Disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his chief of staff Keith Schembri were planning for an early election in 2017 by February or March, weeks before the Egrant allegations even emerged.

Under questioning from lawyer Jason Azzopardi, Schembri confirmed the detail in today’s sitting of the public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Schembri added that strong polling showed that the party would storm to victory at a snap election.

His testimony raises doubts on Muscat’s claim to the inquiry that the party decided to call an election after the Egrant allegations, which Caruana Galizia published on 16th April 2017.

Caruana Galizia had claimed that Michelle Muscat, the wife of then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, was allegedly the owner of the mysterious Panamanian company Egrant. A magisterial inquiry published after her murder proved the claim to be incorrect. However, the identity of the owner of Egrant remains a mystery.

Muscat announced the 2017 snap election during a May Day rally in Valletta and has consistently argued such a move was necessary because political instability caused by the Egrant story would have led to economic stagnation.

The election was held just a month later, on 3rd June, and the Labour Party roared to victory.

However, Caruana Galizia had actually revealed that the plans for an election predated the Egrant allegations, noting that a www.laqwazmien.com domain, what was to be the slogan of the PL’s campaign, was registered at the start of April, before she wrote about Egrant.

Yorgen Fenech, the main suspect in the assassination, has claimed he was informed of the incoming election as early as December 2016. Muscat has denied informing him about this.

Azzopardi has suggested that the election was called early in preparation of Caruana Galizia’s assassination or further revelations of corruption and maladministration with regards the Electrogas deal. This has been rubbished by the people involved.

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