Hope is the strongest driving force for the people. It is hope which brings about change, produces new realities, opens the people’s road to a better life. That is how it all starts, with hope. The belief that we can accomplish better things, that there exists a better life for you and your family, that you deserve better and you should always expect better from those who you put your trust in to give you something better!   

While reading this, many of you might think that all this is unattainable. But it is possible, it has been proven time and time again all over the world where people felt the need to change, not only for themselves, but for their country. This need drove their countries to change, and such change was based on hope. This is the positive change Malta needs at this very moment, to ensure that those people who believed in it will benefit from it! How many times do you look into your children’s, grandchildren’s and nephew’s eyes and tell them they can be anything they want to be?

It is a promise we make to our children, that each of us can control our lives. That promise can only be kept if we vote for leaders who have our interest at heart, who are not controlled and conditioned because they do not have any ties with anyone except those who have given them their trust to do what is right.

This election is not going to be about changing parties. It is about change for yourself and for every other Maltese. That is what gives me hope. I do not want a nation just for me, I want a nation for everybody. I am meeting people everyday who are telling me that they have never felt the need to be so involved in the process as they are now, so involved in the change Bernard Grech is promising. People are feeling compelled to be part of this change, be part of this movement. I have never given up and will never give up on the idea that we can work together to make change in this country.

I have been involved in politics, I have seen politicians work, but this is different. The crossroads many of us are at now is nothing ordinary. This is no ordinary time, this is no ordinary election, this is maybe the last chance we have to reclaim the Malta we all love and want to be part of. More and more people are listening to Bernard Grech’s message, that we are one people, one country. This is not about blue and red, but white and red. This is about Malta, the Malta that belongs to every student, every worker, every professional and every pensioner.

I am sure that, at some point, many of you reading this hoped that things will change. So have I, many times. I have learned that the only way things are going to change for me, for us, is when I change. I believe now that the size of our challenges has outgrown the smallness of our politics. We need to look further ahead than what we are used to, than what we have always done, just because that is what we have always done.

All Maltese, irrespective of their political beliefs, are hungry for new ideas and a new kind of politics. They are waiting for new possibilities, greater opportunities, and some, sadly to say, a reason to stay. They have hope that things will change. With that hope in mind comes the need for things to change, and it will if you are part of this change. You have came across the saying ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’. Bernard Grech is giving you that opportunity now.

Every day we are discussing our vision, our ideas, our proposals about how we can make your life better, how we can add quality to your lifestyle, how we can improve your lifestyle. We have worked so hard, and that’s what we will continue to do, we cannot slow down. We cannot stop, not for one day or one minute or one second, not now, not when there is so much at stake, when we have so much to lose. So, in the words of Bernard Grech, “If like us you believe that we need change, join us so that we can create the change we want together. Now is the time to join as one nation who believes in change.”

I ask of you what has been asked of us all for so long, I ask you to have hope. Hope in your ability to bring change. I know this change is possible because I have seen it. I have seen it in so many people I have met, in so many houses I have knocked on. I have had the privilege to understand the change people want in Malta, I see it in so many people’s faces whom I have met and spoken to. I have seen it in the young people who are going to vote for the very first time, in the elderly who have seen it all before, in the discussions with mothers and fathers who wish the best for their children. I see it in all of you… so don’t believe for a second this election is already over! Don’t believe for a minute that there is nothing we can do! There is still a lot of work to be done, and we are going to do it! So have hope because together we can be the change.

Ivan Castillo, PN Candidate and President SHPN