Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was on the verge of resigning last Sunday but was convinced to stay on by cabinet advisor and former deputy prime minister Louis Grech and Lands Authority CEO James Piscopo.

Sources said the duo spent most of Sunday at the Prime Minister’s Burmarrad residence and managed to convince him so stay on.

Calls for Muscat’s resignation started last week, mainly from civil society groups and the independent media, and intensified on Tuesday morning after his chief of staff, Keith Schembri, resigned shortly after being arrested and questioned by police in connection with the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. On Monday, Muscat was unanimously backed by Labour Parliamentary Group.

Despite the unanimous secret vote, the meeting was characterised by two factions, one urging Muscat to resign and the other urging him to stay, sources explained.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, most ministers requested the resignation of Konrad Mizzi. The tourism minister resigned during that meeting, while economy minister Chris Cardona suspended himself. The meeting was a rowdy one.

On Tuesday evening, Muscat also received the unanimous backing of the PL’s executive.

Since then, the PM’s position at the helm of the government has become more difficult, after claims emerged that Schembri had passed on a message to Yorgen Fenech while the latter was in custody, asking him not to reveal his name with investigators. The Malta Independent revealed that the handwritten note was passed on to Fenech by Doctor Adrian Vella, while he was examining the Fenech in hospital. Fenech was at the time at Mater Dei Hospital, having complained of chest pains.

According to reports, Fenech, Schembri and Doctor Adrian Vella met at the latter’s Gozo farmhouse to plan their escape from Malta, via Tunisia and Dubai. 

MaltaToday said on Thursday that the three men accused of the murder were paid €450,000 for the hit. The information was reportedly given to investigators by Melvyn Theuma, the middleman who has been granted a presidential pardon.

It has been rumoured that Muscat could announce his resignation on Sunday or, if not then, in the coming weeks, before the end of the year.

Labour sources told this newsroom that a number of key people have again started preparing for an eventual leadership contest.

These include PL MEP Miriam Dalli, who is considered to be the OPM’s favourite, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne, who is the OPM’s least favoured candidate, and transport minister Ian Borg.

Konrad Mizzi is now out of the running after his resignation from cabinet on Tuesday.