Prime Minister Robert Abela said, when asked about the lack of investigation into and prosecution of Keith Schembri, that such questions should not be directed at him, but to Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa.

Schembri, former Chief of Staff to Joseph Muscat, is one of the most controversial public figures in recent years, with him being mentioned in court over the past weeks in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case.

Prime Minister Robert Abela was being interviewed on Sunday by Professor Andrew Azzopardi on ONE TV.

During the interview, Azzopardi highlighted that in recent weeks, former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has been mentioned quite often in inquiries and investigations.

Muscat was recently questioned by the police in connection with the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation.

Asked whether Abela believes that Muscat should be asked to resign from his post as MP, Abela remarked that when a decision needs to be made concerning Muscat, "I will definitely do so for the good of our country, however, there are no reasons for such a decision to be taken just yet."

The Prime Minister said that one must not forget the good that Muscat has done for Malta.

He made it clear that "in such a situation, I am not going to ask the police or the court what they are doing, because as Prime Minister, I will not intervene in any way. I will leave them to their job as justice needs to be served indiscriminately."

He added that apart from being the Prime Minister of Malta, as a leader of the labour party he has an obligation to take action for the good of the party as well.

Abela reminded that Muscat has no position within the government but is only a Member of Parliament.

Abela then turned to the opposition, and said that PN Leader Adrian Delia and PN leadership contender Bernard Grech have a common problem, that they are using the PN leadership post to solve their personal financial issues.

He said that "this lack of authenticity is very worrying for our country as it's just not right."

"How can one go for such an important post when you aren't able to handle your own personal affairs?", Abela questioned.

A MaltaToday survey showed that the Nationalist party could experience a positive impact if Grech were to be elected as the new opposition leader.

The survey showed that "Grech would receive a score of 32.1% against Abela's 51.7%, which results in a gap of almost 20 points."

"Whilst Delia would receive a trust rating of 12% against Abela's 56%, which results in a gap of 44 points."

Asked about whether he would see this as a reason to call for an early general election, Abela said that his commitment is to keep on working, and an election will only take place when the country needs it.

He added that during a pandemic when the country needed an opposition that stands side by side with the government, instead it called for an internal election.

Asked about the economic risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic Abela remarked that at this moment in time one can see that the world, including Malta, is showing its economic resilience.

According to statistics, while there was a great decline due to the pandemic, in the third quarter of this year there are signs of stabilization.

In addition, Azzopardi made reference to a number of conditions within the Corradino Correctional Facility, including the overcrowding of prisoners.

Abela said: "although the place is not perfect, the treatment of prisoners and prison conditions are not horrible, rather they are in a good condition."

He added that this "facility is an important aspect within our society because whoever commits a crime must pay according to the law, otherwise we will be living in a jungle and in anarchy."

Although a perpetrator within the correctional facility should be given the opportunity to reform himself because everyone deserves a second chance, "we must never forget the victims," he said.

With regards to the migration crisis and the Danish-flagged chemical tanker at sea, Abela remarked that the Danish government needs to be the one to take responsibility as the Maersk Etienne situation is not Malta's responsibility.

"It is very ironic that the Danish government has a total of 27 people to deal with, whilst Malta is facing and is trying to cope with an influx of migrants."

Many of the immigrants who came to Malta are being relocated but Abela remarked that this is still not enough. 

He added that between the months of January and February Malta had close to a thousand of immigrants coming in. "However, the government has been determined to reduce this amount as much as possible. "

"With all hands-on deck, one can compare and clearly see the difference because in August, the number of immigrants fell to a third of what came in last year."

With regards to prostitution, Abela explained that there are certain people who do not know a better life; "therefore, we need to see how we can help people get out of prostitution safely."