Don't ask John Dalli anything about Libya, because he's on holiday
So Christian Peregin at The Times rang European Commissioner John Dalli, whose intensive links with Gaddafi’s regime were legendary – he promoted them himself on his consultancy website – and whose myriad business and property interests in Libya are now handled by his daughters.
Early on in the Libyan battle, Dalli embarrassed himself (and Malta) by talking to reporters in a way that suggested he hoped Gaddafi would pull through.
Yesterday, too, he gave the impression that he bedgrudges those who are fighting against Gaddafi any sign or sound of victory. And being what he is, he thought nothing of telling Peregin that he is not keeping properly abreast of events because he is on holiday in Gozo.
Because, you know, they don’t have televisions or the internet in that backward island. And because, you know, when important politicians and EU commissioners are on holiday, they are on holiday and Don’t Want Or Need To Know, like shop assistants or junior clerks.
“We know the rebels got into Tripoli with impressive ease. This could be worrying. It could be a trap. At least that’s what some people were saying when I last watched the news,” Dalli told The Times.
And The Times remarked on the fact that though Dalli “was not keen to provide his analysis”, he was quick to offer advice to the prime minister on “how Malta should approach the future with Libya”.
He’ll be wanting some of that, no doubt.
Why do I get the feeling that he’s actually following things minutely because he has (or his daughters do) a vested interest in what happens?
And why do I think that he’s chafing with frustration at being prevented, by his position as EU commissioner (unlike when he was a Maltese cabinet minister) from getting stuck in and being among the first to network?
It’s obvious in his ‘advice to Gonzi’ about not being a spectator.
I’m guessing that maybe Lawrence Gonzi isn’t the type to get in there and build up a little business network for himself and his children, like some other people I could mention who confused their public and representative role with their personal investments.
Baqghalux sapun ahdar xi jbiegh jew jixtri, dak il-brother tal-genn li ghandu.
Malta’s low standards are just INCREDIBLE.
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http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110823/local/Malta-should-not-remain-a-spectator-in-Libya-Dalli.381456
John Dalli is out of touch with developments in Libya as he is on holiday in GOZO.
Maybe the EU commissioner is still hoping against hope that Gaddafi and family will come out tops from this conflict.
Dalli’s network in Libya was a regime-based network and not a business one. Maybe he also thinks the the rebels’ entry into Tripoli last Sunday was staged; his pro Gaddafi comments last March were considered out of line by Barroso and he had to withdraw them.
Maybe he expected to be in Tripoli on 1st September to celebrate the 42nd anniversary of Gaddafi’s coup.
“On holiday in Gozo” must go down really well with those who are used to commuting for three hours every day, just to get to and from work. Baqa bil-mentalita tar-rahal.
Kif jghidu tal-Fondazzjoni Idejat., keep it up Johnnie!
All that going on, and the sons are still inviting European whores to the Corinthia Bab Africa:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110822/local/life-at-the-tripoli-corinthia-amid-the-tension.381450
“We need to be actors, not spectators, eh?”
What action would this particular actor have taken when he said that opposition to Gaddafi was staged and that he knows that Libyans ‘are not like us’?
So John Dalli wants to be an “actor”. How about teaming up with his brothers Bastjan and Gorg in a stand-up comedy trio: the one who trafficks green soap, the one who testifies under oath to Noel Arrigo’s good character(because he wanted to take his family to Lourdes), and the one who thought that the rebel scenes in the Libyan battle were staged.
They could even take a seat, like the Bisazza Str. trio. Joseph Cuschieri could then join them for tea.
.
BREAKING NEWS!
JPO back to work;
No, this is not a Maltatoday or Times headline news.
http://www.facebook.com/mobileprotection#!/profile.php?id=100002341073222&sk=wall
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando
Long day at the clinic to look forward to today ! Heqq-all play and no work …….. Ma jaqbilx ! Good day :)
about an hour ago
10 people like this..
Miriam Camilleri min jorqodx ma jaqbadx hut jghjdu ux
about an hour ago.
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando hekk hu ! :) good day
about an hour ago · 1 person.
Kevin Agius Gd day :) ahdima bilmod :p
about an hour ago.
Sarah Galea perfect day to b stuck inside, too bl…. hot :)
45 minutes ago.
Ethel Kawki hope all patients get the ‘all well’ treatment i got Dr.! have a nice day!
43 minutes ago.
…..u il-qajjem min bejn l-erwieh, ta’ Brincat mhux genn iehor – qabad qabda ma l’-Arriva bl-Ombudsman b’kollox.
The battle of tbe quotable quotes goes on;
The time has come to “have the courage to say (yes). Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right.” (W. Clement Stone)
“As W. Clement Stone had said, the magic key to living a life with integrity is to do the right thing because it is right.”
http://cyrusengerer.com/courage-to-do-the-right-thing/
There you go, Daphne. Once you told me that Malta doesn’t have enough actors. See, with John Dalli, we can expect a boom in the business and start competing with the West End and Broadway.
http://maltapark.com/item.asp?ItemID=1303124
Your closing remark was
Malta’s low standards are just INCREDIBLE.
Surely low standards aren’t endemic. Sometimes I just don’t get what you’re driving at.
[Daphne – Yes, Reuben, low standards are the default position here.]
Eddie Fenech Adami made a good choice when he chose to support Lawrence Gonzi and not John Dalli in the contest for the party’s leadership.
Can anyone make sense of what Elve Saliba’s saying? Is he really expecting the dead to deliver what they died for?
https://www.facebook.com/alex.saliba?sk=wall
Alex Saliba
Awguri lil poplu Libjan li kiseb dak li tant iggieled ghalih… j’alla li dak li xerridtu demmkhom ghalih issa verament twettquh!
Meanwhile, from Mlatasatr:
“Spokesman Ibrahim Moussa is thought to have went into hiding after delivering his last press conference on Sunday night while rebel fighters were sweeping with great ease in the capital city.”
Must be the dust from all those bombs going off.
When an employee proves to be useless, his wise boss will promote him to a position least dangerous to the company, if he can’t fire him.
So, Dr. Gonzi promoted (unloaded) Dalli to an EU position while letting him enjoy as many holidays as he wishes in Gozo.
The Times, of course, has to fill the space with whatever garbage is available.
Have you seen what KMB said?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110822/local/kmb-gaddafi-has-no-choice-but-to-fight-till-the-end.381367
Veru ma jafux jisthu.
His naiveness is so sincere.
On holiday in Gozo? For f*ck’s sake, surely he can pack up and hop over to Malta to “keep abreast”, or – at worst – hop into some internet cafe if he has no other access to internet?
This man is unbelievable.
I was on holiday in Zancudo last week and I couldn’t give a sh*t about anything that was going on elsewhere. But then I’m not a Commissioner of the EU.
Oh poor poor Dalli sitting in Gozo with no internet or television and trying to figure out how to salvage his (daughters’) business in Libya.
Please give the poor man a break; he has to think how he can get his (daughters’) money back now that Gaddafi has gone.
But at least there is a silver lining in the clouds as he has said “We need to make our voice heard and be relevant in policymaking.”
That’s a brilliant idea! Now he has made sure that his daughters are going to keep their business, he can help (himself) his daughters to build new Libyan businesses too.
He’s so clever that I think this calls for multiple exclamation marks !!! !!! !!! – the chav sign of cool liberalism.
Do you think the elves will understand that I’m being sarcastic, Daphne?
This windbag is getting beyond a joke. He’s about to get one of the highest pensions ever paid to a Maltese person, thanks to the prime minister he repeatedly and spitefully tries to undermine out of resentment and jealousy.
And he has the cheek to say NOW that we should be actors not spectators – now that it’s almost over – and in another breath he says “To comment I need to know the facts and I don’t yet know exactly what is happening”.
This is the man who wanted to be PM and he has no idea what is going on in the world because he’s on holiday.
Dalli, if you so badly want to be prime minister, then I have some smart advice for you: challenge Joseph Muscat and make yourself Labour leader. The sad thing is, you’ll probably win, because Labour has such low standards and a very, very big skip.
It’s business as usual here:
http://www.joesammut.eu/joe/content/business-libya
“Our office is located in the centre of Tripoli in Omar Mukhtar Street, within walking distance from the Green Square.” Who would want to go for a walk there now, I wonder.
Well, he is being consistent.
When queried about his choice of staff for his four-year sentence in Brussels, he retorted that it was none of our business.
Now that his investment consultancy services in Libya (a place where minister’s cuts were minuted during business meetings) is running out of contacts, he feels it’s no longer any of his own business, either.
John Dalli is reported to have said that it was worrying that the rebels entered Tripoli so easily. He claimed to be worried it might be a trap.
My impression is that what was worrying Dalli was the rebels’ advance and not a possible trap.
It might perhaps be unfair of me, but I got the impression that Dalli was actually hoping it might have been a trap and that Gaddafi might have somehow made a come-back and emerged gloriously triumphant.