Editorial
The year that was
It will take historians some time to figure out what happened in the past 12 months and why. But whatever their views, whatever their interpretation and conjecture, 2008 will go down as the year of the improbable.
Who would have thought a black man would be US President? Or that the banks many placed blind trust in would simply run dry? Or that the price of oil would soar to such great heights - and then come crashing down again with even greater velocity? Who would have thought?
Barack Obama must have had his doubts as he sat in freezing cold Illinois last Christmas. His photo was not even in the December 17, 2007, issue of Time magazine - there was merely a small caricature of him along with seven other candidates pointing out strengths and weaknesses. His Achilles heel was inexperience.
January was not going swimmingly well either. Just as Mr Obama began to make some headway, Hillary Clinton rode to a record triumph in the New Hampshire primary. So much so that his would-be victory rally party there was described as "tomb-like". The weeks wore on and they slugged, landing one huge blow after another. By the middle of the year the writing was on the wall for the party, even if Ms Clinton was refusing to read it. They wanted a black man, rather than a woman - though the choice of either would have been history-making - to lead the quest for the Presidency.
When in the early hours of November 5 it became clear that Mr Obama was romping home to victory against John McCain, he told everyone who was listening - and everyone was listening - that change had come to America. Not that America had not seen change under George Bush's presidency. The country lost 3,000 lives when the Twin Towers went down and even more in the related invasion of Iraq, but Americans, and the world, wanted this change for the better this time.
There had been change in another vital sphere too. The world's economy, such a prosperous playground for so many in recent years, was starting to see casualties. Then, Lehman Brothers died and the other dominoes started to topple - banks, the stock market, property, and more recently, major car makers. Instead of looking forward to a year of record growth, most economies are shrinking and the world has braced itself for a tough 2009.
This little island has witnessed its fair share of improbability too. On the morning of March 9, it seemed obvious to everyone that there would be a new party in government. Then the votes were counted and it slowly, very slowly, emerged that rumours of the Nationalist Party's demise had been grossly exaggerated. Lawrence Gonzi brought his party home for one of the most famous victories at the polls.
While the Labour Party fought over who was to blame, a 34-year-old MEP called Joseph Muscat began to plot a course to victory. Within three months he became the party's second-youngest leader. Who would have thought that when the year began?
And so it is against this great kaleidoscope of a backdrop that we head into the new year. Filled with the usual hopes, if a little more fear, than the one before. The most important resolutions people can make are to learn the lessons and believe, because we know now more than ever that we can take nothing for granted anymore. With a little luck, 2009 will be the year of the possible.