Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has boldly said he would like the UK to hold a second Brexit referendum so as to settle the controversy “once and for all”.

“My experience so far within the context of the EU Council is that, irrespective of one’s political allegiances, there is a lot of respect [for UK Prime Minister Theresa May],” Muscat said in an interview with BBC Radio 4. “Having said that, there is a practically unanimous point of view within the Council that we would like the almost impossible to happen and for the UK to hold another referendum.”

“That being said, I don’t know what the result would be or whether it will be any different from the first one. I think most of us would welcome a situation where there is the possibility of the British people putting things into perspective, seeing what has been negotiated, seeing the options and then deciding once and for all. Having said that, it doesn’t depend on whether theres a second referendum or not but on who will campaign for what.”

Muscat, who has been mooted as a potential successor to EU Council President Donald Tusk, was speaking following an EU summit in Salzburg and a few days after holding a private meeting with Theresa May at Downing Street.

The Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Andrej Babiš also threw his weight behind a second Brexit referendum, saying he was “very unhappy” that the UK will leave the EU in March.

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]