Joseph Muscat insisted on Thursday that he had not yet decided whether to stand for the European elections in June.
Speaking to Times of Malta before an interview on F Living TV, the former prime minister said: "There are many considerations I'm making. I don't think it's a matter of a few hours or a few days (to decide). I don't think the world revolves around Joseph Muscat. I'm amazed at the level of this interest."
Muscat shot back into the national news agenda after he said he was not ruling out standing on the Labour Party ticket for the European Parliament elections in June.
The issue was instigated by Labour pundit Manwel Cuschieri who asked his followers whether they wanted to see Muscat’s return to the local political scene by running for the MEP election. The response from Labour followers was overwhelming.
Muscat resigned in January 2020 in the wake of the fallout from the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation and the national protests that followed. Since then, a series of corruption accusations have emerged, overshadowing his seven-year legacy.
The former prime minister said there are personal issues he needed to consider before making up his mind, including what the Labour Party needs at this point.
"I don't want to be a burden for anyone. I will help out if there's the need to help out. I understand my presence can be a bit larger than life sometimes," he said.
The recent developments come as Muscat awaits his fate from a magisterial inquiry probing the hospitals' contract. Muscat has been highly critical of the magistrate handling the inquiry and has been backed up by Prime Minister Robert Abela, who expressed scepticism about the delays in the inquiry.
NGO Repubblika said Muscat's "threat" to stand for this year’s European Parliament elections is “an act of bullying” against the courts and the Maltese public and was intended to undermine trust in the judiciary, calling the critical statements as a “fascist attack of intimidation”.
Asked to respond to the NGO's accusations, Muscat said: "I've always respected the judiciary even when I didn't agree. I think there are some double standards. On the one hand, if he or she says what they think, it's called 'freedom of speech'. If Joseph Muscat says what he thinks it's 'bullying'. That's double standards."
The former prime minister was also asked if he would be welcomed by the European Socialists if he were to be elected on the Labour ticket.
"I haven't even decided whether to contest. Then it's up to the S&D to decide on what to do or not. It's very premature."