President of Malta George Vella has appealed for people to learn to look beyond political rivalry, "otherwise, the country will be brought to a standstill," a statement issued by his office on Sunday read.

President Vella made this statement on the occasion of Republic Day in Gozo, and against the backdrop of the country being three and a half months away from appointing the next President of the Republic.

His speech echoed what he had said on Republic Day itself in Malta, where he had said, among other things, that the "extremely partisan" way the country does politics discourages young talent who may be interested in it.

In Gozo, President Vella shared his thoughts about the future and the challenges and opportunities that the people of Malta and Gozo, particularly youths, will be facing in the coming times. The President reiterated his trust in the people of Malta and Gozo, who, through their wisdom and abilities, have always achieved results and reached important milestones.

"It is wrong to think that there is no longer anything good left in our country, that people no longer have integrity, that there are no competent people left, that no one is trustworthy, and that we are a divided nation. There is always room for improvement," stated the President, while referring to the obstacles he encountered to continuing the process of the Convention on the changes desired in the Constitution.

President Vella reflected on the role of the president, which depends on the cooperation of many entities. "The President alone cannot do anything, and I fully hope that my successor will find the support to achieve all possible goals," stated the President. He said that the challenges will certainly not decrease, and therefore education is the best investment we can ever make in future generations.

"I am happy to see so many youths active in political life," said the president while expressing concern that a lot of talent is being discouraged because of the extremely partisan way in which we do our politics. He therefore warned that the time has come to start teaching what politics is and means as art and as science, taught as a subject along with other subjects that help improve our quality of life.

Referring to the horrid reality in our immediate neighbourhood, President Vella said that Malta's neutrality status has not prevented the country from working, as it has done, and making no small contribution in the two very troubling circumstances: the invasion, for no reason, of Ukraine by Russia and the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas.

The President reiterated the condemnation without reservations of the killing of innocent people, irrespective of the perpetrator, and made a sincere plea to whoever currently has the power to do so to stop the ongoing massacre of innocent people, particularly children.

At the end of his speech, the President invited the people of Gozo to join him on L-Istrina, the day after Christmas, while he was visiting Gozo.

The 49th anniversary since Malta became a republic was celebrated in Gozo yesterday evening with a concert that ended with a speech by President George Vella. The concert by Banda Ċittadina Leone of Victoria Gozo was held in Independence Square and was organised by the Committee for National and Regional Celebrations within the Ministry for Gozo.