Prime Minister Robert Abela expressed his pride at the Labour Party being called socialist, while addressing Labour Party delegates during the closing of the party's extraordinary general conference.

"I am proud that we who militate in the PL have strong values that distinguish us from others - the social justice that we believe so much in and that we practice. We are proud to be called socialists, and proud to be leftist."

During his speech, he spoke about the messages sent by the electorate in the elections last year, despite the PL winning both the local council and the European Parliament elections. Two messages were clear, he said. "First, that the people want the PL to remain in leadership, which is why they again put their trust in us. Second, they sent another clear message, that they wanted us to be better than we were and listen more to the needs of the people and better answer to the peoples' priorities," he said, among other things. "We took those messages and worked on implementing them," he said.

"We pulled up our sleeves to fix where needed. We weren't perfect and never will be, but our love for our country guides us each day in our leadership."

Abela spoke about changes in the PL, noting that the party will give a bigger voice to its local committees. "This is a reform close to my heart," he said.

Abela also took aim at the PN, saying it is not even able to submit its accounts to the Electoral Commission, "using excuses", such as not being able to find auditors. "The reality is that they have been breaking the law for years," Abela said.

He spoke about a strong PL meaning a better future for the country. He referred to the budget as the best in the country's history. "We listened to you, that the reality of inflation was leaving a negative impact, which is why we introduced many measures to help."

Abela said that he wants a successful country, but one that is of quality. He said that people wanted more infrastructure projects, which he said the government did, mentioning the msida junction project and work on the second interconnector as examples.

He spoke of the plan by the Transport Ministry to tackle traffic, to strengthen public transport and use advanced systems in traffic control.

"Then I believe that the biggest challenge you put before us to address is that you wanted a sign that, like in 2013 we changed the direction the country took, that the next step was to take our country to the next level. This is why I answered your call, as other PL leaders did, by discussing with the best minds and we drafted a new vision for the country. This is not a short-term plan," he said. "For the coming two years we have the manifesto. This is a vision for the next 25 years," he said, "a vision which has three main aims. Firstly, to be one of top ten countries in the world on human development, secondly that the median income of a family become third more than the eu median, and thirdly that the level of satisfaction of life be among the top 5 in the EU."

Abela went on to mention a number of measures the government has implemented, such as the tax cut announced in the last budget, among others.

Targeting the PN, Abela alleged that the PN celebrated when the highly controversial citizenship sale scheme was found in breach of EU law by the European Court of Justice.

He spoke about the assisted voluntary euthanasia debate. "We are a movement that cannot fear any discussion. There are themes that we cannot close our eyes to as they touch upon the realities and pains of many. We are entrusted with government to address these realities and not to shelve them."

He spoke about putting oneself in someone else's shoes, and also spoke about the need to invest more palliative care and medicines.

He said that there are those who say the proposal is too restrictive, "but that is now the discussion for the people and civil society," he said, wanting everyone to have their say and participate in the public consultation. He spoke of the importance of a compassionate discussion, and the importance of understanding the concerns of those who have reason to oppose the reform, and the diverging opinions.

He appealed for maturity and respect for choices that must be informed.