Malta does not need to reinvent the wheel insomuch as it needs to reinvent itself if it is to survive, succeed and prosper in the post recession world.

The economic turmoil and ensuing global recession that has swept across the globe over the last two years has been challenging, but matters are only expected to become more challenging still once the dark fiscal clouds begin to lift from the world’s economies.

That is precisely because the world’s economic powers, both large and small, will be scrambling for every morsel of post-recession business they can get. It is a time in which the world economic order will certainly be significantly tweaked if not completely redefined.

Now is the time when Malta’s small size could really work to its advantage. The country’s smallness, coupled with healthy doses of nimbleness and agility, is just the right recipe to foster what could be real, tangible economic growth in the post recession years…but only if it is done correctly.

This is no time for half-baked measures, nor is it a time for excessively lofty plans to be shelved later on or simply be left by the wayside.

This is the time in which the country needs to put its collective heads together, shake off the chains of the less desirable aspects of its legacy economy and strike a new path for the country, its workers and its families.

This, however, will not only require a responsive and proactive government, but also a cooperative opposition. It is understandable that the relationship between the two is naturally strained and rarely harmonious, but, after all, sacrifices of both pride and political mileage are now desperately called for in the national interest - in the interest of the greater collective good.

The country needs a new plan, new avenues down which to explore and attain future economic success. This will not come about by emulating other countries, it will happen only if the powers that be do some national soul searching to really determine what is unique about the country and its very particular situation, and set about capitalising on those strengths.

There were have been positive economic signs recently indicating there might just be some light at the end of what has been a long and winding tunnel. Following three consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, last year’s fourth quarter saw the economy stumble out of recession and into positive territory once again.

But any celebrations may still be very premature. Malta is not by any means out of the woods yet and there is undoubtedly still a long road to recovery lying ahead of it.

In tandem with the positive economic growth news was the near parallel news that the country’s industrial production levels impressively rebounded in January – far above the performance of its European Union counterparts.

Following four consecutive months of double digit drops in industrial production, Malta’s manufacturing sector began a somewhat muted rebound in December, when production rose by 4.3 per cent, after which, according to year-on-year figures, it soared by 14.3 per cent. To put this in perspective, the EU27 average for the month of January was of 1.4 per cent and the eurozone average was slightly better at 1.5 per cent. The only EU country coming even close to Malta’s industrial accomplishment was Poland, which saw its industrial sector becoming 11 per cent more productive over the month of January.

Malta has so far ridden out what has been a financial tempest that has left practically no western economy unscathed.

Within the context of the recession that swept across the globe over the last two years, Malta’s saving grace in so many ways was the country’s European Union membership and its adoption of the euro. One needs only refer to the quandary Iceland has found itself in, and its now desperate bid to join both blocs as soon as possible, to verify that.

But even with its EU and eurozone membership, Malta - with its small and open economy and susceptibility to external economic shocks – stood a lot to lose. It has stood that test in good stead, what with the economic crisis having been one of the most severe external economic shocks that could be contemplated.

The woes that have engulfed so many economies have, for the large part, been avoided largely due to the conservative philosophy of much of the country’s banking sector, which saw it being the most liquid in the European Union and as such still able to lend and keep the economy’s wheels turning, albeit at a somewhat slower pace but turning all the same.

The government’s job saving manoeuvres, through the lateral-thinking task force set up to assist ailing factories, also saved hundreds of jobs that would have otherwise been placed on the chopping block.

As reported in today’s issue, the major European business confederation BusinessEurope has taken it upon itself to come up with a reform benchmarking exercise aimed at projecting a real state of play as regards the implementation of reforms, those that mainly affect businesses.

Malta, no surprise as reports have shown the figures time and time again, is seen lagging behind its European – at once Malta’s main trade partners as well as its main market competitors - in several key areas. Labour participation and utilisation, export performance, labour productivity and labour costs emerge as areas where the country would do well to assess and address thoroughly.

Another weakness that emerged this week, through the EU’s European Innovation Scoreboard, shows that, despite a concerted push toward the ‘new economy’, Malta still remains below par as compared with its fellow EU countries in terms of business’s innovative practices. The good news, however, is that the country’s rate of improvement, at six per cent, is leaps and bounds over the two per cent EU average. A positive sign, but when you start from close to nil, any improvement appears more significant than it really is.

In fact, despite Malta’s rate of improvement being treble that of the EU as a whole, Malta was still ranked 20th on the EU27 scoreboard.

The country’s innovation strengths were identified as being in the areas of the availability of finance with which to carry out innovations and the economic rewards of innovation in terms of employment, exports and sales.

Malta’s weaknesses are, however, still outweighing its strengths. Such weaknesses, according to the study, include a lack of highly skilled, educated workers, entrepreneurial efforts and collaboration between firms, and the actual take up of innovation among Malta’s companies.

Although the global economic storm appears to be subsiding, the real test of a country’s mettle will lie in how it deals with and repositions itself the aftermath.

At this very delicate stage in the game, every move the country makes could become pivotal to its future and much Malta’s economic success and stability will depend on how this and future governments address these issues, if the country to stay on track this year and in the coming decades.