On New Year's eve, Malta's policymakers and high officials gathered to exchange greetings. The Prime Minister also issued his message for New Year.

Dr Muscat's message began by saying that Malta had accomplished a lot in the last year and that the economy was moving in the right direction. The PM said more jobs and opportunities are being created and as a result, unemployment has dropped. He also says that money has been put back into people's pockets through the reduction in water and electricity bills. He is right and the government is to be commended for its efforts in these sectors.

The Prime Minister also said that his government believes in a system where those who work hard are rewarded and help those who genuinely need it. He also emphasised on equality between the sexes as well as social equality for the disabled.

The Prime Minister also ate humble pie and acknowledged that the government may have given the impression that it is arrogant and sometimes rushed into things. For that he apologized.

In her message, President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca also touched on some similar issues and said that while positive economic results are to be welcomed, wealth should be shared between people equally.  She also said that the government needs to continue to work to help people who are below or on the poverty line. She also urged the government to identify people who really do need help and not to rush into saying that this or that person had abused the system. Opposition leader Simon Busuttil also gave his message for the year ahead and he also said that the President was truly a President of the people, and lauded her efforts to raise money for charity and for embarking on a crusade against poverty. As for the opposition, Dr Busuttil said that it was still rebuilding, but had become an effective force in Maltese democracy.

2015 will be a challenging year. As the holidays come to an end, life will return to normal and all too soon, we will have forgotten the resolutions we have made and the messages of the leaders.

We will head back to work, perhaps a little groggy and overfed, but within days the economy will start ticking over again, parliament will reconvene, political activities will resume and government business will get back into gear. Keeping the economy on the uptick that it has registered will require time, attention and effort. But we are confident that the government will carry on where it left off in 2014. The challenge that the government faces is not selling its soul in trying to attract investment. Investment is positive, but we must remain true to our beliefs as a society, just as the President is urging. The faster we go, the more stragglers we leave behind. And we must find a way to ensure that in trying to create a new middle class, we do not, on the flipside, create an underclass of invisibles who are forgotten by the system.