Abela tries to mend fences with Helena Dalli with insignificant post

Prime Minister Robert Abela’s move to appoint Helena Dalli as Acting President of Malta following the death of former PN stalwart Francis Zammit Dimech, was a calculated effort to calm internal Labour unrest and placate the former European Commissioner, Labour Party sources have confirmed.

In a significant departure from the longstanding informal agreement between the Government and the Opposition—whereby the Acting President is typically selected from Opposition ranks—Abela unilaterally announced Dalli’s appointment to the largely ceremonial and temporary role.

This is not the first time Abela has disregarded this convention. In 2023, he controversially appointed a relatively unknown academic, Professor Frank Bezzina, as Acting President in order to push through sensitive amendments to Malta’s abortion legislation while the incumbent President, George Vella, was abroad and reportedly unwilling to give his consent.

A statement from Opposition Leader Bernard Grech, confirmed that no consultation occurred in Dalli’s case. Instead, the PN was informed via letter after Castille had already leaked the story to the media.

While the role of Acting President carries no remuneration and is limited to short periods when the President is indisposed or travelling, Abela’s decision appears politically calculated—an attempt to placate Dalli just months ahead of possible general elections.

According to Labour Party sources, relations between the Dalli family and Abela have deteriorated over the past few years, particularly after the Prime Minister declined to support Dalli’s ambition to become President of Malta.

In 2024, Dalli applied considerable pressure on Abela for the nomination, but her name was omitted entirely from the list of candidates presented during consultations with the Opposition. Abela instead chose Miriam Spiteri Debono, a long-retired political figure.

Relations soured further when Abela nominated Chris Fearne as Malta’s European Commissioner, ignoring Dalli’s lobbying for a second term in Brussels.

When Fearne was later indicted on charges related to the Vitals / Steward Health Care scandal and forced to withdraw, Dalli saw a renewed opportunity, true to her nature —but was again sidelined, as Abela selected Glenn Micallef, his then Chief of Staff and a political unknown, for the post.

This series of snubs prompted public frustration from her husband Patrick Dalli and their son, Luke—a prominent One TV presenter and vocal supporter of disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Luke Dalli resigned from his post, stating he would return “when circumstances were right,” in what was widely interpreted as a rebuke of Abela.

Labour insiders described Abela’s latest move as “a gesture to give Helena something to mend a fractured relationship,” noting that with potential elections on the horizon, the Prime Minister could not afford to have senior party figures working against him.

“He took an initial step a few weeks ago by appointing her son, Luke, as CEO of the Arts Council, despite opposition from Minister Owen Bonnici,” one source told The Shift.

Helena Dalli, who served as Minister under Muscat’s administration, was appointed to the European Commission in 2017. Her portfolio, focused on equality, was viewed as politically minor, and her tenure unremarkable.

In 2024, Dalli criticised the Opposition for blocking all presidential nominees linked to Muscat’s former Cabinet—a move that, by then, had already marked the end of her domestic political ambitions.

It is an open secret that Dalli’s husband, Patrick, has privately mocked Abela among party activists over the Prime Minister’s treatment of the Dalli family.