Or perhaps even more appropriately that he cannot comment until the Attorney General’s Office has concluded its investigation and he has reviewed the AG’s findings and conclusions.

I think we need to be careful here.

Fraud is a crime.

However, only a criminal court, set up under law and subject to the due legal process, can process and find a person guilty of a crime. No other entity or system can process a person criminally, or inflict punishment for an alleged crime.

This matter is established and protected in Articles 6 and 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and in our constitution.

Moreover, the presumption that a person is innocent until found guilty must prevail.

What we have for now is a result of an investigation by a specialist office.

That result states that there exist “unambiguous circumstantial pieces of evidence gathered in the course of the investigation indicating that he (Dalli) was indeed aware of the machination of requests of the Maltese entrepreneur and of the fact that this person was using his name of commissioner, and the position, to gain financial advantage.”

As a result, the results have now been passed to the Attorney General of Malta to determine whether to bring charges, and if yes, what charges.

However, Mr. Dalli has let Malta down. Although, this is not a crime, it carries a lot of weight.

Now all this is being questioned again. Thanks, Johhny Boy.

The “attempt to unduly influence EU policy making” was successfully accomplished by Swedish Match, with the aid of OLAF, succeeded to shelve, at least temporarily, impending stricter measures against the availability of snus outside Sweden.

“I was also dismayed at the prime minister’s (lack of) stance on the issue.”

Dismayed? Putting it mildly I am fuming.

This is taking the same route as the infamous 500 Euro increase. No regrets.

Sorry, Mr Prime Minister, but what happened is regretful to say the least and if you don’t feel that way than you are out of sync with a good number of your countrymen.

Admittedly everyone is clever with hindsight (not that it wasn’t clear enough beforehand) but at this stage a lucid stand needs to be assumed and it has to be done without delay.

Today many Maltese wish that their name was Peter Grech.

Dalli was the public’s highest paid official and the public should demand to know exactly what there highest paid official was up to.

[Daphne – You might have failed to notice, but he has been found to be so guilty that, at the close of investigations, his resignation was demanded and an international press conference called.]

Oh, and by the way, I was also dismayed at the prime minister’s (lack of) stance on the issue.

[Daphne – I wasn’t merely dismayed. I think it is so wrong, and also so very ill-advised. People expect leadership and a strong moral stance in situations like this. He didn’t have to admit to a mistake. All he had to do was say ‘Dalli let Malta down.’]