Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said he will not be resigning any time soon after he reiterated his commitment to stay on during a radio interview with One.

“I will not abdicate. It is a very delicate situation, and it is my duty to give the country the leadership it deserves,” Muscat said.

Earlier, reports on Malta Today and Times of Malta suggested that Muscat told party insiders that he would be stepping down within a few months, following the closure of investigations into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

While seeming to pour water these claims, when he spoke in terms of the entire legislature, he only mentioned “the government”, at least ruling out a snap election.

“This is a government with an unprecedented majority that will keep going for its entire legislature and will keep on carrying out major reforms that it has the mandate to do,” he continued.

On the case itself, he revealed that more information would be announced soon.

“While I understand that some are confused now, we must give the institutions time to work in serenity in the coming hours and days, and I have no doubt the situation will get clearer,” he continued.

Muscat also defended his decision to continue acting as the chief spokesperson on the case, despite his many conflicts on the issue.

Despite concerns over his growing influence in the case, Muscat reiterated that he was the one to ensure the presidential pardon for the suspected middleman in the assassination, Melvin Theuma.

“I believe I am making the best decision to ensure justice takes place,” Muscat said.

He then heaped praise on authorities for the investigation, which he said had been working on the case intensively for the past few months, despite the public criticism they faced.

“The opposition says I should speak; then they criticise me when I speak too much,” he claimed.

Turning to a criticism of the opposition, Muscat questioned the PN’s calls for an urgent parliamentary debate, days after PN MPs had walked out of parliament in protest earlier in the week.

READ NEXT: We Cannot Protect Murderers And Money Launderers’: Malta’s Education Minister Issues Warning In Yorgen Fenech Case