The Highlights of 2008

2008 has come and passed fast enough, and 2009 is already upon us. Stating the obvious, true, but it's a fact that has to be acknowledged - 365 days may seem like a huge number, but in reality, they zip by with the blink of an eye. And there's no doubt that this will, once again, be the case in 2009.

2008 has, however, been a year with its typical ups and recessions (no pun intended). In a similar method to that that The Times adopted recently, I will be using seven key words to really summarise the events of 2008 - both positive and negative, and both my own and that that happened on the national and international scenes. After all, simply including everything would be too lengthy to write and too impossible to remember.

Elections - 2008 was without doubt a year determined by elections both on a local and international level. In Malta, a relative majority (49.14%) of the public reconfirmed their faith in the Partit Nazzjonalista (PN) and their leader Lawrence Gonzi for another five year term in Government, condemning the Partit Laburista (PL) and their leader Dr. Alfred Sant to their third successive electoral defeat, and fourth in total if one considered the referendum result in 2003. This was the catalyst for a real bidu gdid within the PL, as Dr. Sant 'irrevocably resigned' from his post after the PN victory was confirmed and MEP Dr. Joseph Muscat, only 34, was elected in his place. Subsequently, Muscat has revamped the PL administration from head to toe, with Anglu Farrugia and Toni Abela now his deputies, but despite rumours of conflict and an ultimatum issued, Jason Micallef still holds the coveted General Secretary position. America also saw the battle for the White House, which was a three-way tie between Hillary Rodham Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama in the preliminary stages. McCain and Obama eventually won the Republican and Democrat nominations respectively, and Obama comfortably went on to defeat McCain on the November 4 election. He will assume office, and become the country's first ever black President, on January 20.

Recession - An economic clout has been upon the world's doorstep for the last three months, all instigated by the collapse of financial giant Lehman Brothers in September. The bankruptcy of the company led to many countries becoming victims of the credit crunch, especially because assets shared were now lost and hence money went down the drain. Particularly badly affected were the USA and Iceland, who, prior to this, had a stable financial backing. Iceland are now seriously considering joining the EU in order for the ECB to help out in their crisis. Meanwhile, Malta was minimally affected by the entire scenario, with some assets that the Bank of Valletta had being lost, but retained a relatively stable economy throughout. However, people are now spending their money more carefully and in fact, this Christmas, businesses did not sell as much as in 2007.

Sports - The international sporting world saw a load of firsts in 2008. In football, Manchester United and Chelsea contested the first all-English Champions League final... in Moscow. After a game that didn't disappoint, albeit the 1-1 final score, the penalty shootout that ensued provided tension and drama as never seen before. The reaction of John Terry, after his missed penalty, still lives in the minds of many Chelsea supporters as that converted spot kick would have given the Blues their first Champions League title. However, United went on to win the shootout 6-5 and become champions for the third time. They backed this up with their first World Club Championship, beating South American champions LDU Quito 1-0 in the final in Yokohama. Spain also won their first trophy in 44 years after winning the EURO 2008 tournament in Switzerland and Austria, beating Germany 1-0 in the final and hence finally shedding their tag of perennial underachievers. Rafael Nadal became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win both Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year, and subsequently became the first person to defeat the all-conquering Roger Federer in over 60 matches on grass. Nadal finally became World Number 1 - at Federer's expense - in August. The Olympics in Beijing also took place and were heralded as the best Olympics ever. Both Usain Bolt (athletics) and Michael Phelps (swimming) enthralled the world of sport here in different ways. Bolt won the 100m and 200m finals comfortably, breaking the World Record in both instances, and Phelps won an unprecedented 8 gold medals in the swimming pool, becoming the most successful Olympian of all time. Finally, Lewis Hamilton became Formula 1's youngest ever World Champion, and the first black person to do so, after finishing 5th in Brazil, which was enough to win the title by a single point from Ferrari's Felipe Massa. In the most enthralling finish to a title race in years, Hamilton overtook Toyota's Timo Glock at the final corner in Interlagos to deny Massa, who had already won the race, the title. Had Hamilton remained behind Glock, both he and Massa would have finished level on 97 points but the title would have gone to the Brazilian based on more race wins within a season.

Euro - The beginning of a new financial era for Malta began effective January 1, 2008, with the introduction of the Euro instead of the Maltese lira. Upon entry into the EU in 2004, Malta was forced to adopt the Maastricht criteria that stated that new member states must eventually join the Eurozone. Malta was praised by the EU for its effective and efficient awareness campaign - no doubt aided substantially by the FAIR campaign - as well its smooth transition period, both widely considered to be among the best Europe has seen to date. Compulsory dual pricing came into effect July 1, 2007 and ended June 30, 2008, allowing the Maltese a period of one year to get used to the exact exchange rate between the lira and the Euro. However, a recent poll on the Times of Malta website has shown that the majority of the public - from the sample who voted - still seem to translate prices listed in the Euro to the Maltese lira before buying a product.

BOOM! - 2008 was also a tragic year for many Maltese families, as various accidents and murders took the lives of a substantial amount of people nationwide. A few days after the General Elections, Malta was plunged into mourning after fireworks stored in a garage in Naxxar exploded, destroying 3 houses and killing two people, including a 33-year old mother of two children. The dust had barely settled on that tragedy when another one struck the islands this summer, as four people aboard the now infamous fishing boat Simshar were killed following an explosion on the boat that destroyed it completely. Only one of the crew members survived the ordeal - barely alive - after being found following a week out at sea. There were also various murders throughout the year. Among the most controversial was a mother being killed by her 15-year old daughter in Mensija, San Gwann, on February 26, this following an alleged argument between the two after the mother asked her daughter to get some drugs. There were also two murders in Qormi within the space of two months and another murder in Xemxija between those two events. Finally, there was also the attempted murder of 20 people at a PN club in Mqabba, which left no people killed but some injured. It seems as if criminality in Malta is on the rise.

University - Life at University was full of controversy this year too. The much talked about Debate on Campus proved to be a hit from many a student's perspective, but also proved to be a massive talking point in the media. The PL apologists brought Insite's independence as a student media organisation into question by stating that the debate was an organised Nationalist Mass Meeting, while the PN claimed that this debate really showed the leader that the majority of the students were backing. This once again led to damaging claims being thrown by members of the opposition, who went to the extreme of labelling students as marmalja and hmieg, and also led to some sectors of the public questioning the true quality of individuals that the highest educational institution of the land produces. Insite were not reported to have taken legal action against any entity in terms of damage of reputation. Meanwhile, no elections to elect a new KSU office were held after Pulse withdrew from the running and no independent organisation opted to contest. Hence, SDM were reconfirmed in office, and Roberta Avellino took over from David Herrera as President. Finally, the University welcomed its new batch of students - the majority of which born in 1990 - amidst a construction site; after the administration decided to undertake renovation work on the Library and extend the Administration building over the course of summer.

Y4J - Finally, ending on a personal note, and probably saving the best till last. 2008 was finally the year where I felt that I did something worthwhile, and substantive, with my life. Joining Y4J was undoubtedly one of the best moves I could have ever made, because it has allowed me to make a whole host of new friends, become closer to others who I already remotely knew, and, most importantly, allow God to enter into my life. If I had to describe anything else pertinent to this, I could simply go on forever. The times we have shared together, from meetings, to Soul Survivor, to Stronger, and the moral support that we have established for one another is something incredible. It's made me believe that there is a tangible God out there, contrary to me previously thinking that God was simply an entity, and made me change my perspective of religion almost entirely. Praising God and becoming Jesus' friend is cool! However, unfortunately, opinions differ greatly, and I've come to realise that the good that one does for himself may often be shot down and ridiculed by other people. I'm just hoping that come the New Year, come a new attitude by such people.

God Bless You all - and may everyone have a super 2009!
Matti