It's once again that time of year, when we reflect on the past year and set out our ambitions for the next. This arbitrary milestone tends to fill us with hope, even if only for one night, to restore the things that can be better as we take on new challenges for our future.
As our country is in mid-legislature, this is also a great opportunity to take stock of where we want to go, and truly reflect if our beloved Malta is in the shape we wish it to be. Are we building the country we want to pass on to the next generation? Are we crafting a future we will be proud of? Or have we taken a few missteps along the path, which are now haunting us?
Probably most will agree that life in Malta has changed greatly in the past decade, and most might even agree that it is not necessarily for the better.
Our families' standard of living has taken a hit. While it is true, today modern life offers us more expenses to contend with that we didn't have 10 or 20 years ago, our spending power has diminished when compared to that of our parents. This is significantly expounded by the price of property which continues to climb higher and higher holding an ever-so-tight grip on anyone ever hoping to purchase property as we were culturally accustomed to.
Gone are the days that couples would close off their loans by their mid or late forties if they're lucky - nowadays a loan, if someone is lucky enough to be granted one, is for all their working life.
Our young families are finding it harder to create their nests, turning on their parents for help, often liquidating family assets, which is not great long-term advice.
But financial freedom is not the only thing threatening our families' standard of living. The environment remains a critical point that makes the list each year, and we seem to be lacking the political will to really address it once and for all.
As the construction craze continues to engulf more and more land on our tiny island, our quality of life continues to suffer for it. When we think we heard it all before, we hear of some new extravagant, outlandish project that is set to change the face of some district or other forever. And what for? For the very handsome gains and profits of usually one or a very few individuals.
What is even more unbelievable is that almost always, these projects are always approved, with full compliments of government, no matter what.
We need to shift the focus of the way we do things and become less dependent on the construction craze. We cannot continue to feed the monster, as it will only grow bigger and bigger needing more. We can delude ourselves that this will be the last mega-project but be sure that there will be another waiting in the wings soon enough. If there ever was the definition of unsustainability, perhaps this is as clear as it gets.
We must turn the trend and look at things differently. Our young generation has been sending us this clear message for many years now. They are doing it by becoming increasingly disenfranchised by the entire system, by refusing to participate in the democratic process and most poignantly by packing up and leaving the country for good.
We cannot continue to lose our best minds, our future, because we cannot figure out how to run a country better. Let 2025 be the year when we find hope for a better future, and grow as a nation that understands where it truly wants to go.
I wish all readers of this newspaper a blessed start to the New Year.