Opposition leader Adrian Delia warned that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is clinging on to the seat of power and that his MPs are protecting him.

“Instead of putting the national interest first, Joseph Muscat has chosen to put himself and those closest to him first,” Delia said. “Just as the Prime Minister protected Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, so too are his MPs protecting him now.”

Delia was speaking in the wake of a parliamentary group meeting, during which Labour MPs allowed Muscat to decide his own future. Several reports state that he will stay on as Prime Minister until January, when a leadership election will take place.

Delia said that the Prime Minister is “clinging on to the seat of power” while Malta is drowning, a phrase Muscat had used as Opposition leader against Lawrence Gonzi while the then Prime Minister was facing a parliamentary rebellion.

Referring to the reinstatement of Chris Cardona as Economy Minister, Delia noted that Cardona is concerned about a potential frame-up in connection with the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and that he has recently been subjected to a magisterial inquiry over the privatisation of three hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare a few years ago.

“The Prime Minister doesn’t have the legitimacy to appoint ministers or to remain in charge,” he said. “With Joseph Muscat as his Prime Minister and his friends implicated, the people cannot have their minds at rest that justice will be served and that it will appear to be served.”

“The Prime Minister is an obstacle to the investigations and a certainty that justice won’t be served. He’s the cause of this great uncertainty in Malta and he should have left immediately.”

Delia also urged people to take to the streets of Valletta this afternoon, where a protest is being held in front of Parliament at 4pm.