Pride and trust in Malta form the theme chosen by the Nationalist Party for its independence celebrations, which will be held over the five days prior to the September 21 commemoration itself.

“The Nationalist Party is proud of the country and its people’s achievements,” the party said in a statement.

“Despite the very difficult economic and financial situation in Europe and beyond, Malta managed, thanks to a resilient workforce and sensible economic decisions, to weather well the economic storm and financial meltdown. We should be proud of our country’s achievements,” the party said.

“It is encouraging to note that new data issued by Eurostat confirms that Malta’s economy powered ahead in the second quarter recording the fastest growth in the eurozone while we have the fifth lowest unemployment rate in the EU,” the party said.

Referring to the downgrade of Malta’s bond ratings by Moody’s, the party said this was not because “Malta failed, in any way, to address the economic crisis, but because of what is happening in the rest of the world...”