Outcry ousts Maltese leader
MALTESE Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has announced he will resign in January after an outcry over a 2017 car bombing that killed an anticorruption journalist.
In a televised message to the nation, Mr Muscat said he had informed Malta’s president that he would quit as leader of the governing Labor Party on January 12 and that “in the days after I will resign as prime minister”.
Hours earlier, nearly 20,000 Maltese protested outside a courthouse in the capital Valletta, demanding that he step down in the largest such turnout of nearly daily protests in recent weeks.
“As prime minister, I promised two years ago that justice would be done in the case of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia,” Mr Muscat said, beginning his speech, adding “today I am here to tell you that I kept my word.”
But the slain reporter’s family contended Mr Muscat’s departure wouldn’t satisfy those in the nation who were determined that corruption and cronyism between politicians and business figures be rooted out.
“People will be out in the streets again tomorrow,” tweeted one of her sons, Matthew Caruana Galizia, who is also a journalist.
Mr Muscat said “justice is being done”. He noted that in addition to three people arrested soon after the bombing for carrying out the attack, now there was “someone accused of being the principal person behind this killing”.
He was referring to prominent Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech, who on Saturday was arraigned on charges of alleged complicity in the killing and of allegedly organising and financing the bombing. Mr Fenech denies the charges.
Mr Muscat’s former chief of staff, Keith Schembri, was allegedly linked to the killing. Mr Schembri was among government
AS PRIME MINISTER, I PROMISED TWO YEARS AGO THAT JUSTICE WOULD BE DONE IN THE CASE … OF DAPHNE CARUANA GALIZIA PRIME MINISTER JOSEPH MUSCAT
members targeted by Caruana Galizia’s investigative reporting. Mr Schembri, who resigned last week, was arrested in the probe but later released. The prime minister said the investigation continued.
The slain reporter had written extensively about suspected corruption in political and business circles in Malta.
Among her targets were those in Mr Muscat’s political inner circle.
“I reiterate my deepest regret that a person, with all her positive and negative qualities and contribution toward the democracy of our country, was killed in such a brutal way,” Mr Muscat said.