John Dalli

Former European Commissioner John Dalli claimed yesterday former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi told him he would nominate Richard Cachia Caruana if he did not accept the Brussels job.

Mr Dalli was testifying in a libel suit filed by Mr Cachia Caruana, Malta’s former permanent representative to the EU, against the managing editor of MaltaToday, Saviour Balzan, over an article titled ‘Why people will protest and not vote’, which appeared on May 24, 2009.

Mr Dalli said he at first refused when offered the job and Dr Gonzi told him that, if he did not accept, Mr Cachia Caruana would be nominated instead. Dr Gonzi kept chasing him about the matter and Mr Dalli said he eventually accepted.

Mr Dalli resigned from the European Commission in 2012 in the wake of an EU anti-fraud inquiry linked to tobacco legislation. He has a pending case against outgoing European Commission president José Manuel Barroso and the commission over the way he was made to resign.

Richard Cachia Caruana

He testified that, when he contested the Nationalist Party leadership election, he was subject to “constant attacks”. He said journalists such as Daphne Caruana Galizia and Ivan Camilleri, together with Mr Cachia Caruana, were close-knit and conspired against him.

He said he could not pinpoint exactly how the case against him began to brew but could only give an indication of how matters played out.

His situation was different under the premiership of Eddie Fenech Adami when the personal attacks were “quite hidden” and he was able to control them but when Dr Gonzi became prime minister the attacks came from various quarters.

After six months, Dr Gonzi removed him from Cabinet and told him that he only had himself to blame for the attacks because he had chosen to contest the leadership.

When referring to a fabricated report against him in 2004, over which he had been placed under investigation for fraud (he was eventually cleared), Dr Dalli said that he had been asked to offer his resignation because Dr Gonzi said he could not have a Cabinet member who was being investigated.

He said that the attacks against him were continuous and claimed that, in 2004, Steve Mallia, then Times of Malta journalist andnow editor, had said he had used information provided by Mr Cachia Caruana.

The case continues on October 6.