RIGA - As the pyrotechnicians prepared for their moment of glory and revelers gathered their bottles of champagne in eager anticipation, the three Baltic presidents stood up to give their final speeches of the year.
Each president gave a very different speech to mark the New Year, but the three speeches touched on common themes.
The heads of state spoke about the difficulties the year had presented, and their hope that the New Year would bring a change for the better. They spoke about pride, history and independence.
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus had the most lighthearted speech of the three. He mostly discussed Lithuania's place in Europe 's emphasizing Vilnius' title of European Capital of Culture 's and the country's 1,000 year anniversary in the history books.
Estonian President Toomas Hendrick Ilves, meanwhile, focused his speech on the economic turbulence the country is experiencing and his faith that Estonians will pull through.
Latvian President Valdis Zatlers took a different approach, touching on the countries political goals and urging citizens to vote in the upcoming elections.
To get a feel for how the presidents see the year gone by and year to come, here are some excerpts from the three grand New Year's speeches.
Toomas Hendrick Ilves
"Our economic indicators show that the next year may be one of the most complicated for Estonia in this century. We are still on the way to the bottom of the valley of economic crisis. How deep the valley is and how far the way up is 's I do not know. Nobody knows."
"We all know that a new rise will come in Estonia if we manage to keep our strength of mind and our faith in these two main things: our state and our own skills. The New Year will be another test for Estonia. It will show us what we are worth; how clever and foresighted we are; whether our spirit will stand the pressure of hard times."
"Today is not the time for bringing each other down or sticking tightly to promises made in the past. We all have to adjust our plans today and postpone our dreams and promises until the times have changed. The government and the state have to do the same."
Valdis Zatlers
"Latvia is currently in a situation that requires shared understanding and shared action from political forces… Changes must take place not only in national economy; in politics, too. Political responsibility must strengthen, politicians' competence and efficiency of their work must grow."
"Evaluate party programs and their performance to date, carefully weigh, which party represents your values and interests! Your choice will determine the development of the new administrative districts and the benefit of this territorial reform to each resident of Latvia."
"We must have courage to see our mistakes, to admit and rectify them; such behavior will increase our self-respect and respect for each other. Only in this way new and successful leaders will grow among us."
Valdas Adamkus
"Today, as we start writing a new page in the book of our history, we testify a simple but profound truth: Lithuania has always been and Lithuania will always be whatever difficulties lie ahead and whatever obstacles we may have to overcome."
"This year, we will celebrate the long awaited holidays in a more reserved manner than we had hoped. Perhaps not all of our ideas will be realized and not all of our hopes will be fulfilled. But we have been presented with a gift of lifetime: to open the door to Lithuania's second millennium."
"We face many problems, but what state or nation has not experienced them in the course of history? We encounter many difficulties and frustrations, but traveling through our life and that of our nation we have demonstrated that we can build tomorrow."
