Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne referred to the unanimous support given by the government’s parliamentary group and the Labour Party’s executive to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat when asked about how tenable the Prime Minister’s position is given recent developments.

It was a Black Tuesday for Muscat yesterday after his chief of staff Keith Schembri and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi both resigned, along with Economy Minister Chris Cardona, who suspended himself, in the light of developments in the investigation into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Schembri was arrested by police on Tuesday morning, soon after his resignation was announced, while Cardona was questioned by police last Saturday in connection with the case.

Mizzi meanwhile has come under fire for his link between his Panama company and the company 17 Black, owned by murder suspect Yorgen Fenech, which was to pay €5,000 every day into the company and that of Schembri.

The recent developments have prompted calls for the Prime Minister’s resignation, but the Deputy Prime Minister would not be drawn into an extensive comment when asked whether he thought that Muscat’s position is still tenable.

“The day before yesterday, the parliamentary group voted unanimously in support of the Prime Minister, and after the PL executive also unanimously gave its support to the Prime Minister”, Fearne said before walking to his car.

Fearne noted that his primary interest at the moment is “the national one”, elaborating that this meant “serenity in the country, that the economy remains strong, and that there is security in the country.”

He said that he was pleased that the police are proving that they are serious, that they know what they are doing, and that they are taking initiative.

“We should let the police do their job, and move forward according to the developments from there”, he said.