Simon Anholt is the person who coined the term national branding. Today, by his own admission, he spends most of his time convincing people and governments that there is no such thing as nation branding. He says it is a myth and a dangerous one at that. His argument is that branding is for commodities, and countries are not for sale.

This week, I participated in the conference organised by Ernst & Young entitled ‘50 years of foreign direct investment’. A lot of the speeches there, including that of the keynote speaker, Alastair Campbell, focused on the need for us to package and sell Malta better. The basic argument was that we have a lot to offer and we should be doing more to tell the world about us. Is this true?

Marketing is important but it is not the be all and end all. In today’s connected world, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to oversell or undersell oneself. Reputations – good or bad – are more earned than manufactured.

Companies that want to invest will do their research. They will not be blinded by any glitz and marketing stunts. This is not an argument against marketing Malta. It goes without saying that we have to be on the radar of companies seeking new opportunities for investment and to be on that radar we need to invest in marketing. But beyond marketing, we need to ensure that we are what we say we are.

The question to really ask ourselves then is: what are we? What do we have that can appeal to prospective investors? What are we super at, what are we good at and where do we fail? And, perhaps the most important question: what do we need to be good at in the near future?

Beyond marketing, we need to ensure that we are what we say we are

Over the past years, we have invested time, energy and resources into out tangible and intangible assets. Our infrastructure has been upgraded. Our education system has been overhauled. Our legislative framework, also thanks to European Union membership, is at par if not better than that of our EU counterparts.

The quality of life – a factor that should not be underestimated when discussing foreign investment – has improved steadily. Our health services are good. Connectivity to and from Malta is way better than what it used to be 10 years ago.

We respect the rule of law and made great strides in ensuring that there is clear separation of powers between the legislative, the judiciary and the executive.

We also have a robust and liberal economy.

The investment made over the past years has to be sustained if we are to remain competitive. There are some slippages and warning signs we need to take care of.

The number of public sector employees increased by five per cent over the past two years. That is a hefty increase by any standards and underlines a growing influence of the government in the economy. Is the added cost of governing sustainable? Is government taking away resources from more productive areas of the economy?

The Minister of Finance is adamant that this is not the case. Statistics point to a different conclusion. The Opposition has called on the government to curtail its economic presence and give more space to private enterprise. We have all seen the effects of unsustainable government spending. No foreign investor will touch a failed or failing economy.

Looking at the positive side, the tourism industry and financial services sector continue to flourish. The economic benefits of both sectors go beyond the immediate and the obvious. They shine a spotlight on Malta, giving us an opportunity to earn a better reputation.

Now, while not all may subscribe to the notion that we should, as a country, try and come up with an all-encompassing message that represents Malta, all generally agree that there are economic areas that can benefit from closer collaboration. Tourism and financial services are a case in point.

Putting it bluntly, I am sure that we can sell financial services to some of our tourists and I am sure that, through our financial services contacts, we can help bolster the high-end tourism sector. Perhaps this is already happening without us doing anything about it. But I am sure that we can do more in this regard.

Beyond becoming better at what we do, we need to ask ourselves what we should be doing that we are not doing today. What new areas of growth should we be looking at?

This is where research and development come in. If there is one area that we seriously lack behind, this is it.

Research and development will not only help us remain competitive but it has the potential to be a catalyst for new economic activity. We can become a research centre of excellence in the Mediterranean. There are, of course, other areas.

A country, like runners in a relay race, is only allowed to look back when passing on the baton. In our case, this happened just under two years ago with the change in government. I sometimes get the feeling this government is still looking back.

The country needs its government to look forward, to come up with new and innovative plans. I have yet to see this happen.

Mario de Marco is deputy leader of the Nationalist Party.