Our future depends on how we manage to organise ourselves in a way that we can gain advantage in the global economy. This world we live in is a competitive one. We must do our utmost to be informed of developments – political and technological – in all corners of this globe. Any initiative anywhere can have an effect on us.
Our future depends on how we manage to put ourselves and then keep ourselves at the cutting edge of the markets. We cannot excel in everything, but we must select the niches which match our reality and then work hard, very hard, to be on top.
To do this we must assume a more flexible attitude to change. We must realise that future challenges must be addressed by new tactics. We cannot build new tactics by anchoring ourselves to old thinking. All of us must realise that we must adapt and take the steps to do so.

The Human Being
At the same time we must not lose track the final objective of all our thinking and activity is the well being of the community and every single individual in that community. We must be very clear in our mind that what we are after is that our people live better and that future generations will have a country in which they can lead a good, humane life.
To do this we must be careful to prioritise correctly the issues that face us and to update this priority as new challenges, new opportunities and new developments crop up. We must ensure that we allocate our resources in a way to achieve efficiency and deliver on our objectives. We must achieve a balance among the various, sometimes conflicting interests and issues.

Economic Growth
Economic growth is one of the main objectives. But economic growth should not be pursued for its own sake. We should not be looking at statistics which through their averaging techniques sometimes belie the real state of the population. Economic growth is essential to create the wealth which is the base on which investments in other sectors – environment, security, education, culture, social assistance – could be sustained.
However, as we push economic growth, we must ensure that the various aspects of sustainability are kept in view. It is important that all our policies are in sustainable.
• They should be sustainable in the economic sense in the long run.
• They should be sustainable in the values that they address or affect.
• They should be sustainable in their impact on the environment.
• They must be sustainable in their impact on our social cohesion.

Economic sustainability
Our policies must be sustainable over time and must therefore ensure that benefits keep accruing and are enhanced in the medium and long term. Each of our actions must be a block building the edifice required for an efficient economic structure that stimulates further growth. It must be compatible and complimentary with existing policies and pegs to the policies that would be in the pipeline.
Policies have to flow in a natural way and should not be abrupt changes as these can derail economic operators who set policies of their own activity on the medium term.

Sustainable values
We must stick to principle. Our national ethos must be respected as we decide on policy. This does not mean redundant practices and perceived rights, but the values that make us caring and considerate human beings as laid down by Christian standards – which are not so different from the standards laid down by other religions.

Sustainable environment
We cannot be a rich population living in bunkers because of the unhealthy air we breathe outside. The environment, from our landscapes to the air we breathe, from our energy consumption practices to our waste management, must be a coherent and co-ordinated policy set that allows us to enjoy the improved standard of living that we earn through economic growth.

Sustainable social cohesion
This comes about by ensuring that wealth is distributed in a just way. The thin line between motivation to create wealth and just distribution of wealth must not be disturbed. But a community must live in peace within itself. This is achieved when all feel that they are given a good deal.

Thank you
I would like to thank the thousands who followed the events last week and expressed their satisfaction at the result through phone calls, SMS’s, emails and cards.
Naturally, the Labour media was not amongst them, as they tried to fabricate a spin that would hide their frustration.