“Speaking as a Maltese citizen and as someone who spent long hours by your side, I’d like to thank you for all the work you did and all the successes you managed to achieve,” Mizzi said. “This is the moment to reflect on where we started and where we took this country, thanks to initiatives that we worked on together as a government under your vision.”

Mizzi touted the successes achieved by the government in the past six years, from registering record rates of economic growth and reducing electricity and water tariffs to completing the LNG power station project, stabilising and expanding Air Malta and starting new road projects “beyond our wildest dreams”.

“You know that I was always behind you and remained so till the last minute, and my recent resignations shows how loyal I was to you till the very end,” he said. “This isn’t a defeat for the Labour Party but a defeat for all Maltese and Gozitans who have the national interest at heart. I love you – our project remains alive.”

Mizzi was touted as a potential successor to Muscat in recent months and it remains to be seen whether he will contest the PL leadership in the coming weeks.