In a statement, the Department of Information said that EU commission President Jose’ Manuel Barroso has been informed of the nomination.

The PN Parliamentary Group welcomed the decision and paid tribute to John Dalli and in a statement it said that he played a major role in overhauling the financial sector.

While this move was roundly predicted it is what happens next that is of interest to observers of the Maltese political landscape.

With his appointment as Malta’s second EU commissioner, John Dalli will have to relinquish his parliamentary seat on the 6th district.

The most likely person to fill the vacation is the Speaker of the House Louis Galea, a former MP who failed to get elected at the last elections. Analysis of the electoral results shows that Dr Galea was not elected but was left hanging at the end of the counts with 2,865 votes.

However, this has no relevance in a casual election, where all candidates will start with a clean sheet when Mr Dalli's votes are re-distributed.

Those whose name appears higher on the ballot paper stand a better chance of election with voters usually giving their first preference to their preferred candidates, and then voting from the top of the list downwards and Dr Galea tops the list alphabetically.

However, Dr Galea may be given a good run for his money by Siggiewi mayor Robert Musumeci and Dr Peter Micallef.

If elected to parliament, Dr Galea could in theory still retain his seat as Speaker of the House Representatives; his predecessor Anton Tabone was also a member of parliament.

However, with just a one-seat majority in parliament, this would mean that Dr Galea would only vote as Speaker in the case of tie - creating a scenario where the Nationalists and Labour parties have an equal number of votes in each and every debate.

Dr Galea could, however, enjoy a political rebirth as he is increasingly being tipped as the most likely person to fill in the post of Social Policy Minister if the Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi prefers not to have a reshuffle.