President George Abela yesterday celebrated his first year in office as Malta’s head of state.

They have been 12 months of activity for the Qormi lawyer, 12 months in which he built on the experiences of his predecessors to take the Presidency onto a higher level.

All the previous Presidents Malta has had since it became a republic in 1974 are remembered for their different style and characteristics. Each and every one of them gave something to the role they occupied.

But as time passed, it became clear that the President should not be someone who keeps away from the people. The more the President keeps in touch, the more he is seen as the symbol of unity that the role should be.

President Abela is carrying out his responsibilities in the best possible way. Right from the start, he made it clear that he would use the Presidency not for his personal fulfilment, but to take it as close to the people as possible.

Without forgetting his personal relationships, and finding time to visit friends in need of a kind word while recovering in hospital, Dr Abela has used and will undoubtedly continue to use his public role to be of service to the country and the community.

His decision to remove prize-giving in exchange of donations for the Strina fundraising campaign in aid of the Community Chest Fund was the first of many initiatives he took to revamp the institution.

The Malta Independent is proud to have always campaigned against having prizes given out for donations made, believing that in this way what should be a noble cause was being turned into another form of gambling. We therefore welcomed the President’s decision to eliminate prizes, firmly believing that the fundraising campaign would still be successful. And, in fact, it was.

But the change to the Strina campaign was not the only feather in the President’s cap. While maintaining Dr Eddie Fenech Adami’s idea to visit localities in an official capacity, Dr Abela introduced other initiatives which took the Presidency closer to the people.

The holding of a Rockestra concert at Ta’ Qali last September attracted thousands of people to an event which will hopefully be repeated this year. Added to this, the President’s run that was held in December was another occasion that brought about unity – so rare in our divided country – apart from being another occasion to raise money for people in need. The opening of the New Year’s Concert to the public – this occasion was restricted to a chosen few in previous years – was yet another idea that was well-received, with the concert being sold out in just two days.

In an interview/feature that is being carried in this newspaper today, Dr Abela said that he has managed to get to know and understand Maltese society better in the past year.

Well, Maltese society can also say that in the past 12 months it has also got to know Dr Abela as a President who is committed to seeing that, in spite of our differences, political or otherwise, Malta is a country that has so much to offer.

Most of all, through the various events that are organised by the Presidency, it is abundantly clear that we are a people who care and are always prepared to lend a helping hand.

The President is the first and best example of this.