The Federation of Industry and the Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise condemned those sections of the media that criticised former National Statistics Office director general Dr Gordon Cordina.

In a statement, the FOI and the chamber said they have closely followed the events leading to the resignation of Dr Gordon Cordina from his post.

It is to be underlined that the two organisations always considered Dr Cordina as a model public officer who carried out his duties in the most professional manner and who had the competence and the integrity to hold such an important and delicate position, the statement said.

Dr Cordina is a respected economist who has given impeccable service to the country’s most important institutions including the University of Malta, the Central Bank of Malta, and the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development.

During the last weeks, Dr Cordina “was the target of an orchestrated and personal attack which constituted a case of character assassination and not a critical analysis of the NSO’s functions”, the two organisations said.

While pledging support to Dr Cordina, the FOI and the MCCE strongly condemned those sections of the media which were responsible for such an unjustifiable and premeditated campaign.