A famous remark on male homosexuality of Mrs Patrick Campbell, that she did not care what people did as long as they "didn't frighten the horses",[1] shows that in some sense even high tolerance expects a public limitation on behaviour.
At the opposite extreme a theocracy may equate public morality with religious instruction, and give both the equal force of law.
Rapid shifts the other way are often characterised by moral panics, as in the shutting down of theatres a generation after Shakespeare's death by the English Puritans.
These are fairly universally regarded as blots on reputations, though in some cases there is a grey area between corruption and legitimate fund-raising.
Whether the private lives of politicians are a public morals issue is not a matter of agreement, internationally speaking; the existence of an extramarital relationship of a prime minister or even a president would in some countries be considered a revelation well within the sphere of the public interest, while in other countries it would be considered quite irrelevant.