Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday morning that the government, whether it is handling the Malta Police Force or an extradition case, must "do what is right for our people."

"We have never shied to reform," he said, "We have legislated important laws in past months and years that address new realities, and we will not hesitate to be a government of necessary decisions and changes."

As an example, he cited the public encroachment of restaurant tables and chairs in public spaces. Here he said that the government must help local businesses, "but not at the expense of the people."

While speaking about internal reform within the Labour Party, PM Abela labelled himself as "firm believer of renewal." He added that the Labour Party has remained down to earth, humble, hard-working, and close to the people, and because of this, positive results should come the party's way, in spite of the lesser majority of votes the party attained during the recent European Parliament elections.

During this radio interview on ONE Radio's Paper Scan, Abela reiterated that following the 8 June results, it is clear that "the people want us to be a better version of who we are" by the lessened majority the Labour Party attained.

"As government, one must renew itself to remain the greatest political force in the country and continue to convert people's given trust into work based on positive principles - principles based on what is right."

The Prime Minister thanked the now former Labour Party CEO Randolph Debattista for his work before sending his best wishes to his successor, Leonid McKay, to continue strengthening the party and keeping it "open to everyone." Abela said the party can accomplish the latter by continuing to make the right decisions.

Following the Labour Party's recent extraordinary general conference (EGC) earlier this month, an election for internal positions (including two notable openings for Deputy Leaders) is to be held in mid-September, Abela confirmed.

Abela said that during this EGC nine days ago, many PL delegates attended to produce high calibre discussions to amend the eligibility for certain party positions. The media was shut out from attending this EGC.

The Prime Minister also said that as government, government work cannot stop during Santa Marija work due its responsibilities locally and in the international field.

Speaking about local life, he remarked that "many families work hard and have little recreational time all together" and that the government must work to guarantee that these families can enjoy this time together now as many people having taken leave from work.

He said the government has taken a strategic decision to help this by focusing on maintaining public cleanliness and that this is enshrined by the government's recent investment in such apparatus to coincide this "motivated" department.

He also commented that maintaining order in public places is a matter of respect that can be educated to the people through three ways: awareness campaigns, education, and most importantly, enforcement.

Abela praised the work of the Malta Police Force which, led by its Commissioner Angelo Gafà, carried out two "sensitive" operations this week. On Tuesday, the police corps published that 11 people were arrested in connection with human trafficking cases. On Monday, the police handled the aftermath of Nicolette Ghirxi's femicide.

"These kinds of realities are not permitted here in Malta," the Prime Minister said before thanking the police for safeguarding citizens' rights.

While speaking on this murder, Abela offered his condolences to Ghirxi's family, spoke about the government's introduction of femicide, and referenced some further works to better address present and future cases of domestic violence.

He described how to curb the deterrents that domestic violence victims previously faced to report their case, today there exists a specialised force dedicated to handling such reports, which Abela noted has helped more victims to speak up.

Previously, all cases had to be filed to the police as police reports, causing them to be overloaded like "general practitioners" and resulting in victims shying away from filing in their reports, in fear that it would be in vain amidst many delays.

Abela commented that the government plans on opening another centre for victims of domestic violence to seek immediate assistance and protection in the centre of the country, as well as a system of panic alarms and electronic tagging to prevent unwanted contact from aggressors.

The Prime Minister also spoke about the ongoing extradition case of Maltese man Daniel Joe Meli, who is wanted in the United States of America for offering to sell malware products over the dark web.

Abela observed that "there are a number of legal complexities in this case," that this is a situation that must be handled with utmost seriousness, and that this is not a case where anyone should seek political mileage from.

He said that he is looking into this case from the perspective of a father and sympathises for Meli's parents.

The Prime Minister questioned as to why Meli's case cannot be heard in Maltese courts, locally rather than in the USA.

"Why can't he be charged in this country and potentially serve his sentence here?" he asked. Prime Minister Abela thus said that the government's obligation is to see that legal proceedings "like these" are held in Malta.

He also questioned how Malta can use its legal tools to respect the rule of law while simultaneously helping this young person and his parents.