“Dear citizens of Malta and Gozo,

You selected me as your Prime Minister because you gave me your trust. As a Prime Minister I had a duty to earn and respect this trust, in the interest not only of the PL supporters, but of the whole nation. In my time as Prime Minister, I made a number of promises that I tried to honour, and I managed to keep some of them.

In the situation in which our country has found itself after the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and the ensuing investigations, I need to own responsibility for the government’s failure to protect the life of this journalist who, through her work, even if this work at times stung members of the country’s highest institutions, was an integral part of the democracy that our forefathers fought so hard for. 

I own responsibility for the ways in which power was abused by people close to me, even in those cases where there is as yet no concrete proof as to their precise involvement. The dark shadow cast by such allegations requires that justice is not only done, but also seen to be done with everybody. As a result of these shortcomings, our country is now experiencing serious instability, and so the time has come for me to honour yet another promise – one where the good of the country comes first. 

Therefore, to prevent an increase in the damage that Malta is experiencing both locally and internationally, and to prevent that further conflicts among the people continue to destroy the country, I am resigning immediately to allow changes and decisions to be taken as necessary and without interference, and without suspicion of such interference.

I thank all those who, until the end, persisted in their trust in me, and I apologise for having disappointed them in these last moments. I now ask them to unite behind my successor and to do their utmost so that the great party that our forefathers fought so hard and against all odds to build, will once again find its glory. 

To all the people of Malta and Gozo – may this experience teach us that there are moments where as a nation, we need to remove the red or blue coloured glasses and unite as a nation to protect our democracy, even if this means that we may have to admit that we were wrong in our choices.

The protection of every individual’s rights should be a principle that is dominant in each of our actions. Where such rights are broken or are not protected as they should be in a truly modern and democratic country, then the people need to fight for justice in one voice, so that Malta will truly belong to all of us, without reservations.”