Th(re)e pillars of success

This week we have started commemorating the day when Malta was reborn; when our country gained independence. After having had a series of talks with the British government and after preparing a Constitution for an independent Malta, which was endorsed by Parliament and approved by the people in a referendum held in February 1964, Ġorġ Borg Olivier set September 21 as Malta's Independence Day.

After 40 years of independence, our country made another achievement: membership of the European Union. Our entry as members of the EU could, in principle, be considered as another rebirth for our country.

What I also find very interesting, as I explained at the national conference organised by myself and Simon Busuttil last Sunday, is the fact that a screaming duality exists between the three pillars mentioned in the Independence theme and what is being achieved through the EU. The three important pillars are the environment, education and employment. Within the EU, these three are integrated together, to the extent that one cannot do without the other. This is also the prevailing situation in Malta.

The employment sector benefits from schemes that produce great results. There have never been so many people employed in this country.

Education, on the other hand, is bearing the fruit of successive Nationalist administrations, together with the present investment in infrastructure, also partly funded by the EU.

The environment is gaining more importance and this new government has placed it as the main pillar. A great deal is being done to inform our people of the bleak reality that surrounds us. We have done a lot of harm to this planet, some of it irreversible, but we must stop immediately and start working seriously on reversing the cycle. This is a global as well as a local issue, something that we must all achieve together.

Our own Prime Minister is a shining example of the right attitude with which this issue must be tackled. At the Mediterranean Union Summit in July, Dr Gonzi stressed the importance of safeguarding the environment. He appealed to all Mediterranean neighbours to work in unison to tackle this important environmental hurdle and he also emphassed the need that the Mediterranean rim countries address with urgency the prevailing climate change challenges.

Although we are a small country compared to the others around the table, we still have a lot to offer. We can still make a difference. This was another point I raised at the national conference on Sunday. I mentioned this Mediterranean Union and how we can make a difference. We can do this by being a catalyst, not just a passive nation. A catalyst supporting implementation, promoting dialogue, introducing new ideas, new ways of thinking, or stressing important issues by making our voice heard.

Perhaps we should focus more on how we can give more to the EU and to the Mediterranean Union as well as receive. I believe in us Maltese as a people and that other countries can benefit from our greatest asset: our people. Of course, the dissemination of certain ideas and their implementation is the best way in which we can contribute.

During these events, I began to ponder on what we can do to keep renewing our successes. We must, first and foremost, remain close to our citizens.

We must continue to listen and learn from them, share experiences, thoughts and also ideas. We must persist in intensifying our work to be everyone's party.

A few months have passed since the general election and four and a half years are left for hard but satisfying work that will lead us to government again. This is the first celebration of our independence since winning the general election and it should perhaps be the first real opportunity to be closer to our people.

This past week's events have highlighted one very important point: the fact that if we work hard together to achieve the clearly-identified goals we have set we will secure for ourselves the perfect key to a renewed successful future.

These goals have been established and, having the three pillars of environment, education and employment at the forefront of our principles, we will work together for the ultimate aim: another legislature of prosperity.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

david@davidcasa.eu, www.davidcasa.eu