The electorate will go to the polls on Saturday to select their representatives in Parliament for the next five years. It has been a long campaign and the truth is that both sides have made valid contributions to the debate on the country’s future.

Great risk will come at great cost

For me, in the European Parliament, the last few years have been characterised by ongoing discussions related to the economic turmoil that has plagued developed economies the world over and, the more so, in the EU. These issues were a feature of almost every meeting of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, of which I form part.

It was an honour to represent Malta in this context. Not in a way of taking pleasure out of the misfortunate of others but being proud of the strides forward that, against all odds, our country has made. Proud to be Maltese but also proud to form part of the party in government that is responsible for these undeniable accomplishments.

Not only did this Government manage to steer us away from the perilous storm that spared but few of our neighbours, member States with far more power and resources than us. Vision and foresight also place us among the member States most likely to continue performing well in future.

And so I ask: is the PN a victim of its own success? As islanders we tend to live in a bubble, aware and yet detached from the reality beyond our shores. Many speak of change. Change for the sake of it, change to counter boredom, change as punishment for the occasional, I will admit, mistakes that were made.

But when we look at our country’s burgeoning new industries, healthy unemployment stats and prospects of economic growth, do these achievements not outweigh the comparatively trivial lacking of this Government?

Were we not so detached from the economic crisis, because we were protected from it but also because we are geographically distant, would we not put things into better perspective? If our economic outlook were to be more precarious would those that argue in favour of change for the sake of it not be more cautious on advocating entrusting the country to a leader with no experience and a part-dinosaur team with more experience and failure under their belts than they would care to remember?

When I meet constituents with problems, problems such as a less than ideally constructed rubble wall that the planning authority will not allow to remain standing, insufficient water pressure in the en-suite shower or the long-awaited and, possibly, deserved promotion that never came, I can understand the frustration that most genuinely feel.

Yet, I am unable not to frame these issues within the context of the headaches the people on the street in Greece, the social disaster in Spain and the most uncertain future of countries like Cyprus, where some citizens struggle, even today, to put food on the table.

What a luxury it is then to have the time to worry about issues such as those described above.

We are not where we are today as a country because we are lucky. This state of affairs is the result of years of experience, clear vision and incredibly competent but, yes, fallible human beings.

While I believe it would be misguided to suggest that Labour would intentionally cause this country to regress, I have very serious doubts on their capability to deliver. Not only because of their team and history but also because of a reality beyond our shores that is closer and remains more perilous than most Maltese seem to comprehend.

In these last days before the election I appeal to the undecided. Great risk will come at great cost. We have erred but we have also done great things. We have been plagued by internal conflict but we are reformed. And we have faced great challenges but we have overcome.

Entrust us once more; we will not disappoint.

David Casa is a Nationalist MEP.