Malta's PM ready to quit over reporter murder: Reports

BERLIN

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is expected to announce his resignation from his post in the coming hours, the local media said on Friday.

According to the newspaper MaltaToday, Muscat will formally step down when a new Labour Party leader is elected in the coming weeks. He will remain prime minister until that time.

Muscat’s decision is expected in the wake of a major political crisis in Malta triggered by events linked to the investigation into the 2017 murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

High-ranking Labour Party officials are reportedly to have talked to Muscat about the political crisis this morning, expressing their concerns of how things were developing.

Earlier in the day, the Galizia family called on Muscat to resign.

"We urge the prime minister to step aside and let an unconflicted deputy take over. If the prime minister has the interests of justice and Malta at heart, then he should do so immediately. Our country is more important than his career,” the family said in a statement.

The family also said it shared Malta’s shock and anger over the release of Keith Schembri, Muscat’s “close personal friend” and chief of staff.

“At least two witnesses and multiple pieces of physical evidence implicate Schembri in the assassination of our wife and mother,” the family said.

“A prolific criminal, connected to multiple bribery and money laundering schemes, Schembri is now a free man, facing no prospect of prosecution for any of his crimes," the family added.

The family said it was a travesty of justice that is shamming Malta and "ripping our society apart.” They went on to say the situation could no longer continue.

The killing of Galizia in 2017 triggered outrage in Malta as angry protesters took repeatedly to the streets last week, calling for Muscat's resignation.

They accused the country's leadership of corruption and demanded justice for Galizia.