The country has returned to a state of normality, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday.  

Addressing an extraordinary general conference held to mark 100 years of the Labour Party, Dr Abela said that after his first few days of becoming prime minister there was already a sense of stability and peace of mind in the country.

Dr Abela became prime minister last month after a leadership contest that was called when prime minister Joseph Muscat resigned in the wake of daily protests sparked by the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation revelations. 

Addressing a packed hall at Labour HQ, Dr Abela said hard decisions had been taken.  

“These were decisions that hurt. They hurt me and my colleagues but they had to be taken,” he said.   

Dr Abela said the PL had good governance credentials, but needed to ensure that "what happened doesn’t happen again".  

He recalled that when he was appointed prime minister, he had set up a good governance committee to implement reforms.  

Dr Abela said he expected the state’s institutions to function properly. 

He said he was disappointed by "foot-dragging" in the courts. Members of the bench, he said, needed to take decisions in a timely manner.

"While I have no right to interfere. I will insist that all institutions do their work in good time,” he said.   

This, he said, was also true of the police, where he expected to see tangible results.

I don’t want to hear excuses, just hard work and results- Robert Abela

"I don’t want to hear excuses, just hard work and results,” he said.   

Dr Abela said the process to select a new police commissioner was at an advanced stage and he touted how there will now be the “unprecedented" process in which MPs will grill the police commissioner before the formal appointment.   

“We took this bold step because we believe it is necessary,” he said. 

Dr Abela said he wanted to have a split between the police’s current role of investigation and the process of prosecution. This, he said, would work hand in hand with reforms to the role of the attorney general.  

Investment in the infrastructure

He insisted that investment in infrastructure had to continue, mentioning by name Transport Minister Ian Borg and applauding his work.

Abela said the government would focus on urban greening and would intensify efforts to reduce air pollution, mentioning the shore-to-ship electricity project as an example.

“People know we can get the country ready for the future,” he said.

In his address Dr Abela spoke on the party's history and said it would not rest on its laurels but remain a force for progress, for economic growth and for fair distribution of wealth. The party, he said, had achieved a lot for the country, especially in the area of social justice and civil liberty. It had suffered discrimination and it made some mistakes which had to be acknowledged, but it had a rich past which saw it bring about equality for all. The party, he said, needed to continue to grow, to welcome diversity and to embrace ideas.

"We will remain the country's reformist party," he said.

The conference was also addressed by deputy leader Chris Fearne, among others.