Five years ago, I stood before you and asked you for your trust. I promised you that, as Prime Minister, I would work to continue transforming Malta into a vibrant and well-connected 21st-century State, a country of opportunity for all.

When you asked me to lead Malta for these five years, I felt both honoured and humbled and willingly took on the responsibility.

I was resolute that, five years down the line, when I asked you for a confirmation of your trust as I do today, I would be able to show you how your confidence in the abilities and experience of the Nationalist Party had translated into better life prospects for your children, improved public services for your family, more opportunities for your business and a well-respected standing for Malta in the European Union and the wider world.

My team and I expected it to be tough. And it certainly has been.

In the five years that have passed since 2008, the global economy crashed and went into reverse. The international crisis was unprecedented in the years since World War II.

The euro hit major problems with a debt crisis that has crippled or stalled all our Mediterranean neighbours in the EU. We stood by the Libyan people as they fought for their freedom from oppression, dealing with the difficult security issues caused by the implosion of the Libyan State. And, while doing that, we had to manage the shock to Maltese business interests and our economy.

I am very proud of those people who, in the face of this adversity, put their heads down, rolled up their sleeves and worked hard, keeping their focus on the true priorities. Despite all these external obstacles (and some other home-grown ones), we have achieved real results; we have moved closer to our vision.

We knew that the state of our national finances and the strength of our economy would be the key to everything. We knew that if we got those right, then everything else would follow, especially jobs and the ability to deliver better education, health and other public services.

We carried out reforms that were sometimes painful but that we knew would allow the economy to gain momentum and move forward, despite the seemingly countless hurdles and obstacles.

Today, our economy is the best performer in the region. Our public finances are in far better shape than in any other EU member State in the Mediterranean and, most importantly, we are headed in the right direction.

The increase in employment and our economic growth rate since 2008 do not just stand out in our geographic region but are the best and third-best respectively in the European Union as a whole.

We achieved this through careful management and stimulation of the economy and without the harsh austerity measures to which others have had to resort. We were able even to lower or remove a number of taxes while doing this.

We have strengthened Malta’s financial services sector and diversified our economy, building new service industries from scratch in sectors like aviation, online gaming and digital gaming. This has made the Maltese economy more buoyant and resilient and has created positive multiplier effects that have helped distribute the benefits more evenly throughout society.

We have invested heavily in tourism, breaking record after record not just in arrival numbers but, crucially, in the overall tourist spend. We have managed the integration of low-cost airlines, making Malta much more accessible to visitors and other countries much more accessible to Maltese people. And, yet, we have also made real progress in putting Air Malta back on its feet.

We have stopped the financial haemorrhage from our shipyards while successfully privatising the dockyard to keep key skills and jobs going.

We have delivered a more efficient power station that meets all EU environment standards. We have laid the groundwork for EU funding for a pipeline that will deliver gas safely from Sicily in the coming years, avoiding the danger, expense, vulnerability and inconvenience of a gas storage terminal and gas brought in regularly by sea-going tankers.

We have begun to install an electricity interconnector cable between Malta and Sicily, which will deliver cheaper energy next year, without any emissions in Malta at all.

We have created beautiful new parks and playgrounds worthy of Maltese families, often bringing back to life wasted space that had been allowed to disintegrate and deteriorate.

Those who are bold, who work for true progress and real change, will make some mistakes.

Certainly, I have made my fair share. I regret those mistakes and I am committed to addressing them if given the chance to do so.

But they have been errors in execution, never mistakes in the direction taken. Mistakes in direction have grave consequences for the country and we have seen proof of that with the Labour Party, just as we have observed it among our regional neighbours.

Every step of the way, we have been clear about the direction the country needs to follow and why and this despite the difficulties. This is why Malta has come safely through these five years, which have been so bad for the world.

Now is not the time to change direction. The right decisions by one government will continue to lead to prosperity but the wrong decisions by another will lead to economic ruin.

I want to further entrench Malta’s economic and financial progress so that we can sustain public services and ensure that our young people have an even wider range of opportunities.

I want to ensure that the benefits of economic growth flow to even the most vulnerable members of our society.

I want to complete the transformation of our schools into exciting places that inspire our children and prepare them for the world in 2020 and beyond.

I want to take our health services to the next level of excellence, while keeping them free of charge for all who need them.

I want to do more to protect and, where necessary, rehabilitate Malta’s natural spaces so that they may be enjoyed by all.

I thank you for your trust and your patience over these five years.