National Optimism is Built Action by Action

At Diaspora Forum 2026 in Chișinău, held under the theme “Wherever we are, Moldova unites us!”, Moldova’s Prime Minister Vasile Tofan offered a powerful account of the task of government:

“If you ask me what the main goal of the government is, it is to bring people’s optimism back. But optimism does not respond to a single phrase. Optimism responds to dozens or hundreds of actions that we take. And we want to carry out dozens, hundreds, thousands of actions that will restore optimism so that Moldovans believe in this country and can say that Moldova is moving in the right direction.”

This is a powerful truth for Moldova, for the world, including Australia.

Optimism is a belief that good things will happen and that things will work out in the end. At a national level, it is strengthened when people can imagine a brighter future for themselves and their children, see real paths towards it, and recognise that they have a part in building it.

That cannot be achieved by a single phrase, however stirring. Nor should it be. National optimism is earned through the cumulative experience of a country moving forward.

It grows when a young person can see opportunity; when a family can make plans with confidence; when an entrepreneur can build, employ and invest; when public institutions work well; and when people see practical problems being addressed with competence and purpose.

Each action may appear modest. Together, they tell a national story: this country is capable, its people matter, and the future can be better.

This is close to the argument Robert Masters, Anand and I have been developing on an optimistic national narrative. The task is not to talk a nation into feeling optimistic. It is to unlock the optimism already present in people, communities and institutions, and direct it towards shared progress.

A country need not deny hardship, risk or failure to do this. Indeed, realistic optimism begins by seeing clearly. But it also asks what can be built next, who can help build it, and what practical action will make a difference.

To lead optimistically is therefore to make possibility visible and progress tangible.

As Prime Minister Tofan reminds us, national optimism is built action by action, and then shared person by person.