Labour MP Joseph Cuschieri decided to relinquish his parliamentary seat right after the March general election because he feared the party was going to be torn apart.
"I was scared of the consequences, so I wanted to do something to avoid this happening," he told The Sunday Times.
Walking through the corridors of Parliament knowing he will be ceding his seat tomorrow when the House reconvenes, to make way for Labour leader Joseph Muscat, is a bitter-sweet moment for the 40-year-old MP, who was elected for two legislatures, and was entering his third.
Mr Cuschieri shrugged off claims that he took this decision because he was promised a cushy job in return. He was "hurt" by speculation from people questioning his gesture: "These are rumours spurred by the Nationalists. My goal was to achieve unity within the party.
"All I asked for is to remain a candidate, that's all," he said, admitting the move was not easy because it now meant he was without any source of income.
Mr Cuschieri said he had received a number of job offers from the private sector, and confirmed that Dr Muscat was helping him find a job, but he did not know if these attempts had reaped any concrete offers.
Mr Cuschieri persistently mentioned "unity" as he referred to his plan to push people to come together despite their differences.
He had set about approaching some 10 people individually, whom he felt were influential within the party and encouraged them to speak to one another, exchange ideas and if possible come up with one person who could unite the party.
"That's when I confided that if this person was not an MP, I would cede my seat; if I believed in that person... I think many didn't take my offer seriously," he added.
Once he was chosen through the casual elections on March 19, Dr Muscat was already being mentioned as one of the frontrunners, so they met at Mr Cuschieri's office.
"That's when I gave him my word that I would step down if he won. I felt he was the right person who could unite the party and I openly gave him all my support in the leadership campaign. This has nothing to do with friendship." Asked if he felt he was betraying his constituents by giving up his seat, Mr Cuschieri said he wanted to give a "gift" to the party and so far the reaction had been very positive.
"It was very tough. There were times when I cried alone at home. Handing in my resignation was hard. When I was reading the resignation letter I prepared for the speaker, I broke down. Jason (Micallef) and Joseph came to hug me and comfort me. I felt, right there and then, that I had done the right thing. I have no regrets."