Malta PM to resign as questions mount over murder of journalist
LONDON: Malta’s Joseph Muscat pledged to resign as leader after his closest aides were linked to a car bomb that killed an investigative journalist.
Muscat, 45, said that public anger over the murder, two years ago, was justified. His closest adviser and finance minister have both been questioned by police in recent days as the inquiry into the killing gathered pace. “We are starting the process for a new prime minister who will continue carrying out the work for this legislature,” Muscat said in a broadcast on Sunday.
The scandal shines an uncomfortable light on the European Union’s smallest member, one whose central banker nevertheless shares a seat at the table with the likes of Germany and France setting the euro-area’s monetary policy.
The journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating suspicious payments by a local power company at the time she was killed and the European Central Bank has raised broader concerns about money laundering in Malta. “I kept my word - not only do we have three persons accused of this murder but, also now, someone accused of being the principal person behind this killing,” said Muscat.
He was first elected prime minister in 2013 and said he will stay in office until his Labour Party has chosen a successor in a process starting January 12.
Pressure on Muscat to step aside has grown since businessman Yorgen Fenech was arrested last month in connection with the Caruana Galizia’s murder.