The President emeritus spoke of the importance of well-being, as she described a local economy with a growing number of people who have money in their pockets but are still deprived of other rewards. She called for the use of a well-being index as an indicator instead of only looking at the economy only in terms of GDP.

Coleiro Preca hailed discussions such as the one she was speaking in, as she noted the importance of a nation-wide reflection period. On education, she called for “re-engineering” the education system, dressing that while Malta’s investment in the sector is high, children don’t necessarily learn life skills.

Sitting aside the former President, Professor Angela Abela called for policy makers to have courage to make tough decisions that aren’t necessarily popular. 

Speaking about a number of issues such as children’s upbringing, environmental problems and Malta’s traffic situation, Abela stated that the country’s economic model must change to address these challenges. 

“Where’s the knowledge economy that we used to talk about?”

Among other challenges that were discussed during the event was Malta’s low birth rate. Commissioner of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality, Renee Laiviera noted that Malta has the second lowest birth rate in the world. 

She called for a vision that addresses the low birth rate and the challenges this brings for the labour market. “Parents are telling us that they’re finding it difficult to keep up with our responsibilities,” Laiviera noted, adding that women are bearing the majority of the brunt of the issue. 

Closing the discussion, Prime Minister Robert Abela stated that the birth rate problem means that Malta will be affected by a significant change in demographics. 

In order to address the challenges this poses to the labour market, Abela said that introducing more foreign workers is not the solution, stating that the solution lies in adding targeted incentives to boost the local birth rate. 

Speaking about the upcoming budget, Abela said that each measure in next year’s budget will be aimed at guiding Malta towards a new economic direction.

On the traffic problem, the Prime Minister said that he believes more in the carrot than the stick.

Abela concluded by stating that his government has the energy and the will to address each issue that continues to affect Malta and Gozo.