As the world outside contends with the potential collapse of the euro, the capitalist system, failing economies, drought, climate change and more, Malta also had a turbulent time.

We discussed matters which were, for us, taboo and shocking. We spoke about divorce, a deeply divisive issue which has been decided on by the people. We spoke about BWSC and the whiffs of corruption and the questions which were raised about the potential fallout generated by the type of fuel to be used in our energy generation. We spoke about bus stops and traffic and how the government could have done so much better. We spoke about so many things that are so uniquely important in this little goldfish bowl that we call home. We do not mean to denigrate. These issues are all important to us as a people.

But we have to acknowledge the fact that the world is changing. The government constantly speaks about the crisis which is gripping the world, and it is absolutely right to do so. It is bizarre and beyond belief that people cannot comprehend the magnitude of change which is taking place on this tiny blue planet.

The earth is warming, this is fact. Less crops are being grown, this is fact. People are multiplying at an alarming rate, this is fact. We are killing off every other species that lives in the wild for food and living space, this is fact. Closer to home, the euro is failing, this is fact. The European Union is evolving, deciding whether we should go back to a free trade area or move onto a Federalist Union, this is fact.

The very facets of economics are changing, the definition of the capitalist system is changing, this is fact. Yet here in Malta, we have an opposition which cannot comprehend these issues and merely focuses on the inability of the Maltese Government to make us all pampered middle class people. Equally, we have backbenchers on the government benches who want us to disregard all of the above and catapult them into ministerial positions which they believe they deserve. Right now, who cares.

The world is in a ruddy mess and unless drastic action is taken, we will not even have bread or water to eat in a few years, let alone pizza instead of steak. The world has changed and we need to acknowledge it. Our honeymoon in the EU has faded into distant memory. We are part of a club that is very close to being in dire, dire straits. The government, meanwhile, has set us on a steady course, creating jobs and shielding our economy from the massive credit issues which are affecting Italy, the UK, Spain, Greece, Portugal and Ireland. Have they made mistakes, of course they have, and some pretty bad ones at that and this publication was the first to give them what for, in terms of the pigs’ ears they made out of some issues. But money is where it matters. Our funds are stable and solid. Our banks are stable and solid. Our credit ratings are stable and solid. People still invest here and we can still take loans. We can still grow in a sustainable fashion and we are still solvent. We are still free as a people and this is a good, healthy democracy, despite what others say. If we lived in Syria, then half the Facebook users on the island would be dead or ‘disappeared’. Get a grip people. The next year is going to be even tougher. This government needs support. Put things into context, do you prefer having a home which your bank has financed through a mortgage, or do you prefer a shorter bus ride?