Last October was the 25th anniversary of my first election to the House of Representatives. Over coffee with my closest aides, we recently revisited some of the highlights of these years.

The most striking door-to- door meetings, interventions on pieces of legislation I debated in parliament, missions abroad, being on the winning or losing side of elections. And, at some point, you float back to when and why it all started.

I was always active in my community, be it in sports or religious organisations. One thing led to another, resulting in my interest to provide a more tangible contribution.

Many a time, one is cognisant of one’s qualities and, once these reverberate with others, a certain momentum builds up.

I remember that there was always an urge in me to help through my strengths. To speak on behalf of groups that did not know where to channel their problems.

I also felt that, if I had certain strengths, I shouldn’t leave them unused. By nature, I’m a reserved individual, quite a private person, however, I have always found myself to be irked and motivated by abuse and inequality. Leaders are essential in any community and country.

I was always of the opinion that individuals who have leadership qualities should not shy away from giving a direct contribution. The failure to jump into the fray means depriving society of the energy, ideas and impact one could have contributed with.

I always had very clear ethical principles. Those of integrity and honesty. That is why, over the last months, I have been more forceful than I would normally be in preserving my political persona. The attempts of character assassination levelled against me over the last months were clearly targeted at tarnishing the clean reputation that I have painstakingly built over the years. It was also targeted at destabilising my work and my focus.

From my point of view, I have always believed that opposing sides can still treat each other with respect. We may be political opponents but we are all contributors to the same democracy.

I have very fond memories of numerous honourable members on both sides. As their influence diminished, others, whom I have witnessed taking their first political steps, replaced them and are new movers and shakers of the political mainstream. I am resolute to continue assisting young blood that will fuel the future of our country.

A word of advice I always have for upcoming politicians is that you will never manage to do it all on your own. You need to work in a team. It might be a political family, a parliamentary group, a cabinet of ministers, not to mention our closest aides.

Looking at our ministry, I think of our team members that set up meetings, others who service the environment we work in, those who support me in decision-making and provide guidance when faced with challenges.

I always had very clear ethical principles. Those of integrity and honesty- Carmelo Abela

It is through these teams that we achieve our results and, thus, they need to be chosen wisely.

I will always cherish the various opportunities that I had in serving as a minister for home affairs and national security and in representing Malta abroad both as minister for foreign affairs and as member of many national and international parliamentary committees. Apart from the honour of representing one’s country at an event, we have also worked hard to establish systems and infrastructures that improve our global visibility.

I am most proud of the work we have done in my stint as foreign minister to create new Malta embassies in Ghana and Japan, among others. Both are now fully operational.

There is still a lot of work to be done. I am currently focused on reforming our public broadcasting company to establish a service based on quality and which is accessible to all.

We are adamant to see these changes through, not just for the PBS of today but also for a public broadcaster that can pre-empt future challenges and have the right talent pipeline and amenities that can see it take on the next decades with confidence.

The same applies for what we are doing with the MCESD. In the past, this forum was characterised as not being much more than a glorified talking shop.

However, we want to effectively transform the MCESD to become a constant sounding board for the government. A sounding board which is, however, equipped with the professional resources it needs to shape its opinions on current and emerging matters in relation to our economic and social development.

I will also be doing my utmost to change all needed legislation to further protect our workforce. We are currently analysing interventions that can lead to tangible equity in the case of contract workers, changes that can uphold equal pay for equal work, tightening of the gender pay gap and a legislative platform for remote working.

While 25 years of service might be seen as a point of arrival, I wish to take it on as another springboard for more months and years of service.

I believe that honest, hard work is the only way by which our constituents can again lend us their trust in next year’s election.