The State of the Nation cannot be measured by GDP alone, but also by people’s trust in the State and its institutions

Malta is not just a statistic. Malta is its people, and the State of our Nation cannot be measured by GDP alone, but also by the level of trust people have in the State and its institutions, by how safe families feel, and by whether journalists feel able to carry out their work without fear.

This was the main message delivered by Leader of the Opposition and Partit Nazzjonalista Leader Alex Borg during his address at the State of the Nation conference, presided over by the President of Malta and during which the annual study prepared by Lou Bondi together with statistician Vincent Marmarà was presented.

Alex Borg said that the state of the nation cannot be measured solely by economic growth, by the number of projects or by the figures presented in reports. It must also be measured by the trust citizens place in institutions, by the freedom journalists have to ask questions and investigate, and by families’ peace of mind in knowing that the law applies equally to everyone.

In his speech, Alex Borg referred to the verdict delivered on Wednesday in the trial concerning the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. He reiterated that the verdict must be respected and that the independence of the judiciary and the presumption of innocence are fundamental principles that must always be safeguarded.

However, the verdict does not change the fact that, almost nine years after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, her family and the Maltese people are still waiting for the full truth and for complete justice.

“Malta continues to carry an open wound at the heart of its democracy. Insisting on the truth is not an exercise in political convenience, but the duty of everyone who believes that, in a European country, the murder of a journalist cannot be left without full accountability,” Alex Borg said.

The Partit Nazzjonalista Leader said that Castille should be the symbol of the highest form of public service and the place from which government works for the good of the people. It should never become a space where political power and private interests become intertwined, where questions are silenced or where responsibility is evaded.

He recalled that the Public Inquiry found that the State had to shoulder responsibility for creating a climate of impunity that facilitated the assassination. This conclusion cannot be left in a report gathering dust on a shelf, as the Government is attempting to do, but must lead to serious, transparent and concrete reform.

Alex Borg warned that when a Government attempts to take control of everything, institutions cease to act as watchdogs over those in power and instead begin protecting those who hold power. This is why the Police, the public service, regulators and public entities must never be treated as extensions of the party in government.

The rule of law does not belong to the Partit Nazzjonalista, the Labour Party or any particular group. It belongs to all the people of Malta and Gozo.

The Leader of the Opposition reiterated the need for the recommendations of the Public Inquiry to be implemented transparently and according to a clear timetable. He also called for key public appointments to be based on merit, for effective protection for journalists and whistleblowers, for clear rules against conflicts of interest, for institutions free from political interference, and for strong parliamentary scrutiny that holds the Executive to account.

Alex Borg said that the rule of law is not an abstract concept. It affects the family that waits years for a court judgment, the small business that sees one set of rules applying to those with the right connections, the young person who feels that their future lies outside Malta, and anyone who is afraid to report abuse because they do not know who will protect them.

Malta therefore cannot speak about the economy without speaking about integrity, about quality of life without justice, or about the future without deciding what kind of country it wants to be.

“This is the true state of the nation: not only where we are, but where we want to go; not only what we have, but what we believe in; not only the wealth we create, but the justice we guarantee,” Alex Borg said.

He concluded his speech with an appeal for our country to build a future in which people, freedom and justice always come before power.

“We are not building our country only for today. We are building it for our children and our grandchildren. We want a Malta that is not afraid to change, that does not lose its soul, and that understands that the truth is not a threat, but the foundation of trust. That is the Malta we want to build together.”

04.09.2026