Former prime minister Joseph Muscat plans to work as an “economic consultant" now that he has formally left politics, according to sources close to him.

Muscat gave up his seat in parliament on Monday, 10 months after he was forced to resign the top job on the back of mounting public pressure.  

Sources told Times of Malta that Muscat, who has a PhD in Management Research, would be seeking work as a consultant on economic matters. He will be drawing on the “extensive contacts” he made during his time at the helm of the Labour administration, the sources said. 

The former premier led Malta during a period of unprecedented economic growth and the Labour Party emphasised his economic record in a tribute it paid him on Tuesday.

However, he resigned under a dark cloud earlier this year after his office became increasingly linked with the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. His former chief of staff Keith Schembri was arrested and questioned in connection with the murder. He was later released without charge but remains a person of interest in the case. 

In August, Muscat was also questioned in connection with the Caruana Galizia case, but insisted he was not a suspect. 

Having once aspired to enter senior EU politics after graduating from the local arena, Muscat was overlooked for a position at the helm of a number of the Brussels-based bodies last year.  

He has since held his cards close to his chest over what he plans to do next with his career.  

Joseph Muscat in March 2013, as he entered Castille for the first time as prime minister. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Change of plans 

In his final speech as prime minister, Muscat said he planned to stay on as an MP and work on sports and civil rights, with those close to him saying he was keen to encourage a national debate on reproductive rights.

However, he later scrapped plans to stay on in politics, as a public inquiry into Caruana Galizia’s murder continued to raise questions about a number of government deals signed under his watch. 

Youngest-ever retiring prime minister

Muscat, 46, is the youngest-ever Maltese politician to become a former prime minister. 

He already has experience of providing economic advice, having been among a small group of people summoned by Prime Minister Robert Abela earlier this year to help map out Malta’s economic response to the coronavirus pandemic.  

In the weeks that followed, Muscat’s economic opinions were once again cast in the spotlight. This time it was “The office of Joseph Muscat” that was giving economic forecasts and models alongside surveys published by data cruncher and Labour Party pollster Vincent Marmara. 

Just before the summer, Muscat played down his links to a think tank that receives most of its funding from the Azerbaijan government.