Miriam Dalli has been named by the influential international news outlet Politico as Malta’s favoured candidate for a European Commission post when top European jobs will be up for grabs again after next month’s European election.
Even before the June 6-9 election, manoeuvring is underway to secure the prize slots. Each of the EU’s 27 countries gets a commissioner job in the highly political post-election carve-up, but there’s a fierce fight to determine who gets what. Politico adds that trade and competition are the blue-ribbon portfolios with genuine power, while those involving sport, education, and multilingualism are considered less desirable.
Last time around, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen asked each country to put forward two candidates — a man and a woman. If she returns for a second term, we can expect the same process.
In its assessment, Politico says that so far, there is no indication of which portfolio Malta is aiming for in the new Commission. It also notes that Dalli became the favourite after Chris Fearne resigned from government earlier this month, ending his candidacy to be the country’s next European commissioner after a judicial document revealed he will face charges of fraud and misappropriation.
Read more via Politico
