No, I am not there yet, even though, God willing, I will soon be. But my country is. Looking back at the last 50 years of this nation, we should be proud of what we have achieved and at the same time guilty of the opportunities we have missed.

As a nation, we have come a long way from that time when we were known just for our good spirits, and the sun and the sea we are blessed with. Our economy has diversified and is now dependent on number of vibrant sectors which have helped us attract investment and create good jobs. Our education system is providing golden opportunities to our children not only to get a basic education but to keep moving ahead and to achieve targets which before were within the reach of only the lucky few. Our health sector provides us with the necessary peace of mind that help will be provided free of charge if and when we need it. Our country is now also part of a whole community of nations and no longer in isolation, thanks to our EU membership. Such membership has given our citizens, especially our children, the possibility of working or studying abroad, and most of all, to realise higher aspirations previously available to others but not to us.

Undoubtedly, during the same period, we could have achieved more and reached higher goals. A particular period in the late seventies and the early eighties was on the verge of throwing our country to the dogs. An example of that dark era in our history was the decision not to allow computers to be used. It was perhaps one of the most ridiculous decisions to be taken by the Mintoff government. The same applied to a political system which did not allow the private sector (except for the lucky few) to invest in the development of the country as it is doing now. The lack of investment in telecommunications and infrastructure also contributed to our nation missing out on the opportunity to grow earlier than it did. It has to be said that the Socialist fixation with the Europe of Abel and Cain concept led to us missing EU membership before we eventually joined 10 years ago. I am sure our country could have prospered more than it did.

Thankfully, we have moved forward. Even with a change of government almost two years ago, no one expects Malta to revert to what it was 30 years ago. However, unfortunately, this country has been deceived once again into thinking that it could keep evolving into a nation where it matters more what you could offer to the country than what you could achieve thanks to your political affiliation. It is a pity that this government was extremely good at making promises but a disaster at keeping them. I feel, many feel, we have once again surrounded ourselves with people who are dead set on gaining power and getting richer to the detriment of others, to the detriment of the environment, to the detriment of our social well-being.

Turning 50 should have given us the opportunity to realise that age and experience places on our shoulder a greater responsibility. We should realise that we should no longer be the adventurous persons we probably were at 18 or 21. Stability and prosperity should be our main consideration. Politically speaking this does not mean that one should never change a party in government. That would spell disaster to our democracy. But neither should it mean that we should be mass seduced into trusting power in the hands of the wrong people. We must remember that unlike a new employment, we are not afforded the possibility of stopping a party in government in the probationary period because there is none. We could, however, start giving serious warnings in the few chances that will be afforded to us between now and 2018. If we fail to do so, we should all shoulder the responsibility for the repercussions that follow.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish the Editor, staff and our readers a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.