Maltese must look beyond rivalries, says president in Republic Day speech in Gozo

The President of Malta, George Vella, has reiterated his appeal that Malta look beyond political rivalry in a bid to avoid standstill in its development.

His appeal was made in a ceremony commemorating Republic Day in Gozo, a week on from the official celebration that confers annual honorifics at the Presdent’s Palace in Malta.

The 49th anniversary since Malta became a republic was celebrated in Gozo yesterday evening with a concert that ended with a speech by President George Vella. The concert by Banda Ċittadina Leone of Victoria Gozo was held in Independence Square.

Vella’s tenure as head of State comes to an end in three and a half months.

In his last speech on this occasion, President Vella shared his thoughts about the future and the challenges and opportunities that the people of Malta and Gozo, particularly youths, will be facing in the coming times.

Vella reiterated his trust in the people of Malta and Gozo, who, through their wisdom and abilities, have always achieved results and reached important milestones. “It is wrong to think that there is no longer anything good left in our country, that people no longer have integrity, that there are no competent people left, that no one is trustworthy, and that we are a divided nation. There is always room for improvement,” Vella said, referring to the obstacles he encountered to continuing the process of a Constitutional Convention.

President Vella reflected on the role of the president, which depends on the cooperation of many entities. “The President alone cannot do anything, and I fully hope that my successor will find the support to achieve all possible goals.”

Vella said that the challenges will certainly not decrease, and therefore education is the best investment we can ever make in future generations. “I am happy to see so many youths active in political life,” Vella said, expressing concern that a lot of talent is being discouraged because of the extremely partisan way in which we do our politics.

He warned that the time has come to start teaching what politics is and means as art and as science, taught as a subject along with other subjects that help improve our quality of life.

Referring to the horrid reality in Malta’s immediate neighbourhood, Vella said that neutrality had not prevented the country from making no small contribution in the two very troubling circumstances we have experienced and continue to experience: the invasion, for no reason, of Ukraine by Russia and the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas.

The President reiterated the condemnation without reservations of the killing of innocent people, irrespective of the perpetrator, and made a sincere plea to whoever currently has the power to do so to stop the ongoing massacre of innocent people, particularly children.