We are living the last few hours of 2008.

2008 was a year full of political activities. It was an excellent year for many, but desperate for others! Guess who?!

Do you recall that in the last year our country changed its currency to the euro, voted in a general election and survived the turbulence of the international financial crisis?

A small country like ours deserves to be credited for all that we, together, managed to achieve in the past year.

Malta witnessed a general election which as we all know resulted in a marginal win for the Nationalist Party. I wonder what would have happened today if the result was a victory to the MLP ... or today’s LP!

Can you imagine Alfred Sant as our Prime Minister?! Would he have taken the same decisions as Prime Minister Gonzi when faced with such international and local situations?! I believe that he would have taken the wrong decisions, as was the case in the past with regard to the introduction of the euro and the water and electricity tariffs way back in 1997.

2008 was a year of decisions and we all had to decide about our future. The country decided to give another term in office to the Nationalist Party. It is now a five-year term that we need to manage together. Five years of change, were change is needed, challenge and consolidation of our main political pillars. Our social, educational and environmental pillars need to be in continuous change while our economy needs to be strengthened continuously too.

I believe in:

• the need to improve our educational system;

• the need to manage better our financial and human resources investment in the social policy sphere;

• the need to put the environment continuously on the national agenda;

• the need to continue to attract foreign direct investment whilst creating new job opportunities; and

• the need to be with the people in their daily needs.

Furthermore we need to continue to change in areas like transport, energy and our institutions.

Parliament needs the conclusions from the Parliament Select Committee in order to move forward and be more efficient.

2009 should be a year in which we make good use of European funds. A year during which we should see SmartCity grow and enact the rent law and much more.

I look forward that 2009 will be a year of consolidation and change. Malta needs to look forward and aim for the best solutions in every sector of our lives. We cannot accept any more to be served with second class service. We need to have a premier mentality

Our country deserves the best and together we can; yes; we can... yes together everything is possible!

David Agius is the Nationalist Party parliamentary whip