Ever since Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced former minister John Dalli’s political rehabilitation by ruling that the three issues he was involved in had been examined and that Mr Dalli was not guilty of any of them, media and political speculation in Malta has been having a field day. The Sunday Times demanded “answers” and maltastar.com asked “who is leading the party?” Noel Grima interviewed John Dalli.

The past days have seen a whole variety of comments on the recent developments in your case. Do you feel they were fair comments or do you feel there is an underlying questioning afoot such as would come, for instance, from prejudiced positions in your regard? Do you get the feeling there is a section of the party that would rather not have made such an agreement with you?

The comments displayed the bias of the people who are making the comments. The Labour media tried to give it a spin that was so ridiculous at times. There were comments from those who were involved in the spin back in 2004 and whose interest was to try and justify themselves. There are those who would like to see the rift widen rather than closing. These are people that think they could gain some personal advantage by getting me out of the way, from the party. It is not my intention to get out of the way. Rather it is my intention to work with the party leader to ensure a victory for the party in the next election.

Did the initiative, which led to the recent development in your case (can we call it rehabilitation), come from you or did it come solely from the Prime Minister?

The initiative is an evolution of numerous discussions I had with the Prime Minister.

What concretely have you been offered? It has been clarified that there is no remuneration involved, but does the consultancy remit include offer for instance office facilities, terms of work, targets, specific tasks etc?

I will be consulted by the Prime Minister on economic and financial matters as well as negotiations on the local and foreign levels. This consultation has already started. We will see how it develops and, as has already been said by the Office of the Prime Minister, facilities will be provided as necessary.

Does the consultancy appointment mean you can attend Cabinet? Does it give you the remit to talk to specific ministers? Will it give you input at party levels?

No I will not be attending Cabinet. My consultancy is directly with the Prime Minister. I will communicate with other ministers as required according to the tasks involved. I will also be giving input at party level

Have you been asked to withdraw any of the statements you made in the past months, such as the statement about the lira conversion rate to the euro?

There were no conditions on either side. This was not a negotiation. This was recognition that the allegations levelled at me in May/June 2004 were false.

How do you plan to put in practice your consultancy work for the Prime Minister?

There are specific issues that I will discuss with the Prime Minister and on which we will decide what specific course of action to take. I will report back to the Prime Minster for him to implement any action that is indicated in any particular case.