A petition with the express goal of convincing Joseph Muscat to remain as Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party was launched today – and has already garnered some 500 signatures within hours.

“We believe the majority believe in Joseph Muscat’s capabilities and we therefore feel we need to unite so that he continues leading the country on the right path,” the group ‘Interess ta’ Malta’ said today as they launched the campaign and the petition.

The campaign – which is titled ‘Joseph, Malta B?onnok’ (Joseph, Malta Needs You) – is being led by former General Workers’ Union chief Tony Zarb, as well as other former Labour officials.

Once enough signatures are collected, the group will present the petition to the Prime Minister in the hopes that he heeds their call and does not leave the island in the near future.

The group said that people from all sectors of society recognised his abilities, and were calling on him to stay on as leader.

Muscat himself has said that the 2017 general election was to be his last, and rumours abound about his ambitions for a top job in the European Union. However, he has yet to announce any specific date when he would be leaving by.

If you would like to sign the petition, you can find it here.

Tag someone who needs to sign this petition, and someone else who needs to think of an even more important petition

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Johnathan Cilia

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]