Dalli is damned

EU President Barroso has sent disgraced former Health Commissioner John Dalli a letter which seethes with contempt. Dalli has been making his case—and changing his story—in a variety of fringe media outlets since his resignation. In recent days, he has claimed—somewhat pathetically—that he never really resigned at all. Barroso points out that he very much did. He goes on to discuss Dalli's "equally incomprehensible" claims and asks him, probably in vain, to act with "integrity"—the implication here, I think, is that he is the victim of some sort of Big Tobacco conspiracy.

"Mr Dalli,

I received your letter of 21 October 2012.

I would like to inform you that I am unable to accept the statements and claims made in your letter.

During our meeting on 16 October 2012, you have yourself unambiguously declared your immediate resignation, before the Director General of the Legal Service and the Head of my Private Office. Under the Treaty, no written form is required for a declaration of resignation, and it is irrevocable.

As a consequence, no further question arises about the effectiveness of your resignation.

Your various complaints and accusations of illegal or incorrect conduct vis-à-vis you that you have advanced in several statements since 17 October 2012 are equally incomprehensible. In this respect, I would remind you that you have had in good time several opportunities to react to the issues raised with regard to the OLAF investigation.

Finally, in the light of certain statements and insinuations you have made in relation to the process of preparation of the revised directive on tobacco, I wish to remind you of your obligation, as a former Commissioner, to behave with integrity in accordance with Article 245 TFEU. As the OLAF investigation confirmed, the decision making process of the Commission in the tobacco file has not been affected and, as foreseen in its Work Programme, the Commission will proceed with this proposal."

Dalli is a dead man walking. It is hard to believe Barosso would send such a letter if he was not confident that the evidence existed to take him down.

Alternatively, of course, you can believe that the EU is a pro-tobacco institution and that a little-known Swedish smokeless tobacco industry somehow framed Dalli and then organised a break-in of various offices in Brussels for no apparent reason. It is fitting that anti-tobacco EU sock puppets (and George Monbiot) should make such tinfoil hat accusations without any evidence whatsoever. Long may they continue to do so, for the closer they get to this discredited and corrupt individual, the more they sully themselves.



PS.

I had my say about a weird week in tobacco control in Malta Today at the weekend. On a different note, there's an article about minimum pricing and my latest IEA report at the New Statesman.

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