Panama Papers | Muscat's decision hinges on matters he 'needs to conclude'

Prime Minister says he will 'soon' take decision on energy minister, chief of staff over offshore companies

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said he will “soon” make a decision over the political futures of energy and health minister Konrad Mizzi and OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri – who are embroiled in the so-called Panama Papers.

“I have already said that I will take decisions over their future, and I will soon conclude what I need to conclude,” Muscat told reporters ahead of a conference in Gozo.

In the face of pressure to sack Mizzi and Schembri on the spot, Muscat has repeatedly said that he will only take a decision after a tax audit into their offshore affairs are concluded.

He said that his decision will take into account the audit results and public sentiment, but denied that it will be based on the polls.

“The day I start taking decisions according to popularity will be the day I stop leading this country and this movement,” he told the Labour general conference last week. “If I looked at numbers, divorce and civil unions would never have seen the light of day. The numbers said one things, but my principles, my thoughts and my heart said another.

“A leader stops being a leader on the day he decides to follow the current. A leader is a leader when he understands the sentiment, analyzes the facts, listens, takes decisions and shoulder responsibility for it.”