Miriam Dalli touted for European Commissioner post

Miriam Dalli is being touted as Malta’s next European Commissioner instead of Chris Fearne who withdrew his name after he was criminally charged in the Vitals case. 

After an emergency meeting of the Labour parliamentary group Prime Minister Robert Abela said there was still time to make a decision on the matter and Dalli would not comment. 

However, sources within the Labour Party have said Dalli was the “natural choice” to replace Fearne given her stint as a successful MEP. 

Dalli returned from Brussels where she was serving her first mandate as MEP in 2020 to join Abela’s administration. Currently responsible for the energy and environment portfolio, as an MEP Dalli had successfully negotiated the emissions cap for vehicles and knows the Brussels system well. 

The sources said Dalli is viewed as a nominee who is likely to sail through the grilling process at the hands of MEPs after the summer months. 

Fearne resigned from Cabinet with immediate effect on Friday after police charged him with defrauding the government and misappropriation of public funds in relation to the Vitals case. 

The decision caught many in the Labour Party and government by surprise since the Prime Minister had publicly backed Fearne when is name cropped up in the list of people bound to face charges. 

However, amid growing domestic pressure for Fearne and other public officials caught up in the Vitals storm to step down, and MEPs voicing their doubts on the suitability of having a European Commissioner nominee with pending criminal charges, the former deputy prime minister was left with no option but to step down from Cabinet. 

The resignation has earned Fearne plaudits from several quarters, including the Chamber of Commerce that described his action as exemplary. PL sources said Fearne’s resignation has also helped energise the grassroots. 

However, Fearne’s resignation letter made no reference to his position as deputy leader for parliamentary affairs.

On hold until the election 

On Saturday after exiting the parliamentary group meeting, Fearne would only say that his position as deputy leader is a matter for the party to decide internally. 

In comments to journalists, Robert Abela said Fearne would retain the post for the time being and would not say who will be appointed deputy prime minister. 

The PL statute states that the deputy leader for parliamentary affairs will be an MP and will be deputy prime minister when the party is in government. 

Fearne’s resignation from the government role but not the party role has created an anomalous situation. 

However, party sources said Abela did not want a deputy leadership race kicking off in the midst of an electoral campaign. 

“The situation is already complicated as it is with the Vitals court sittings expected to kick off on 28 May and with Fearne standing down from Cabinet,” the sources said. “The Prime Minister does not want to create any more confusion with a new nomination for the European Commission and a vacancy for deputy leader and has decided to postpone those decisions to after 8 June.” 

Abela wants to “steady the ship” until the election, another source said.

Deputy leader hopefuls and a mini-reshuffle 

Potential contenders for the post of deputy leader include Justice Minister Jonathan Attard, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri and Education Minister Clifton Grima. Foreign Minister Ian Borg is also touted as a potential candidate but sources say he is not too keen. 

But there is also the prospect of a mini reshuffle. Fearne’s departure from Cabinet has created a vacancy in the ministry for equality and European funds, which currently has two parliamentary secretaries attached to it – Rebecca Buttigieg and Andy Ellul. 

Abela has so far made no decisions on who to assign this ministerial portfolio but it is likely that either Buttigieg or Ellul could be primed for the ministerial job. 

And when Dalli moves to Brussels after the summer, another ministerial vacancy will arise in the energy and environment portfolio, which is one of the more visible entities in government.