Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has insisted that the 12th January date for the Leadership election is the shortest period possible.

Speaking briefly outside Castille following his resignation announcement and ignoring any other questions from the press, Muscat said that in terms of his involvement, he would only be handling the “day-to-day operations”.

However, concerns still remain that he could use the remaining 42 days in his position to influence the on-going investigation into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

While business magnate Yorgen Fenech has been charged with masterminding the assassination, massive questions still remain over the relationship of his former Chief of Staff Keith Schembri to both Fenech and the suspected middleman Melvin Theuma.

The outgoing Prime Minister did admit that there had been “shortcomings” in the case, and his resignation showed that he was willing to shoulder responsibility for it.

Muscat insisted that he will not “defend someone” or “try to undermine the case”, but protests calling for his immediate resignation will still continue on today. NGOs and unions have already called his position untenable, while PN Leader Adrian Delia has said his government is illegitimate.