John Dalli and the OLAF investigation: there are two separate issues here
The sooner we understand that there are two separate issues in the John Dalli/corruption/OLAF investigation, the better. Unfortunately, being Maltese and living in Malta, we fail to understand the full significance of the maxim about Caesar’s wife. Instead, we think of everything in terms of a court of law, with evidence and proof, innocence and guilt.
The two separate issues are these.
1. Were there grounds to warrant Dalli’s resignation/removal?
2. Are there grounds for criminal prosecution?
The two are not the same. In the first, the maxim about Caesar’s wife comes into play. In the second, it does not. For the second, you need cast-iron evidence, proof and a proper trial. For the first, suspicion and incorrect behaviour are enough to bring your position into disrepute, and that alone is grounds for your forced removal or a demand for your resignation.
This is very difficult for Maltese people to understand, and you can see this in the debate that has been going on since the European Commission chief gave Dalli half an hour to resign or be removed.
It hasn’t helped that, in Malta, resignations are predicated on ‘proof’ and ‘evidence’, and are spoken of in terms of a trial. We hear talk of there being no case against X or Y, so why should be resign? Once you bring your position into disrepute, that’s it. Few people understand this.
That it is right John Dalli was forced to resign should be beyond dispute. Whether there is enough evidence for his prosecution is another matter entirely.
The link to the much-talked-about OLAF report, published yesterday on a document-sharing website, is below. It is difficult and tedious to read because it is a scan of the actual hard copy, complete with binder.
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/138149155/OLAF-REPORT-John-Dalli
What happened to pages 15/16 of the OLAF report shown on the website above?
After pages 12/13, the scanned copy shows page 14 on the left and 17 on the right – an almost physical impossibility. This means that the sheet with pages 15 on the front and 16 on the rear either vanished mysteriously or it was removed from the report.
This raises an important question: What was the content of pages 15/16 of the OLAF report about the Dalli affair?
The website above states that the document was published by Malta Today. Maybe they can explain?
Incidentally, from the information on pages 14 and 17, pages 15 and 16 would have dealt with John Dalli’s meeting held in Malta in January 2012, which is not disputed. Its details must be interesting.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130429/local/olaf-s-unambiguous-circumstantial-evidence.467501
“Nobody disputes the first two meetings, one on August 10, 2010 and the other on January 6, 2012.”
Ah, but wait. See there it is written: the evidence suggests that dirty Snus & friends tried to get rid of Dalli through ensnarement, and while his former henchman took the bait, OLAF tied the loose ends to frame them into “unambiguous pieces of circumstantial evidence” against Dalli.
So even if Dalli did not bite, his reputation sealed the case for Barroso to deliver the coup de grace.
Nice hit job, as you see. Pity Dalli did not bite, though. Poor old Barroso wouldn’t have had to face the ghost that haunts him.
[Daphne – OK, Kevin. Meanwhile, the rest of us are relieved that Sharon didn’t make it to the European Parliament, even though the two who got there instead are not so impressive.]
We are all relieved, Deafley, from Joseph right down to our cat.
Poor Dalli, surrounding himself with the likes of Silvio Zammit and Iosif Galea.
You just don’t get it do you?
I suppose Sharon will have to get back to her alliance with Hungarian anti-semites and MEP’s charged with assault.
Try to retrieve some funding for her ‘political group’.
Jozef, if you are as knowledgeable about the Dalli case as you’ve been about the EAF it explains it all.
But do try avoiding being libellous. A simple search would help you tremendously.
Finally! I have made this argument time and time again with friends and acquaintances but nobody seemed to appreciate the difference.
Why is Dalli not suing Zammit?
Kummissarju ghandu jidher li hu ‘l-fuq minn kull dell ta’ tixhim.
Dawk it-telefonati huma bizzejjed biex juru li Dalli kien minn ta’ gewwa ma’ Iosif Galea u Silvio Zammit !
Biex takkuzah forsi m’hemmx imma biex taharbu hemm.
Kummissarju ghandu jirrizenja minn rajh meta jkun hemm dubji serji fuqu, li minn dawk hemm kemm trid.
Why doesn’t Kevin go and do something useful with himself like jump off a cliff? I can tell you one thing for certain that in a few years time you and your cat won’t be so smug and nor will Joseph.