At the strike of midnight on the dawn of every new year, whoever is awake will make the customary resolutions, though others make them later. The modern way of doing things, obliges us to account for the previous year and on the past results and future aspirations, we plan for the following. These plans are always built on the values and traditional beliefs that every one of us holds.
Our policies as a party are aimed at providing responsible government and institutions that will work for and with responsible citizens. They should strengthen the confidence of people in the political institutions; after all, it is only the citizens who have the collective force to change our politics and the way we do things.
In the coming year perhaps, the Malta Labour Party considers your vote in electing a future Labour Administration a vote of confidence in the work we are doing now, to relieve Malta from its present predicament. Such a vote will be a challenge to Labour leadership, a challenge that we accept willingly yet humbly. A challenge for whoever will endeavour and participate to change the unfortunate direction our present administration has driven us in. The challenge is clear. We owe it to the strength of our common will, our common voice, our common beliefs and our common actions, in order to forge a better nation.
The Maltese deserve to live in an improved environment of equality and opportunity, a nation with more social justice. These are ambitious objectives. Today, as a human race, we have the technology, the knowledge and the wealth to possibly shape a better world. Perhaps, for the first time in man’s history, we can make poverty history. We are not only conscious but also willing to improve our environment. We can guarantee decent work. We can reduce the suffering of the sick.
We have to give equal opportunities to women. Their contribution will help to increase other opportunities. We should go beyond just talk of providing the necessary infrastructure to allow women, especially women with young children, to participate in our economy. Here, Labour is clearly committed to giving women every opportunity to participate equally, not only in work, but also in all other activities. This we owe to our nation.
Through our international work in the Party of European Socialists (PES) and Socialist International (SI), we will endeavour to strengthen the standing of all our people, in their struggle to lead a decent and dignified life. Our first priority should be the democratisation of globalisation. We cannot have real democracy in this world, when the mass concentration of capital is in the hands of the relatively few. Similarly, we cannot have real democracy when multi-national companies enjoy more power than the democratically elected representatives of the people. This environment has, in fact, undermined and created exclusions in society.
Here, Labour will seek to achieve a re-defined balance between productivity, social justice and democratic freedoms, ensuring a dignified life for all.
Quite hefty resolutions indeed. Keeping them will be a continuously uphill struggle within the falsely spun notion that all is well. We, as a political party for all Maltese people, have a moral obligation to revive political life and to give hope to Maltese and Gozitans that Labour will be an effective government and that it will deliver, as it always has. Our obligation is clearly that of providing a much better government, not just an alternative one.
Resolutions apart, may I take this opportunity to first of all thank The Malta Independent for their space in this newspaper, and above all to wish all Maltese all the very best for the New Year 2007.
May we all have happiness, whatever that may mean to each and every one of us.
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Dr Michael Falzon is the Labour Deputy Leader for Party Affairs