panama scandal, n.All

The Panama scandal (n.) turned ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the very thing that inspired public confidence — Parliament's backing of the loans — into the means by which a shaky private business became a colossal racket.

The Panama scandal (n.) in ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠Drumont's phrase rendered the invisible visible: parliamentarians had become businessmen, and the middlemen between business and state were Jews.