Last Thursday, on the eve of Independence Day, the Prime Minister addressed a huge crowd at the Granaries in Floriana.

I’m sure that many agree with me in saying that while Dr Gonzi was addressing the crowd, he instilled a sense of trust. The Prime Minister is definitely one man who we can trust to lead Malta to achieve further success in years to come.

Although we have always learned that comparisons are odious, I’m sure the Maltese are intelligent enough to know who to believe after they heard both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader addressing the respective mass meetings on Thursday.

While the Prime Minister highlighted not only what the country has achieved but also his vision for Malta until 2015 and how these goals are going to be achieved, the Opposition Leader launched an attack on every achievement and did not say anything new about the “New Beginning” that Labour is proposing.

The Prime Minister started off by telling the crowd how in the last years, Malta was led by strong hands, those of the Nationalist Party. Dr Gonzi reminded those listening that Malta started the road to success when it achieved Independence, 43 years ago, a success that was strengthened with EU membership.

Both successes were achieved by prime ministers who had a clear vision and clear goals for Malta. Dr George Borg Olivier led Malta to Independence because he had faith in the Maltese and Dr Eddie Fenech Adami led Malta to become an EU member because he also believed in the Maltese people and unlike others, he did not compare us Maltese to small fish (makku).

And the Prime Minister also has a clear vision for Malta: goals that will be achieved by 2015. The Prime Minister is building these goals based on the feedback he is receiving from all sectors of the Maltese society because the Nationalist Party has always believed in people.

On the other hand, the Malta Labour Party never believed that Malta can achieve much. They kept telling the people that on EU membership, Malta will be getting only Lm1.5 million while in reality, the government obtained EUR855 million in EU funding.

In fact the Prime Minister spoke not only about what has been achieved so far through EU membership but also about future gains. Dr Gonzi reminded those listening that so far EU funds have been used for the building of roads, the environment, improved infrastructure, training programmes by the ETC, scholarships and training for students in other EU countries and local councils among others.

Dr Gonzi also said that Malta sought the assistance of the EU in other matters, in order to meet the challenges brought by the changes in the manufacturing sector and in the issue of irregular migration. If Malta was not an EU member but a Switzerland in the Mediterranean, it would not have obtained such assistance.

The Nationalist government always believed in the Maltese people so much so that it managed to control the deficit and put into action a plan to strengthen the economy over a short period of time.

The investment in SmartCity is proof enough that the Nationalist government has big plans for Malta. In the meantime, the Labour Party had said that SmartCity was only an opportunity for land speculation and the plan that the Opposition Leader had for the Maltese economy was to devalue the Maltese lira.

While the Prime Minister continuously speaks about plans to make Malta a hub in certain sectors particularly in IT and the financial sector by 2015, Dr Sant and the Labour Party speak about the misconceptions their party has in relation to the euro changeover, Mater Dei, SmartCity and the low-cost airlines.

The Malta Labour Party once again has adopted an attitude of mudslinging and gives a sense of inferiority to the Maltese.

On the other hand the Nationalist Party in government believes in the people and in working together with us people. The Prime Minister is inviting the people to look further away to a clear future. A future where not only the goals are outlined but also the path is laid to achieve such goals. This is how, thanks to the Nationalist Party, we can look towards a successful future.

Michelle Mallia is president of the Nationalist Party Women’s Movement