Is John Dalli the prime minister’s boss?

Published: July 7, 2013 at 10:03pm

Dalli and Muscat

John Dalli told the press that he had a one-hour meeting with the prime minister, at which he was accompanied by his daughters Claire Gauci Borda and Louisa Dalli.

They explained to him all about their philanthropic African project of billions of dollars, and showed him documents which they could not reveal publicly because of professional secrecy, and the prime minister, Dalli said, was “satisfied”.

Dalli also said that as a result of the prime minister’s satisfaction, he will carry on taking charge of reform at the general hospital.

It was not John Dalli’s place to say this. He stepped out of line – yet again.

It was for the prime minister to announce that he had met Dalli, that Dalli had explained things to him, that he is satisfied with that explanation, and that he does not expect Dalli to resign.

By ceding this announcement to Dalli himself, the prime minister may think that he has avoided difficult questions, but in reality all he has done is make himself look ever weaker, and get people asking exactly why Dalli seems to have him strung up by the short and curlies.

We look as though we have a prime minister held hostage by Jason Micallef and John Dalli. It’s not a pretty sight, we’ve had enough of that kind of thing, and with a nine-seat majority, we know for a fact that seats in parliament are not the reason. Neither Dalli nor Micallef has one of those.




10 Comments Comment

  1. Vanni says:

    Professional secrecy my foot.

    If he is bound by professional secrecy, he could have told no one, not even the PM.

    However if he had a waiver from his client, in which he is allowed to brief the PM, he would have said that he had a waiver for the PM’s eyes only.

    Another thing – is John Dalli °in his personal capacity° licensed to act on behalf of clients? Has he been vetted and approved by the competent authorities?

    And if yes, did he have written approval from the EU that he may act on behalf of, and or advise third parties, whilst a prisoner in Brussels?

  2. ciccio says:

    Do we have two brown envelopes here?

  3. Thaddeus says:

    Do Dalli and Micallef have the same leverage or do you think they have separate material?

    What do Jason and Dalli have in common?

  4. where are we? says:

    Did Dalli explain to the prime minister the involvement of a major fraudster in this multi-billion-dollar project?

  5. rjc says:

    I’m getting a bit confused now.

    John Dalli declared only a few days ago that he still considers himself as an EU Commissioner and that he had not resigned, or words to that effect.

    So how can he accept an official post given to him by the PM effectively making him Minister for Mater Dei? Doesn’t that also go against the Code of Conduct for EU Commissioners?

    Is he coming or going? Or simply wandering in the desert?

    Apologies for all these questions, but he keeps digging, and so must we.

  6. Jenny says:

    One simple question with no fancy words and one simple explanation wanted. Why is Muscat covering up for/defending John Dalli?

  7. Joseph Ellul-Grech says:

    Where there is suspicion of criminality, professional secrecy ends. If an impartial investigation was to be conducted the law supersedes professional secrecy.

    Unfortunately, impartial investigations are beyond the capabilities of the Maltese authorities.

  8. rpacebonello says:

    The end justifies the means?

  9. Candida says:

    Yes I ask why is the Prime Minister who represents the Maltese Nation not given a transparent and honest statement about all this? Why does he go behind closed doors and discuss with this man Dalli when so many fingers are pointing at him?

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