In just five years of a Labour government, Malta has changed radically for the better. The priorities of the Maltese have also changed a lot, with bread and butter issues no longer a concern. Just before the 2013 election the Maltese were concerned about rising prices, high energy bills, the health sector, jobs and the economy. These are no longer matters that worry the Maltese, simply because all these issues have been fixed by a Labour government.

Our economy has been growing at a rate three times bigger than the rest of the EU. We never had as many people working than we have now and we never had so few people looking for work. The number of people at risk of poverty has been reduced by half, energy bills slashed, taxes reduced for all, all pensions increased, inflation brought under control, heavy fuel oil taken out of use and air quality improved. Gay couples can now get married and 16 year olds have the right to vote.

We have universally free childcare and 16,600 more women working. We have more maternity leave than before and increased maternity benefits. IVF is free and there is an electoral mandate to improve it further. Medical cannabis has been legalised and soon we shall be manufacturing it as well. We have increased student stipends; MATSEC and SEC exams are now free and, from this year, free supervised transport for all students will be provided. We have introduced a party financing law and a whistleblowers law; we removed crime prescription from politicians, who are now answerable for their actions for life, and reformed the way members of the judiciary are appointed.

We have introduced parole and the right for disciplined forces to join a union, and we have started paying historic overtime arrears to the police. We have 2.3 million tourists visiting us, and no longer a deficit in government finance, but a surplus. We no longer have out-of-stock medicine and there are much shorter waiting lists for operations. We amended the censorship and vilification of religion laws and strengthened freedom of speech by amending criminal libel. 

An unprecedented number of civil rights were introduced. This happened while the government pushed forward important laws against domestic violence and in favour of the empowerment of women in the labour market. 

Labour in government has created a record amount of jobs. We have the second lowest unemployment rate in Europe, partly because people have been given incentives  to go out to work through various measures such as in-work-benefit and the tapering of benefits. Our economy is actually producing more jobs than the Maltese can and are willing to take.

Hence the increased expat community who are paying rent, taxes and social security contributions for a pension they will most probably never take. This has enabled the government to break the previous trend of increasing the retirement age every so often, and finally remove the pension freeze we had for years.   

I believe that freedom of expression has never been so liberally practiced as it is now. Some argue that we may be going over the top, but the reality is people are free to express themselves as they so wish without fear of retribution. Over the next five years, I believe that the emphasis should be to encourage more people to be socially active and participative. We want to see a clearer increase in the involvement of the new generation and women, who can bring fresh ideas and a new approach to politics. There is a need for honest people to scrutinise both Government and the Opposition, operating a non-partisan agenda at a national level. There should be no more space for the classist ideals held by some which fuel an antagonistic, partisan useless divide. One may have honest principles no matter how rich or poor. 

We politicians have a huge responsibility to change our own attitude and the way people perceive us. How can we pretend to get respect from the electorate, if we do not respect each other? It is high time we bring the us-against-them mentality to an end. We owe it to our country and it is what we should all strive to achieve in the immediate future. 

We have to imminently launch a discussion on constitutional reform, and address the topical themes of transparency, good governance and the rule of law. This has to be a national discussion with the aim to create a new constitution which should be ambitious, while preserving our values. 

During the next five years we have to increase our efforts to better distribute the wealth that is being generated. There are still pockets of people not benefiting sufficiently from our thriving economy. We must ensure that everyone has access to affordable and decent housing.

This success of our country during the past five years should only be the beginning. What we have done so far is good, but the moment we stop moving forward is the moment we all start to fail. We have to be even more ambitious for the next five years. There are still a lot of challenges that need to be addressed and a lot more that can be achieved.

Alex Muscat is a Labour MP