A year ago a text book case snap election was called. It wasn’t really that the timing was unexpected – more significantly it was called at a time when the Opposition felt itself to be riding high, gleefully pushing a dark cloud over everything our government had accomplished during that first legislature. At the end of four years of doing practically nothing, the Opposition thought that the gods had reached down and handed them a magic formula. 

Yet democracy – and this is the real kernel of its simple genius – always delivers the same basic, simple and merciless lesson. It is the verdict of the people that counts and not that of politicians. The PN’s dark cloud did not manage to block the light that many saw shining above it. And the result was that the people re-elected us with an even larger historic majority than in 2013. The people had a choice and they made it – freely, openly and convincingly.

Those familiar with my views will probably anticipate what comes next. As I have been arguing all along, inside the party, the government and publicly: Winning is not enough. It is the beginning of our journey, not its end. During the electoral campaign a year ago we didn’t just work in order to win. We wanted to win in order to work.

There is a palpable sense of well-being and prosperity all across the social spectrum

As the deputy leader of the Labour Party and the Deputy Prime Minister I am proud to say that this is precisely what we have been doing over the last 12 months – delivering on all counts, across all sectors, addressing everyone’s needs and challenges. The economy continues to boom, unemployment is virtually non-existent, the Welfare State is more generous yet fairer than ever, the health sector has been taken to a new level, our voice in Europe is strong and clear and our educational institutions are thriving. Above all, there is a palpable sense of well-being and prosperity all across the social spectrum. Whoever has a goal, a dream, a challenge is going for it knowing there is a can-do government backing her or him up.

This encouraging state of affairs should in no way blind us to the pockets of social problems which still need to be tackled. As a social democratic party, we, more than any other party, are committed to remaining at the forefront to deal with them, with all hands on deck. In addition, we know that in and of itself increasing wealth and affluence create their own set of social challenges – the increasing cost of housing, the loneliness of the elderly, the ‘new poor’, the challenges of social integration created by a fast-evolving society, the digital divide, the fallout from disruption, amongst others. Again, it should be us, as social democrats, who should lead the analysis, the understanding of what is going on and come up with the appropriate policy proposals to deal with them. We must remain as pro-business as we are pro- each and every member of society, whoever she or he may be.

A year is more or less a fifth of the way into this legislative journey. As such it is a good time to look ahead as well as to take stock. The solid economic, social and European foundations laid down since 2013 are now ready to take on the weight of a new vision, a vision for tomorrow’s Malta.

But what sort of Malta are we aspiring to? With the wind of prosperity in our sails, where are we piloting the ship of State to? In my view, a very fruitful beginning can found in one phrase:  a better quality of life in a fairer society. 

We need to do so in ways that we have so far hardly begun to explore – a deeper, serious and wide-ranging look at a better work-life balance, the impact of artificial intelligence and robotics on daily working and home lives, a close examination of how the very notion of what a ‘job’ – let alone a ‘job for life’ – ­might morph into something completely different in the near future, how medical care and the very idea of a hospital is rapidly changing, completely new ways of looking at transport and so many more and exciting areas to explore.

I strongly believe that the stars are aligned for us to make this political quality leap forward. Our track record, our hearts and our values are there. We have proven ourselves as winners on all counts, not just electorally. And, unfortunately, we face an Opposition which lacks the political will and coherence to sort out its own house today, let alone provide a vision for this country’s future. History has placed us where we ought to be proud to be: a place from where we can imagine and strive for the future.

Chris Fearne is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health.