At last, somebody’s stuffed John Dalli back into his box
EU Commissioner John Dalli - meddling in the internal affairs of an EU member state
You know, one of the things I really can’t stand about life in Malta is that few people know what reporting structures are. Also, they think that you can separate the person from the position.
And because of this, people do not grasp just how appalling a transgression it is for an EU Commissioner to make several attempts at interfering in the decisions taken by the government of an EU member state.
They do not understand just how serious a behavioural breach it is when an EU Commissioner goes on television – any television channel, anywhere – to run down the prime minister and government of an EU member state.
John Dalli cannot go on Super One and run down the Maltese government in his personal capacity, because he no longer has a personal capacity except when, for example, doing the grocery shopping or making private donations to charity.
When John Dalli appears on televison, he does so as an EU Commissioner. When he runs down a prime minister or a government, he does so as an EU Commissioner. When he tries to curb freedom of speech in interview shows, he does so as an EU Commissioner, even if he does the ridiculous Maltese thing of hanging up his Commissioner’s hat and signing ‘John Dalli, Maltese Citizen’.
The inherent contradiction should be obvious even to somebody as blinded by paranoia and spite as he is: if he were indeed an ordinary citizen, he would not be the subject of interview questions.
Even the leader of the Opposition is a victim of this impoverished mindset, which owes more to North Africa and the Middle East than it does to the thinking which underpins western European democracy.
He wants to know why the government has brushed aside John Dalli’s attempts at interfering in which technology Malta – yes, Malta, not the government – buys to generate electricity.
What Muscat should be asking himself is this: what sort of reaction would EU Commissioner John Dalli get if he went on German television to interfere in Germany’s fuel choices and disparage Angela Merkel?
John Dalli is trading on the fact that Lawrence Gonzi will not lodge a complaint about his behaviour with his boss, Jose Manuel Barroso.
My own view is that the prime minister should have himself observed the parameters and registered his disapproval immediately through the correct formal channels. He probably has his own valid reasons for not doing so, but I remain convinced in my view that the only way to deal with people like this is to slap them down hard, immediately.
But back to those reporting structures. When I filed a formal complaint with the prime minister’s chief of staff against the Chairman of the Malta Council of Science and Technology, the backwater peasants who are thick on the ground in this island had their own views about why I ‘chose’ this entity for my report.
This is because reporting and command structures, operational parameters and remits do not exist in their world view. I reported the Chairman of the Malta Council of Science and Technology to the prime minister because it is to him that he reports directly. Two separate police reports have also been filed against him, because the correct reporting entity for criminal matters is the police, not the prime minister.
Now Lou Bondi has done what perhaps others should have done long before now – though Dalli was in fact reported at the time for his terrible comments about the Libya battle, and made to release a statement – and reported him to his boss, Barroso.
The text of the letter follows.
———-
Josè Manuel Barroso
President
European Commission
Brussels
7 November, 2011
I wish to register a complaint with your office regarding the behaviour of one of your Commissioners, Mr John Dalli.
For the past two decades I have been a presenter of prime time current affairs programmes on TVM, Malta’s national station. You might recall being my guest on my programme, Bondi+, when you visited in June 2007.
During the 3 November, 2011 edition of the programme I asked a question, just a question, regarding a possible political contact between Mr Dalli and a Maltese MP, Dr Franco Debono. The guest in the studio was Dr Paul Borg Olivier, the secretary general of the PN, the party in government.
Journalistically, the question was perfectly legitimate. You might wish to view the actual sequence (attached).
Subsequently, your Commissioner sent a letter to the local Broadcasting Authority asking them to take action against me for asking this question (attached). In addition, your Commissioner made a number of slanderous, false and unjust statements about me as a journalist.
It is rather curious that John Dalli signs this letter as a ‘Cittadin Malti’ (Maltese citizen) rather than as an EU Commissioner.
I also wish to draw your attention to the fact that Commissioner Dalli has made similar false claims about me in the media on a number of other occasions. I have denied them all in the strongest terms. All my invitations to him to substantiate them in a court of law have been turned down.
The behaviour of Commissioner John Dalli, your commissioner, is completely and utterly unacceptable.
The European Union is synonymous with free speech and the zealous protection of journalists’ rights. Commissioner Dalli’s illegitimate attempt to shackle me in the exercise of my profession clearly violates these fundamental principles.
In addition, Dalli’s behaviour might not conform with his remit as an EU Commissioner.
I am hereby requesting that you take cognizance of the above and to take all the necessary actions you deem fit. It would appreciated if your office keeps me abreast of developments.
This correspondence is being copied to all Maltese Members of the European Parliament for their attention and action.
The matter will also be brought to the attention European bodies representing journalists.
I shall look forward to hearing from you.
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Mhux ta b’xejn kellna nkunu l-Maltin li nivvintaw l-espressjoni “wiccu u sormu xorta”.
Well said, Daphne and Lou.
The Maltese in general think that public figures can separate their public lives from their private ones.
Look on the bright side, though: at least John Dalli does not post pictures of himself in a denim miniskirt on Facebook.
John Dalli wants to be prime minister when he can’t even be a good EU commissioner.
Lou must go? Sure.
Lou Bondi rocks!
Good one, Lou!
JACK IN THE BOX.
Jack of all trades …
I am surprised by John Dalli’s public comments on Air Malta.
Certainly the Air Malta file doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of John Dalli.
Air Malta’s file falls under the jurisdiction of another EU Commissioner.
It is not proper for a EU Commissioner to publicly comment on an issue that it is not under his jurisdiction.
Barroso should have called John Dalli in for a chat and firmly told him that such behaviour is not acceptable.
If your readers don’t know just how far above the heads of the moronic PL apologists this is, they should take a look at the comments posted below the article on timesofmalta.com:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111107/local/bondi-writes-to-barroso-over-john-dalli.392741
Lie down and weep, like I’m doing.
I would have copied this to all MEPs and to the group leaders in the EP.
This interference with basic freedoms cannot be tolerated.
Persons in public positions are under public scrutiny, and journalists are OBLIGED to ask questions about them.
As a public person, Mr. Dalli should be advised to take things less personally. Persons occupying a public role cannot pursue vengeance.
I cannot help remembering the fuss John Dalli made about the anonymous letters allegedly sent to defame him back in 1999.
He allowed that to die a quiet death although the only person accused and acquitted has since written an open letter to Jose Manuel Barroso demanding Dalli’s resignation, but had no reply.
I think Lou Bondi is also wasting his time although I wish him well in his efforts.
John Dalli is a threat to democracy and while complaining about others putting out disinformation, he is guilty of doing the same thing.
He has attempted to shackle others who cross his path, Joseph Ellul Grech being but one.I can only say to Dalli “What goes round comes round, Johnny Cash”.
You’re not serious about this D? Seems like we have our own local contagion here … what a bunch of cry babies. You sure Lou was not in that same class at St Aloysius? Great comment on TOL …Bondi just did a Joseph Cuschieri :D..
Maltastar – Eurozone bailout fund set to reach over 2 billion
http://maltastar.com/pages/r1/ms10dart.asp?a=17543
I don’t think they understand the fundamentals of the economy…
I saw parts of Inkontri and asked myself ; “Why the heck is this EU Commissioner being ‘interviewed’ on an opposition party TV station? What is he up to?”
My conclusion is that John Dalli wants to see Gonzi’s popularity rating to go down. He wants him to lose credibility and also the next election, and then resign as party leader, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!
How low can people go to get at their ‘enemies’? And how base their actions can be.
Dalli, who was material for prime minister, did not make it , and a big part of the blame was Super One TV on which he chose to be interviewed.
Super One never flogged dead horses, that’s what they’re doing to Gonzi and Austin, and that’s what they did to John Dalli, Mugliett and JPO for that matter.
Dalli is all out against Gonzi, together with JPO, Mugliett and Debono.
Some may conclude that if Gonzi is removed we won’t have this charade in our political scene.The Green Eyed Monster obviously took control of these peasants.
A person mixed same amounts of whisky and water, drank it and got drunk. Some days later he mixed three measures gin with three water downed the drink and suffered the same result.
To cut a long story short he tried this experiment with rum, vodka, tequila and brandy and the results were all the same. His stupid conclusion was that when one mixes his drinks with water, the cocktails make one feel tipsy because of the water content in the drinks.
Politics attracts power-hungry able people and equally able people with high ideals. It’s up to us to have the right cocktail and remain sane.
I fail to understand what John Dalli is trying to achieve by these antics.
Does he still believe he has a chance of returning to Maltesel politics and becoming PN Leader?
Or maybe planning a comeback with Labour in power and being appointed President?
I do not shoot down the anecdotes and conjectures surrounding his resignation. I think he has valid reasons to believe that he was targeted and forced to resign for particular reasons.
But this is no good reason for Dalli to keep displaying a dual personality of an EU Commissioner who spends his weekend playing the Local District Politician.
His actions – culminating recently with three consecutive appearances on Joe Grima’s Inkontri and his BA complaint against Lou Bondi – are reflective of what a leader should not be about….a sore loser.
John Dalli has some really good qualities which ultimately made him an EU Commissioner. Using them to attack the Prime Minister is surely not the maxim one expects from a seasoned politician of the Eddie era.
Bondi made a fool of himself this time. Pathetic.
[Daphne – You’re one of the people I described in my first paragraph: a backwater peasant who thinks of interaction at an official level as a conversation fil-kazin tal-banda. Naf lil Joey, naf lil Leli u issa nkellmu ftit.]
Why so tense?
[Daphne – Because I don’t suffer fools gladly, Martin, and people like you, who pop in here for some of what I call ‘negative flirting’, give me the creeps. If you don’t have a girlfriend, find one. It’s not my problem if you find the Labour version a little….boring.]
If you’d rather hear only what you want to hear, just say so.
[Daphne – Of course not. But there’s something about your communication style which is distinctly creepy: prod-tease-negative flirt. The annoying guy in the bar. Communicate normally or I’ll just delete you.]
That is a very good move.
What I don’t understand is this – “All my invitations to him to substantiate them in a court of law have been turned down.”.
If Lou feels so aggrieved by what John is saying (and so he should if the claims in his regard are false), why doesn’t he (Lou) file a lawsuit for libel ? What’s this “invitation” business ?
[Daphne – Madonna, how exasperating. It’s like dealing with village idiots. Did you actually READ what I wrote above here? Not scan it, read it, and understand it. All of it – the whole bit about reporting structures, chains of command, parameters of behaviour, remit….. Libel doesn’t come into it. Bondi is not seeking redress. He is asking Boss Barrosa to keep his underling Dalli in check and stop him interfering in the workings of the press in an EU member state. Try, for heaven’s sake try, to stop thinking of John Dallli as a Maltese politician. He is NO LONGER a Maltese politician. He is an EU Commissioner. The parameters are now different for him. He cannot keep interfering in national politics or going to war with the press.]
The same traits must be common to the three brothers.
The reverend brother has not been given another parish after he had to be ousted out unceremoniously from Tal- Ibrag parish by long suffering Archbishop Mercieca in 1998; since then he has been in several parishes in locum tenens positions but always creating problems so on to the next parish.
Well Bastjan is still Bastjan, presumably still dealing in soaps and detergents.
And John has never heard of Chinese walls to avoid conflict of interest problems.
He cannot decide whether he wants to be an EU Commissioner, Maltese politician with great expectations, or wheeler dealer.
Fr George Dalli has been officiating at the Attard parish for the last number of years and he has never been locum tenens in this parish.
As they say, where ignorance is bliss … .
True, but he still remains a plonker
Good luck to the parishoners of Attard then, they need it with Dun Gorg.
Tal-Ibrag residents have had enough of him to last a lifetime, thank you.
Maybe “locum tenens” was too kind, perhaps?
Is the great Bondi on the alert, what a shame.
Stop g-g-g-griping, and get a grip instead.
Mr Barroso is going to spend many sleepless nights on Mr Bondi’s letter. The latter’s letter is much more serious than the eurozone crisis.
Why does this letter remind me of schoolchildren?
[Daphne – Again, refer to my post above and read it carefully. Clear reporting structures are there for a reason. Do not apply to these matters and officials the thinking you would use at home: “Mummy is worried right now because daddy has lost his job. So I won’t tell her that I’m being bullied at school.” It doesn’t work like that. If a senior official is out of order, he has to be reported. When John Dalli made those stupid and irresponsible remarks about the rebel fighters in Libya, nobody said ‘Jose Manuel Barroso has more important things to do so we won’t report him’. He was reported to his boss, and his boss obliged him to clarify his position.]
And there is more. Since the matter was reported to the MEPs, and the MEPs have the right to question Mr. Barroso in the plenary, the matter can be followed up.
Lou Bondi called EU Commissioner John Dalli “a bad loser and a liar.”
Daphne, you wrote “somebody as blinded by paranoia and spite as he is:” I agree with your opinions. In fact, I think he is a sociopath.
Revenge is a dish best seved cold. That is a well-known Dalli tactic.
[Daphne – He doesn’t seem very cold to me. His problem is that he’s still worked up.]