Bernard Grech heralded the new year by urging voters to work with him to give the country new hope in 2022. 

"I believe we both agree that our country could be better than it currently is," he addressed viewers on Facebook.

"We need to continue building on hard work, generosity and the compassion that we have always shown each other."

"I believe we both want a Malta that awards hard and honest work. This should be the foundation of everything: whoever works hard is successful and whoever does not have the means to implement sound ideas is helped out," he said.

Grech said the country should invest more to ensure that jobs pay better wages, adding that this could be achieved by investing in skills.

"We need to give more value to professionals such as educators and nurses, and all technical jobs, without which no modern society can thrive... When we take care of our resources and public funds we would be able to make better and more responsible use of them, and support workers, the elderly and frontliners in the process.

"We would be able to cut down your tax burden, reduce VAT for restaurants and reimburse money stolen from you through your utility bills,” he said.

The PN reader pledged to do his utmost to bring about new hope in the new year, adding, however, that he needed viewers - voters - help.

In his address, Grech also paid tribute to more than 470 people who died while COVID positive. 

Additionally, there were thousands of people who had suffered lower quality of life.

"There are employees who are working four days a week, self-employed who made no profit for months, parents, teachers and students who experienced anxiety while home-schooling and businesses who had to shut down.

"We are with you all. We lived through this suffering alongside you and we want our country to stand by you, not only by remaining cautious when faced by the pandemic, but also by recognising the sacrifices of frontliners," he said.