Every country has its leaders. While most are democratically elected it is not often that one can associate and communicate with them on a direct, personal basis. Admittedly, leaders, at risk of uttering an understatement, often have urgent matters of state to attend to, but it is also a fact that those at the helm are elected to serve the people they represent and to do so it is important that they listen and interact with them. This is not always an easy balancing act, which is also something of an understatement.
That is why in Malta we should, actually, be proud to have Lawrence Gonzi as our Prime Minister. He is truly a real "People's Prime Minister".
How many nations can boast of having their leader attend with his co-dignitaries the EU Council for Economic and Financial Affairs (Ecofin) in Portugal, be interviewed by global network CNBC in Dubai about SmartCity and conduct a whirlwind visit to Australia to enhance relations between our two countries and meet the Maltese community living there, within the space of, what, two or three weeks?
Closer to home we have seen our Prime Minister talk with children at Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary, with soccer players at the Mellieħa football ground and visit Mosta primary school. Clearly, the community is close to Dr Gonzi's heart and he firmly believes in its potential. Nourishing the latter, for Maltese citizens to lead a better quality of life, it is necessary to invest.
The government's biggest investment is in education. Through the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools €53.6 million (Lm23 million) are being invested in upgrading and building new educational facilities. However, investment in the community does not stop there. Think of the new old people's homes being built, the Mater Dei Hospital recently inaugurated, the development of Cottonera and its surroundings and the other family-oriented projects in hand.
It was not by mere choice that the pre-budget document for 2008 was entitled Families Growing Stronger. The title reflects the beliefs held by Dr Gonzi and his government's concept of what it is that our country deserves. The budget he presented substantiated this, as it truly was a budget for all the people.
It is perhaps a statement of the obvious that to face the future with confidence it is necessary to have a strong economy conducive to investment and growth. Equally, to realise our collective vision it is essential that we work together to have a better environment, that we invest in education, health, youth, sports and culture and ensure we have an inclusive socio-economic development strategy that is supportive of those less privileged.
Dr Gonzi demonstrated why he deserves the title "the People's Prime Minister" as he was not just content to produce a progressive and inclusive budget but also committed himself and his time to undertaking a very significant number of public dialogue meetings, enabling himself to hear the views of all interested members of society and obtain feedback first hand.
Following the lengthy consultation process, he further committed himself by sending a leaflet to households asking for any final suggestions. It goes almost without saying that Dr Gonzi's almost automatic adoption of high ethical and moral values drives him to ensure that the family-friendly measures declared in the budget are meaningful and, above all, genuinely beneficial to the people he represents.
No-one can argue that the progress our country has made in the last few years is remarkable and this is a reflection of the appropriate policy decisions taken, including, naturally, our entry into the European Union. Malta's recent adoption of the euro confirms, if confirmation were needed, the significant socio-economic progress registered by our economy and this is further evidenced by recent Eurostat figures showing that employment growth in Malta was double the EU average and Malta had the lowest inflation rate in the entire EU.
To add a cherry to the cake, consider the recent upgrading Malta received by reputable international credit rating agencies and the commendation of the IMF to the Maltese authorities on the economic progress achieved.
Even if you were to leave aside all of the above, the record amounts of foreign direct investment (over €1.3 billion in 2006 alone) our country has attracted speaks for itself. After all, no one is going to invest unless there is stability and good prospects of a favourable return: anyone who is not blinkered by political passion remembers the experiences of this country not that many years ago.
This has all been achieved under the stewardship of Dr Gonzi, building on the solid foundations left for him.
Even with these achievements under his belt, Dr Gonzi feels close enough to the people to be able to attend a village festa and make his way through the crowd, stopping to talk and listen to everyone, greet and be greeted by both young and old and be embraced by all the community. Not a job I'd like to do, but Dr Gonzi is the people's Prime Minister, not me!