Maltese Prime Minister will step down in mid-January amidst crisis in the country over Daphne Caruana Galizia's death. Anti-corruption journalist Galizia was murdered in a 2017 car bomb killing. Muscat said in a televised address that he would not be stepping down immediately but he was announcing the process of choosing a new leader. The process is supposed to start by January 12.
The calls for PM Joseph Muscat's resignation stemmed when prominent businessman Yorgen Fenech was charged with the murder of the journalist and he is said to be connected to various senior officials and government ministers, including the PM, who is under pressure for not quitting sooner.
Reuters said Muscat wanted to write to the president of the Labour Party so that the process for a new leader is set for 12th January 2020. He also said that on that day he will resign as the leader of the Labour Party and in the coming days, he will resign as the prime minister.
Sunday protest
Many took part in a march on Sunday which was led by the Galizia family in Valetta, the country's capital. Muscat also added during his address that the responsibility he had to shoulder does not compare to the pain the family had to endure. There was no immediate response from the family over the Prime Minister's resignation.
Muscat has been in power since 2013 and has won two general elections in a row. Malta has been rattled by the murder and the fallout. President George Vella followed Muscat's address with an appeal for calm by saying in a statement that he hoped "justice is done with all those involved in this atrocious act which has cast a dark shadow on the national conscience get what they deserve".
Muscat reminded them that he kept his word that justice would be done with the investigation of the journalist's murder.
