Tomorrow, as he does every year, the Governor of the Central Bank is due to speak at the annual dinner of the Institute of Financial Services. According to a tradition dating back many years, this is the only time in the year, in which the Governor speaks in an official manner and delivers his considered judgement about the economic well-being, or otherwise, of the country. In this case, the speech tomorrow adds yet another judgement to the many that have been expressed about the country’s economy, coming as it is after the Budget debate, and also after the judgement expressed over the past days by the Commission. Over the past years, as successive Governors expressed their judgement, their voice tended to be a voice in the wilderness, so that the governors tended to repeat year after year the same advice, more or less, only to have to repeat it the next year because no notice had been taken of it by the government of the time. This year, there is an added twist: for this is a government following a general election that saw it victorious by an unprecedented 37,000 vote majority, a government by the Socialist Party whereas the Governor is an expression of the past Nationalist administrations. He was a minister in a past Nationalist administration, many times a candidate for the Nationalist Party and appointed by the past Nationalist administration. It brings to mind the well-known ‘cohabitation’ between a French Socialist President and a centre-right prime minister. Formally, of course, as was noted in the weeks following the election, the Governor holds his post through the European Central Bank, on which Council he sits. This strengthens his post and his voice in that he does not hold his office on the appointment of the government, or rather, having been appointed by a government, he is not beholden to that or any government for the rest of his term. This is why this paper appeals to Governor Bonnici to use this annual opportunity to point out the realities of the country – its strengths, its weaknesses, its potential and the threats it faces, what must be done, what needs to be changed. The Governor’s voice, in this country where many are habitually silent, is an authoritative one and is annually awaited for the light it, and only it, can shed. In these times of instant judgements, constant media hype, and cross-judgements inside and outside the country, informed or not informed judgements, the voice of the Governor is a uniquely authoritative one that is listened to carefully not just inside the country but also (and perhaps more) outside. He can also bring to the public domain the value of his experience inside the ECB Council and the eurogroup top levels, where governors and ministers watch over and take decisions which affect the currency of the continent. The country thus also expects the Governor to spend some time to say what are the expectations for the euro as a currency and as an economic block after these terrible months of recession, high unemployment and the threats of default by some countries. We all know what we read on the newspapers, but a word coming from the hallowed halls of Frankfurt could be heard with even more attention.