Malta's prime minister has called a confidence vote in his leadership among members of his Nationalist Party days after scraping through another test in parliament, AP reported. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi survived Thursday's vote thanks to the speaker's tie-breaking ballot. Gonzi called for a vote of confidence on the party level Sunday in a move to resolve the political crisis that threatens the eurozone nation with early elections. A member of Gonzi's Nationalist Party upset that he did not get a post in the shuffle set off the crisis when he withdrew support. But the government survived when the disgruntled party member abstained from voting. No date has been set for the unprecedented secret party vote. General elections are set for the first half of 2013.
