In the old days when you were publicly dishonoured, it was the end.

In the olde days of the Roman Empire, the Shogunate of Nippon and the Emperors of China, civilization was high and rigorous. Thus, if a man or woman was publicly dishonoured he had to kill himself or herself. This was de rigour; and it was respectfully accepted and welcomed.
Of course with time, our standards have today utterly decayed from how they were.
The result is that today people who hold high office and are dishonoured, can still hang in there . . . in one form or another.

The most recent infamous case is the Toronto mayor. The stories and the supportive evidence for them have utterly left this man utterly dishonoured; and the amazing thing is that he still hangs onto his office.

We once had a prime minister of Canada who was caught receiving three CAD$75,000.00 cheques from one Herr Hans Karl Shreiber for undefined services. This prime minister was so utterly dishonoured with the putrid smell of corruption. 

When his term of office was nearly done, he outsourced the punishment he saw coming to one Kim Campbell. This foolish woman accepted the post of prime minister of Canada; and with it she was utterly tarnished.

Now, she had to call an election. She and the great national party she led were totally devastated. Only some 3 of its candidates were re-elected to the Canadian Parliament. She and her national party were finished.

The said prime minister was to go on to be an elder statesman of the nation, an eminence grise. He was even to serve on the Board of Barrick Gold Corporation. 
And today they even seek his advice and opinion on this and that. The current prime minister even took him in the official .gov.ca party to the last rites of Nelson Mandela.

This man in my humble submission was and is an utter discredit to his office as pm of Canada. The aroma of corruption that surrounded him was incredible. In the days of ancient Rome, he would have known the thing to do was to kill himself.
In this he also failed.