Call me old fashioned if you will, but I consider policies, not theatrics and person-based campaigns, to be the most essential element of politics. As things are evolving, this campaign is focusing more on the personal and less on the policies.

We are discussing more on what this person did or said, on how that group of students reacted or acted, on issues of a criminal nature that evidently the police are following up and less on economic, education and social policies.

After the election, few of us will remember or care who shouted most in a student gathering.

Few will care what happened to that guy who appeared on television to say that he is in or out.

All of us, however, will want to feel secure in the knowledge that the economy is still doing well, that enough jobs are being created to keep unemployment at bay and that investment is still pouring into our education system.

An election campaign should serve to show which party has the best policies to lead the country and which party has the right credentials to deliver on its promises.

The Nationalist Party in government has proved one thing beyond doubt. It can deliver on the economic front. In past legislatures, it was argued that Nationalist governments succeeded in generating wealth because of the favourable international economic conditions.

That argument was proved wrong during the past five years. Our economy grew during the worst recession in living memory. And it grew thanks to the right decisions taken by this and previous Nationalist administrations.

Our economy would have followed that of our southern European neighbours and headed into dark and troubled waters had we not stopped subsidising unsustainable operations; had we not provided an immediate financial helpline to manufacturing companies in the most dire moment; had we not invested more into tourism when the outlook was bleak; had we not joined the European Union and later the euro rather than devalue our old Lira; had we not invested in education and in training yesterday’s youngsters to become today’s productive worker; had we increased rather than decreased the tax burden; had we not encouraged and created the right conditions for new industries to flourish in Malta and had we not attracted more foreign direct investment towards our shores.

The end result of the decisions we took is that Malta works, as proved by some simple yet telling facts.

With all the economic turmoil, bail-outs, scary unemployment levels in the euro area, we can boast having the highest number ever of people gainfully employed, record-breaking tourism performance, an economy that is growing twice as fast as the European average, the fastest assimilation of graduates into the workforce among all EU countries, an ever-increasing number of students who continue with post-secondary and tertiary education and the lowest tax burden on workers in all the European Union.

This is a simple fact that we are taking for granted even as we watch our neighbours sink.

I was struck by a headline in an Italian regional newspaper ‘Il grido dei giovanni… Mollo tutto e vado a Malta’, which loosely translated means ‘The desperate cry of (Italian) youngsters: I am leaving everything behind and heading to Malta’.

How ironic. Gone are the days when we used to go abroad to have access to the most basic of commodities and, for those who could, to seek better education and job prospects abroad. The situation has now reversed. We are seen by our European neighbours as a beacon of hope, as a country where young people can dream of a better future.

Getting the economy right is the most basic, even if most difficult, element in governing. Bill Clinton had coined it in the most easily understandably manner when he said “It’s the economy, stupid.” Get that right and everything else can follow. Get that wrong and nothing will work.

Most European countries are slashing their culture budgets, cutting back their social benefits, pensions and health spending and cutting jobs in the public sector.

I am not talking history or economic theory. I am simply pointing out what is happening all around us.

If you were a Cypriot, Greek, Italian, English, French or Spanish student or one of the increasing number of unemployed people in these countries, you will probably be facing a very different set of problems to those you are facing today.

You will probably be less worried about the issues that seem to dominate this election campaign and be more concerned on whether you will after all find a job after graduation, on how to make ends meet and whether there is a light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel.

The fact that you are not is thanks to this government’s sound policies.

This Nationalist government gave you peace of mind. A future Nationalist government will continue to work with you to help you achieve your potential. Together we will keep Malta working.