In the Press: Muscat decided over Mizzi's fate

MaltaToday says Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is decided over Konrad Mizzi’s political fate but will not make an announcement today at the Labour general conference. The newspaper says Muscat is not expected to announce any resignation decisions for either embattled Minister Konrad Mizzi or chief of staff Keith Schembri, but he has privately decided what his next steps will be after the finalisation of the audit reports being carried out by the Inland Revenue department on Mizzi.

The newspaper also reports that Air Malta’s talks with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways are still ongoing, with talks focused on the strengths of Air Malta. It also reports that Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has told Chamber of Commerce that he has no intention of calling a national strike after having been warned that such a strike action would cause irreparable damage to the economy.

Sunday newspaper Illum says Konrad Mizzi’s decision to rest his political fate with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in the wake of the Panama Papers leak did not go down well with Labourites, as this has been interpreted as exposing weakness and as a direct challenge to Muscat.

On the frontpage, the newspaper says Louis Galea, Malta’s representative at the European Court of Auditors and a former PN minister, is behind the PN’s strategy. On the backapage, the newspaper says 60% of its readers are against abortion, even in case of rape.

The Sunday Times of Malta says Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is unlikely to announce the dismissals of Konrad Mizzi and OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri when he speaks at the Labour Party general conference this morning. In another story, the newspaper says a White Paper to be launched soon will propose that Church voluntary organisations become accountable, as they would have to enrol as NGOs.

The Malta Independent on Sunday says Mossack Fonseca, the Panamanian law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal, dealt with the offshore financial structure of energy minister Konrad Mizzi as well as the affairs of the parent company of former Delimara power station partner Gasol.

It-Torca says the Nationalist Party have a strategy to create instability in the country. The newspaper claims that Nationalist MEPs David Casa and Roberta Metsola are using their contacts at the European Parliament to criticize Malta.

PN news organ il-mument carries a front-page headline promoting today’s anti-corruption demonstration under the heading Barra – Out. The newspaper also says the leak of the Panama Papers have exposed a rift between Labour MPs and party’s delegates.