Alfred Sant made a triumphant return to the helm of the Labour party yesterday, closing its weekend general conference with an hour-long speech as his mother Josephine, sister Marlene Said and former wife Mary Darmanin listened from among the audience.

His entrance was managed to the desired effect, with Dr Sant's family making their way into the conference hall about half an hour ahead of him greeted by resounding applause which was repeated when images of him walking through the crowd outside the MLP headquarters appeared on big screens mounted on either side of the main stage.

"I cannot talk today without starting off with one word, two actually: Thanks, many thanks," said Dr Sant, who formally took over as party leader yesterday from acting leader Charles Mangion.

He dedicated the first part of his speech to the past weeks and his convalescence from the operation in which a cancerous growth was removed from his intestines in late December.

"I have already publicly thanked the people who treated me as well as my family, who gave me great strength over the past weeks. Today I am with my other family...

"I have to admit that one of the thoughts that were bearing down on me in the past weeks was that now, at this crucial juncture, when we are at the end of the road we've been going through all these years, I would be the one to jeopardise, as a result of my illness, the momentum we managed to gain."

The response to that concern, he continued, came from the dedication of the whole party, which carried on and actually improved the momentum. What followed in his speech, in fact, was meant to stress that it is now business as usual.

He pointed out that over the past four years the party had won four local council elections as well as the European Parliament elections because it opposed arrogance, incompetence, inefficiency and corruption. This would be the formula that would win the party the election.

"We could have smiled and laughed more," he continued, in a veiled jibe at the Prime Minister's congenial public performances. "But those who smiled and laughed most fooled the people and are continuing to do so..."

One of the main thrusts of his speech was Labour's criticism that the government is tired and unable to deal effectively with corruption.

He repeated the party's pledge to remove income tax on overtime and halve the surcharge. Coupled with the capital injection following the blue print of the party's regional plans, these measures should spur economic growth above the four per cent threshold, he said.

He spoke extensively about the European Union, a subject on which the party was keen to expand during the past weeks as representatives from the Party of European Socialists convened in Malta for a high-level meeting. Since accepting the electoral verdict in 2003, he said, the Labour party had given proof of its commitment to make a success of EU accession through its MEPs and the way it dealt with the ratification of the European Constitution, among others.

A Labour government would carry on working to ensure that Malta's particular circumstances were taken into account in the Union's decisions, while lobbying for a greater exchange between the EU and its neighbouring regions.

He placed great emphasis on education, saying Labour was committed to improving Malta's ranking on the Lisbon criteria scores. The focus in the educational sector needed to move beyond what he called "shifting boxes around" - a reference to the new administrative structures - to the real challenges that lie in the classroom.

A Labour government would make sure that classes did not have more than 25 pupils or fewer. More emphasis would be placed on primary education with more resources being allocated to this sector which, he insisted, was a crucial one.

Dr Sant's speech yesterday may well be the first shots he fires in an electoral campaign that is widely expected to be called for March. The Sunday Times yesterday put the Prime Minister's target date as March 8.

In fact, the Nationalist Party issued its reaction to Dr Sant's speech, signalling a return to the normal exchange which was largely suspended during his convalescence.

While wishing him well on his return to the political scene, the party said his speech was, as usual, bereft of ideas.

"In his first speech of the year he was expected to show his party's vision for the coming years... without going on the attack or being confrontational. Nonetheless, it was another speech with twisted facts and the usual attack against the Prime Minister and the government."

In reference to Dr Sant's criticism over corruption, the PN turned its guns on British Health Secretary Alan Johnson, who after addressing the MLP's conference on Friday is now facing allegations of party funds embezzlement back home.

"While saying that it has a policy of zero tolerance on irregularities, the Labour party did not say a word about the guest it had over to meet Alfred Sant and address the conference last Friday."