehart is a case in point. His enthusiastic acceptance (“Hooley dooley. Rightio!”) was reversed only when it was pointed out to him that taking large sums from interested supporters looked thoroughly suspect.

His behaviour during the storm of publicity over his affair shows equally questionable judgment. Finding the situation difficult to deal with, he questioned aloud whether Ms Campion’s baby was really his. In an interview with the Herald he asked for his privacy to be respected.

Now we learn the couple has sold that privacy for a tidy sum. And when that decision has – entirely justifiably – come in for serious questioning, Mr Joyce has once again sought to blame his new partner. Nothing apparently is ever Barnaby Joyce’s fault. Others make the bad decisions; he – unaccountably – just keeps getting caught up in them.

But this blame shifting shows not that Barnaby Joyce is always unjustly accused but that he never learns from mistakes. Mr Joyce has gone from Deputy Prime Minister to an embarrassment – to his party, to the Coalition, to the Parliament, and to the country.

Enough is enough now. Mr Joyce is taking a leave of absence, which we support for his own wellbeing and that of his family. But while doing so, he should acknowledge the genuine failures for which he is responsible. He should then consider whether resigning from the public office for which he has shown such scant respect is a logical next step.