Former minister John Dalli yesterday accused the Nationalist Party's administration of being detached from its supporters, though he made it clear this would not stop him from focusing on his own political comeback within the party.

He made his comments at an activity just off Zebbug's main square where the atmosphere was rather peculiar.

Mr Dalli, once a prime target for the Labour Party, was being interviewed at the local MLP club by l-orizzont editor Frans Ghirxi. PN general secretary Joe Saliba, who came under heavy indirect criticism by the former minister, sat in the front row.

"They threw a lot of filth in my direction, but I always came out clean," Mr Dalli told those present.

The former Nationalist heavyweight and former finance and foreign affairs minister resigned in July 2004, amid a series of accusations, which he firmly denied.

Mr Dalli gave an overview of his political career, his achievements and odd failure, before speaking openly about his tiffs with the party he has served since 1987.

He did not seem to miss an opportunity to rekindle the widely-claimed animosity with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.

He recalled his decision to contest the second district in the 1996 election, and alleged that Dr Gonzi was given an extra push to stand for that same district at the 11th hour.

"I never received a push from anybody. What I achieved was through my own steam," Mr Dalli insisted.

He said he could not explain why the party bosses subsequently backed Dr Gonzi for party leader when the two went head to head in the leadership election in 2004.

He said he always insisted with his canvassers that they should not demonise the competition. Such tactics were a disgrace.

Turning to the summer of 2004, Mr Dalli said he decided to step down from the Cabinet after fresh allegations implicated one of his daughters.

Mr Dalli spoke of the difficulties he faced in the aftermath of his resignation, saying that several individuals were avoiding him like the plague.

Defending his professional ethics, he said he never traded on the Stock Exchange so that nobody would accuse him of dabbling in the financial services sector, which he conceived.

He lashed out at organisations and journalists he said had connections with top PN officials who, he said, fabricated lies and false reports to bring him down.

The media in general came under a scathing attack, with Mr Dalli saying it was manipulated to serve certain individuals.

Mr Dalli expressed his disappointment that Dr Gonzi had refrained from exposing earlier the lies about his alleged involvement with a hospital tender. Last November, a court jailed a person for two years after pleading guilty to fabricating a report that claimed corruption in the award of a contract for medical equipment.

Asked to comment about the PN's fourth consecutive defeat at the local elections, Mr Dalli said the Nationalists' losses were not Labour's gains.

"There is a problem of credibility in the country. Ultimately, the Nationalists are not voting for Labour, but abstaining."

He said he intended to explain to the PN the importance of analysing why people did not go out to vote.

He said he had himself played a major role to convince some 10,000 PN supporters who had abstained from voting in the EU referendum to cast their vote in the general election.

"The PN still has a good chance of winning the election... But it cannot keep disposing valid individuals."

Asked for his opinion after the discussion, Mr Saliba downplayed any bitterness reflected in Mr Dalli's speech.

"Mr Dalli is saying that the Labour Party will fail to win the upcoming election," was his curt reply.

What about Mr Dalli's allegation that he is not being given any space within the party?

"That's not true. The mere fact that we both turned up together for this event conveys a different message," Mr Saliba said.