[WATCH] Joseph Muscat calls a confidence vote among his MPs and wins it

Labour parliamentary group gives Joseph Muscat a unanimous vote of confidence • PL says ‘decisions will be taken' but does not say what

Joseph Muscat won a vote of confidence he called among the Labour parliamentary group
Joseph Muscat won a vote of confidence he called among the Labour parliamentary group

Joseph Muscat has received the unanimous backing of his parliamentary group in a vote of confidence that he called in today’s meeting, the Labour Party said.

The PL parliamentary group met this morning in the middle of a backlash against Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri.

The PL said that the Prime Minister asked for a vote of confidence from his MPs in a secret ballot after the meeting.

“The result was a unanimous show of trust in the Prime Minister,” the PL said.

The PL said the meeting was characterised by “a strong sense of responsibility”, without elaborating on what was discussed.

“The parliamentary group unanimously confirmed the government’s commitment to continue fulfilling its mandate for the rest of the legislature,” the statement said.

The party said that today’s meeting was part of a process that will continue and will lead “to decisions being taken”.

The PL did not indicate what decisions will be taken.

On Monday morning, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo called on Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri to resign, insisting that they were not bigger than the party.

In a less straightforward tone but equally telling, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne said this morning that “nobody is above the country and above the party”.

“Nobody is above the law,” Fearne reiterated.

There has been growing pressure for Mizzi and Schembri to resign after Yorgen Fenech was arrested in connection with Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder.

Fenech’s Dubai company 17 Black was listed as a target client of the Panama companies that Mizzi and Schembri opened after the 2013 election.

That business link has become even more toxic now that Fenech is implicated in the Caruana Galizia’s assassination with senior Labour figures wanting Mizzi and Schembri out.

Schembri has kept his silence but Mizzi insisted on Monday that he had no political responsibility to shoulder.

The Cabinet will meet tomorrow and a meeting of the PL executive is also expected to be held in the coming days.