Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the brutal slaying of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was not a true reflection of who we were as a country.

In an address on New Year ’s Eve, Dr Muscat said the Maltese were capable of distinguishing between right and wrong and were prepared to stop the “very few” bad elements in society.

He vowed to continue the push towards more social progress.

The government, he said, was there to strengthen what was good and fix what needed to be mended. “We are here, together with my colleagues, to serve the Maltese and Gozitan population, without prejudice or distinction”.

Dr Muscat said we lived in a beautiful country that knew how to love and live in peace. This was the country we should continue to show everyone once we removed the divisiveness, sometimes puerile, that caused unnecessary tension.

He said he saw Malta as a country where love did not discriminate, which provided work for everyone and that was passing through a time of great wealth, which was being felt by everyone.

The Prime Minister said the fruits of the government’s tax-free Budget would be felt by all in the coming weeks.

The wealth being generated was reaching those who needed it most.

Dr Muscat said the government was here to offer hope to those who suffered from serious, heart-breaking illnesses. The government was ready to offer help to mitigate the suffering not only of those who were ill but also those close to them, by, for example, giving the opportunity to prescribe medical marijuana as an alternative.

He promised to continue sheltering families going through social problems. Pensioners, minimum-wage earners and those who needed a helping hand to find a job would all be helped.

Attention would also be given to seriously tackle the rent problem while offering affordable housing to those who really needed it.

Dr Muscat said the government would continue to invest in Malta’s infrastructure, which was the next step for a modern country where tourist arrived in numbers four times its population.