People of my age and even younger used to watch Italian TV as much as, and in some cases more than, the local station. I still watch a bit of TV when I have some free time and the feeling is always a chilling one.

Italy, a country that has so much in its favour, has gigantic problems – you hear of people who suffer, who have no job, who have no future. A few more kilometres away from us lies Greece – with its even bigger problems. I don’t watch Greek TV but we’ve all heard of the harrowing human stories there. Their economic climate and their job situation is more than worrying for all age groups, especially for young people. I’ve just heard that youth unemployment has reached 60 per cent. What a future for them – when they should be full of enthusiasm to go out and work and yet find themselves with no job and no security.

Then I go around this country on my home visits – both as a doctor and as prospective candidate – and I can hardly believe my eyes. Geographically, we are so close to disaster lands and yet we have carried on so successfully.

I do not see harrowing scenarios; I see young people, men and women nearly all in employment, at least when they are willing to work. And if they do not find jobs immediately, there are schemes and initiatives for them to train, re-train and re-integrate with the world of work which, more often than not, they manage to do before long.

Of course there are problems, and it is not all just rosy and easy living. We all have to face tough times to make ends meet and pay all the bills. But few are the families who have nothing left over for some form of entertainment. Most of the families I see and speak to in my home town of Ghaxaq and beyond, love and enjoy their time out with family and friends, indicating that they have a relatively good life.

This is something of a far cry from the countries around us – those who were and are far richer in natural resources and with better opportunities. But all this has not been given to us on a plate by some benign god. We have worked for it. We had a PN government’s strong plan and vision which was ambitious but did not play around with our future. And I will also pay homage to the Maltese people who have always been very good at nurturing their talents, at learning and at adapting and who have never been wasteful in their lifestyle. In fact, a secret of our success is that Maltese people have looked after their pennies and, throughout the years, have been good savers and never over-spent.

All this has been helped by a PN government that believed in the Maltese people and invested heavily in education, new technologies, new openings and healthcare. This transformed Malta into a more attractive and successful place. The benign God gave us an attractive country and a race that works hard and appreciates all it possesses. But we made use of that talent and beauty to build and sustain a better country.

The PN has been a constant innovator to make our country the success it has been. All the new industries that were introduced to supplement manufacturing were well planned after in-depth preliminary studies as to their feasibility. Nothing was done on a whim. The history of the PN in government gives me and all Maltese people a feeling of achievement and of moving on to do more, to reach higher, to keep renovating and re-energising itself and the country.

The history of the Labour Party has, unfortunately, never been progressive but regressive. They always feared education and liberalisation. Now they talk of being “new”. Their words might sound attractive, but can we risk it all? Can we risk all we have achieved for a promise that so far has not been backed up by any substance?

The PN is a guarantee that the country can remain on the right and proper course. A change can easily send us sinking – just like our neighbours – into dire straits. The choice is obvious: the choice is PN.