Prime Minister Robert Abela's first 100 days in office following his re-election have been marked by continuity and renewal. The first 100 days have been a good start in demonstrating this government’s resolve to turn the proposals contained in the electoral manifesto into fruition.

More importantly, all that has been promised to be implemented within the first 100 days of a new Labour government has actually been implemented, be it the reform in the law relating to IVF or the promised changes in the contractual agreements between the Government and the American University of Malta and Smart City Malta with the aim of giving Zonqor back to the public while at the same time safeguarding the educational investment in the South of Malta.

In my view there were five important highlights marking the first 100 days of the Labour administration led by Dr Robert Abela.

The first two refer to the reform relating to IVF and to the contractual changes to the agreements between the Government and AUM and Smart City Malta. Then, I believe that the swift implementation of the legislative changes relating to femicide is another milestone which sent a strong signal against gender-based violence.  

The removal of Malta from FATF’s so-called grey list while keeping the Maltese economy going from strength to strength in a post-pandemic environment is also another important achievement. The fact that Malta managed to pull out of this list and, at the same time, consistently retain positive ratings from international credit agencies speaks volumes of Robert Abela’s abilities to lead the economy forward.

Another main highlight is the fact that the Labour Government has in the first 100 days been adopting positions and taking decisions which alleviate the pressures of the increase in the cost of living with regards to essential services and products on our families which, in return, this inflation is derived from external factors. 

We will continue to be inspired by the determined leadership of Dr Robert Abela and energised by the strong mandate that the electorate provided us with in March.  We are humbled by the result and we will be determined to see our country move forward and transform obstacles into opportunities to turn our thousand proposals into a thousand reforms.

They were a very busy 100 days with regards to the cultural sector.  Looking back, we managed to implement 16 main projects within this time-frame and I would like to mention them while explaining the rationale behind each one.

For instance, we must ensure that more and more Maltese artists have all the opportunities to build a professional musical career, and it is important to provide creative spaces where these musicians can showcase their talents. Such an example is the Maltese Music Festival Mużika Mużika, which celebrates the beauty of Maltese music. We shall continue working so that this festival gains more popularity and keeps going from strength to strength, year in year out.

Turning to local traditions and festas, we have also allocated half a million Euros to aid associations promoting local traditions related to the Maltese feast as a one off cash injection. As a Government, we believe this scheme will aid volunteers in continuing their relentless work and boost this integral sector in our culture, especially after the hardships endured due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Another local tradition which we sought to promote was Carnival, which we successfully organised immediately as soon as the Covid-related restrictions were retracted.  It is nothing short of extraordinary how Carnival was successfully set up, for this year only, in May only a few weeks after the Health Authority took their decision to make away with the pandemic restrictions.

The 4 Festivals Malta Summer festivals – RITMU, formally known as Għanafest, The Malta International Arts Festival, The Malta Jazz Festival, and the recently launched Dance Festival Malta are also important cultural events which we unveiled during our first 100 days.  

The government is committed to creating a sustainable cultural ecosystem and the funding programmes Program Support Scheme and the Artistic Program Scheme aim to do precisely that.  The schemes were launched within the first 100 days and exceed the amount of one million euros in funding.  These schemes shall lead to a more robust cultural sector, which is crucial in a healthy society.

The launch of the structural collaboration between government entities, the Church, and the University of Malta in the protection of historical heritage is also another important milestone. This agreement is an essential step in paving the way for full cooperation in heritage and research in a European framework set up to strengthen and expand the use of science in the field of heritage under the E-HRIS umbrella.

Premju għall-Arti is also another milestone.  Each year, il-Premju għall-Arti continues to evolve after having unveiled it myself for the first time five years ago. Through Premju għall-Art, we are continuing to regenerate and promote excellence in the art towards the continued strengthening of professionalisation in the field.

Manoel Theatre is also another strong point. We want to keep this extraordinary theatre firmly at the heart of the Maltese creative ecosystem and the launch of its very first in-house musical is an events which fills us with pride.

Valletta, our Capital city, is close to our heart.  Cultural events which we successfully organised, such as the Three tenors, the Valletta Green Festival, and Cinema City – serve to bring artistic events to the heart of the Capital.

Within the first 100 days we kept on with our efforts to restore various aspects of our patrimony. Investing in this type of Cultural heritage is an investment in our culture at the end of day. These restorations also have a touristic purpose as they serve to attract more people to Malta to visit our country for historical and cultural heritage purposes. 

Speaking of cultural patrimony, Heritage Malta has acquired a piece of land at Borġ in-Nadur, measuring nearly 13 tumoli, beneath a part of which it is believed that lies buried a village dating back to the Bronze Age. In terms of size, this is the largest acquisition of archaeological value ever made by the State. 

Opera is also another strongpoint in our cultural arsenal.  With the launch of the new Summer Programme by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, which was made possible through the excellent collaboration we have with the Tourism Ministry ably led by my colleague Minister Clayton Bartolo, we have put testament to our determination to strengthen this artistic genre which, we believe, carries a lot of potential.

These are only a few of the projects which we covered since re-election.  There are, of course, others, such as the Comic-Con, the restoration works being undertaken at the Presidential Palace, the ongoing works at MICAS or the assistance afforded to the news organisations publishing printed media.

I would also like to thank Parliamentary Secretary Alison Zerafa Civelli for her hard work in the field of Local Government.  She attracts huge respect for her knowledge in the sector, having been a successful Mayor for a long time in her career and I believe that her energy and determination will make all the difference.

I am very proud of our work in the first hundred days and look forward to what we will achieve together in the next 250 weeks.  

All this for a better country, together for a stronger society.