We are indeed lucky to live in this country of ours. We are gaining strength. During the last few years, so many other states have been through upheavals of one type or another. To some, such turmoil has proved disastrous, to say the least; for others the difficult situations have been courageously addressed and the country has come out stronger.

Yet again, Malta’s Nationalist government has proved itself. Of course, we have had problems; we have also made some mistakes along the way. However, by and large, I believe that we have delivered. On the other hand we have been lucky to have an opposition, which seems to live in a different world. Its ideas are mostly archaic, outdated and reminiscent of a Labour past. In fact, on many occasions, the gurus at the top of the MLP have been heard uttering their wish to return to the good old Labour days. The opposition’s aspirations for the future seem to be rooted in a not so pleasant past.

The pundits may tell us that at certain stages the local media have had a ball of a time criticising the government. But a brief look at what has happened in our country achieved during the last 57 months or so bluntly shows that this Prime Minister and his policies have proved to be a success story. In many cases, this has led the opposition into making rush statements which not only proved to be unfounded but at times turned out to be colossal bad judgments.

Then after some months of obstinate standoffs, the other party is forced to make a u-turn. It seems that the MLP has been unable to read the signs of the times. They stand firm at the positions taken back in 1998 or possibly in 1987. They are incapable of gauging the situation of an ever-changing world and therefore fail to take the appropriate steps that would enable them to present themselves to the electorate as a viable alternative government.

Our Prime Minister has repeatedly put forward policies that he has turned into realities. We have managed to make the best use out of the funds we have so far received from the European Union and from the Fifth Italian Protocol. We no longer wait for others to tell us what to do but act after listening to the people. At worst, we are in a much better overall situation today than on day one of this present administration.

Our economy is performing well and job creation is one of our top priorities. The training of our workforce aims at excellence and we are in a situation deemed by many to be of practical full employment. All this pushes the opposition into total disarray. One day they react one way and the next day they sing a different tune in an extreme attempt at political pragmatism. On the other hand, credit rating firms such as Moody’s have repeatedly and consistently improved Malta’s credit rating.

Make no mistake, this happens only because they are convinced that our economy is performing well. We have been able to create the right environment to attract a steady flow of direct foreign investment. Our financial services are performing to high standards. More and more financial entities are slowly setting up offices in Malta because we have managed to put together the right package; the right infrastructure added to a well-trained workforce that is proving itself to be among the best available. All this has happened in spite of the ever-increasing competition, not least from Asia. We have had to go through a process of change and maturity to sustain our competitive edge.

In the field of IT we are about to strike gold. Not that which is black in colour but one made up of the right ingredients which have led SmartCity Dubai to make a substantial investment to make out of Malta its hub for the Mediterranean. Similarly in the field of call centres and other servicing sectors, as well as in high precision businesses and industries, we are more than holding our ground.

Most of the companies which have set up shop in Malta are investing more and more. Much to the opposition’s dismay – we are delivering and there seem to be others waiting in line to come over. On the other hand we are making sure that we do not run after unreachable dreams but work with determination to excel in those fields in which we know we can perform well in.

I believe that when the Prime Minister decides to call the next general election, we will be able to look back and offer the people of our islands a positive assessment of our performance which augurs well for an even better future. We have already set our targets, aimed at attaining excellence in various fields by 2015. This will put us past the next government’s term, which in normal circumstances would end in 2013.

The Nationalist Party is heading in this direction because it believes that it can deliver. Dr Gonzi has a clear cut realistic vision for the future. He has no hidden agenda.

On the other hand, our last experience of a Labour government between 1996 and 1998 saw the opening of a Pandora’s Box. There were no concrete policies to follow because in reality the hopes which had been promised by Dr Sant & Co proved to be unreachable.

They literally played it by the ear. Rather than build on the foundations laid by the previous government and improve upon them, we lived 22 months of back tracking and loss of economic ground. Malta was soon facing something like a 10 per cent annual deficit.

We all need to look ahead. Together we can correct uncomfortable situations which still linger among us. On the other hand I believe that our vision is a guarantee for success for our country. We shall soon have the chance to guarantee this positive attitude for our children and families.

We are indeed lucky to live in this Malta of ours.

Tony Abela is a parliamentary secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister