What I meant was that despite being EU commissioners, it’s not exactly a state secret that commissioners also put forward their home country’s position and lobby for posts.

Legally you’re right, commissioners all act together as the EU Commission, but that is such a blinkered position that it doesn’t reflect reality.

[Daphne – EU commissioners do not put forward their own country’s position. They can’t afford to be seen to do so. Imagine if Joe Borg, as Fisheries Commissioner, had fought Malta’s position in the tuna wars. They have to be capable of a leap of imagination that divorces them from their own country. Dalli appears unable to do that.]

Well, legally yes, he doesn’t represent Malta. But that is just a diplomatic nicety, a piece of EU sophistry. Do you really believe that the commissioners have no say in how EU policy is set?

[Daphne – What does the one have to do with the other? No, it isn’t a diplomatic nicety or a piece of EU sophistry, whatever you might mean by that. It’s a fact: John Dalli does not represent Malta. He is an EU Commissioner. He acts for the European Union, as a whole.]

It smacks to me of a conflict of interests as he is supposed to be representing all of Malta in Brussels, not just the Nationalist Party surely?

[Daphne – He’s not representing Malta at all. He has nothing to do with Malta now, that’s the point. He represents the European Union.]

Former President Prodi was practically holding together the opposition coalition in Italy during his last few months in office in Brussels.

As for the Nationalist Party, I don’t think it makes any sense to unnecessarily attack those who are not personal supporters of the current party leader.

Those who do not share the leader’s views are possibly a minority but without them (and many others who are not Nationalists at all) the party will not win elections.

[Daphne – Hence the prime minister’s words about Robert Arrigo this morning. BUT a balance must be struck between keeping them on side and allowing them to destabilise the whole ship out of spite. If John Dalli had a seat in parliament, I suspect at this stage that he would be quite capable of doing what Mintoff did to Sant, though of course it would be a strategic error of mammoth proportions, because you don’t increase your chances of becoming leader by bringing down the government.His only chance of becoming leader now is by helping make Lawrence Gonzi – and thus the Nationalist Party – unelectable. Surely you see that if Gonzi wins (and what a feat that would be) the next election then Dalli hasn’t got a hope in hell of ever achieving his ambition as party leader? So effectively, he can’t possibly want the PN to win again, and it’s a fair assessment that he and John Dalli Today will be doing whatever they can between now and then to make sure that Gonzi is not successful. ]

It is good that people understand what’s going on behind the scenes. It is good. Keep it up.

Things are (rarely) what they seem.

Wasn’t Balzan at Scerri Herrera’s home – the one she shares with her lover, not the one she shared with her husband – a few days away from her hearing a court case involving Balzan?

That would make her denial a lie – is that the fourth or the fifth instance of perjury in the current defamation case alone?

[Daphne – No. He was just fortunate to be there when the economy was doing well. It’s not that great being finance minister in the thick of an international crisis.]