Almost 86% of all MEPs have voted for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s immediate resignation, with just 26 MEPs disagreeing with the urgent call.

The Labour Party’s four MEPs (Miriam Dalli, Alfred Sant, Alex Agius Saliba, and Josianne Cutajar) would have been amongst those who voted against the resolution, which called for Muscat’s immediate resignation.

However, with just 22 MEPs sticking with them, it seems that a large number of Muscat’s own political family, the Party of European Socialists, have turned against the man who used to be their golden boy.

Yesterday in Parliament, a spokesperson for the PES even said that Malta had become a “symbol for corruption”.

According to figures, of the 690 MEPs, 581 voted in favour of the resolution, 26 against, and 83 abstained.

The resolution, which was led by Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola, stressed that:

“Any risk of compromising the investigations, whether perceived or real, must be excluded by all means; [further stressing] that this risk persists for as long as the Prime Minister remains in office.”

Beyond Muscat’s immediate resignation, the resolution also calls for Europol’s involvement in the investigation to be reinforced, while also urging the “new Commission to enter into dialogue with the Maltese Government in the context of the Rule of Law Framework without further undue delay”.