The outgoing year was not as bad as it might have been for the world economy. It certainly was not good, either. Slowdowns and recessions were the order of the day. But at least the worst from our standpoint did not happen. The European Union did not break up.

Every effort must be made to exploit every possible advantage- Lino Spiteri

At times it came dangerously close to cracking. Both Greece and Spain were close several times to setting out of the door. They did not do that. They are not safe yet. But at least they are hoping.

The situation was, and remains, more dangerous for Italy and France. Mario Monti set out to shake up Italy almost back into respectability. But he did not see out his mandate, which was short enough, anyhow. It was not enough that Berlusconi was responsible for many of his country’s ailments. He had to put a fresh spoke in the wheel by withdrawing support from Monti’s government and declaring that he would be standing again.

What will actually happen remains very unclear. Berlusconi, anyway, has lost a great deal of backing. His party is only attracting 15 per cent notional support just now. Monti is making it clear he will not support any party, but if he is subsequently asked to form a government, he would consider it.

This time the fence to be cleared is likely to be Bersani. He seems to have the largest support and is hopeful of forming a coalition government. He would show respect towards Monti and try to continue with most of his reforms. But he’ll probably want to be prime minister himself.

Surprisingly, though, economists in Europe privately talk of France being the biggest three. The government of Francois Hollande, which inherited hell from Sarkozy, is floundering. If France goes, the eurozone is unlikely to survive.

The bigger European Union has its own threats. The main one is Britain. There could be a referendum later on which will allow euro sceptics to finally make it their day. Scenarios are already being drawn up to indicate how the balance of advantages and disadvantages would be.

All this interests Malta. Its vote is as good as any other country’s, where single voting matters. Otherwise it will go with the flood, as will most other countries.

What happens within the European Union, and in particular the eurozone, will affect us directly. This year’s outturn is likely to show that our GDP grew by a slim margin. That masks the fact that the economy is segmentised at least in two. The services sector and part of the manufacturing sector continue to do well. The rest are floundering. Unemployment, which has been creeping up for eight months, is a sign of this dichotomy.

Next year could be worse. The European Union is forecast to stagnate. Although the Maltese economy has shown resilience, largely because of its segmentisation, that is likely to affect Malta’s growth rate.

Modest as our forecast is, it is unlikely to be reached if this black scenario materialises.

That is why it is important that the drive to increase competitiveness and to keep industrial peace is pursued with vigour.

Sparks from Air Malta are not heartening. At a time when there has been some improvement in performance, it would make more sense if new differences are tackled at the table until its legs creak. There shouldn’t be any false hope that if there is a change of government the situation will change overnight.

As with the rest of the economy, change can only come though continuing hard work and effort in the context of bleak circumstances.

This will impact directly in tourism, which did well this year. It should not be forgotten that the first four months saw very slow performance. Nor that, despite the overall good year, hoteliers are saying that they still haven’t recovered enough to carry out essential refurbishment.

The end of the world did not come in 2012. In Malta, too. That is not to say that 2013 will not be replete with problems. The problems coming from the external sector we can try to deal with as best as we can without much hope of overcoming them if they are too big.

Which is why we should try to ensure that there are as few problems as possible due to internal causes. We have our work cut out to keep the economy resilient enough to maintain our heads over water. Every effort must be made to exploit every possible advantage, and to fight tooth and nail every threat. More focus and – yes – unity is required than ever before.

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