Renewing the success together

Being ambitious, looking forward in life and having a vision is a good thing. Being able to project a country's future and lead a nation to successful achievements within the European Union while, at the same time, continuing to attract investments and solidify the structures within one society is even a greater achievement.

Last Sunday, the general council of the Nationalist Party, with the theme Renewing The Success Together, came to an end. Indeed a suitable theme when one considers the changes and achievements the PN in government managed to secure and the vision it has for further growth by exploiting our nation's potential.

The PN was able, throughout its 125 years, to make Maltese history. It was the PN in government that led the Maltese to achieve independence from the British Empire in 1964. The same party led the country out of the dark tunnel it was driven into by the Malta Labour Party in the 1980s and, once again, the PN guided the nation towards EU accession in 2004.

Once again, the PN is renewing its successes, past and present, by projecting an even more prosperous future. A future built on consultation and dialogue with the public. A vision that plans to create further success and quality employment for the Maltese.

Not the same could be said of the MLP.

Putting Malta in its deserved place in world politics and economic markets has always been the dream of Nationalist leaders. Thanks to that vision, we are reaping the fruits of the hard work. Achievements that came about thanks to the abilities of the Maltese society, people with sound values and hard working.

It is no coincidence that the Prime Minister could list several projects and plans - set to come on stream by 2015 - that would lead all Maltese towards further achievements and a better quality of life. This is thanks to a concrete vision the PN has, unlike the MLP that is continuously producing vision statements with little or no content at all.

The PN's continuity has enabled our nation to score one success after another. This contrasts with the MLP that is ashamed of its past but is still led by Alfred Sant, the person that held the post of MLP president when socialist henchmen attacked PN supporters in Tal-Barrani and Rabat.

The same person that once again is threatening to lead the country with an eye-for-an-eye philosophy, a fundamentalist practice that is certainly not suitable for our democratic society built on values such as peace, liberty and solidarity.

It is very important that everybody identified the differences between the PN and the MLP. While the PN is the political party then, in government, guaranteed democracy and investment, the MLP led our country even when it lacked the support of the majority of the electorate and put our country on a record high deficit.

While the PN in government opened the gates to students to continue their studies and invested in education, the MLP closed the doors of Church schools and sent students to take loans.

Dr Sant is telling us he will implement an eye-for-an-eye policy, while Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is telling us to unite so that we may renew the success together. No, the MLP has not changed; it is still the same party that discriminates between them and us. The same party that is full of squabbles between prominent figures within its structures. Faces change (or do they?) but the act remains the same.

For the past 30 years, Dr Sant has been involved with the MLP hierarchy and quite a few things I see remind me of the not-so-distant past.

The PN has, throughout the years, regenerated itself to serve those particular needs demanded from our country at different times.

In the 1960s Malta had a great Prime Minister, Gorg Borg Olivier, he led our people to independence. When the 1980s came about a charismatic leader, Eddie Fenech Adami, led the PN, directing the country towards democracy and guiding the people towards becoming European citizens. Now, in this new millennium, we are being led by a leader that has a vision for our country, an image of prosperity and success for Malta as part of the European family.

Thanks to Dr Gonzi we are renewing our success together to face the challenges ahead of us. We are working together as a whole to achieve the best for our country. The PN looks to the future not to the past. It has been and will remain the philosophy of the party that led our nation to historic milestones.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

david.casa@europarl.europa.eu, www.davidcasa.eu