Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf used her annual message to the legislature as an opportunity to set out the key aspects of her forthcoming election campaign and highlight the achievements of her government, led by the Unity Party. This followed on from last year, when the annual speech served as a platform for her to announce that she would stand for re-election. This year the president promised a drop in taxes in a classic re-election strategy, with personal and corporate taxes reduced to 25% and customs duties on selected items, including vehicles, cut in half. She also listed her administration's legislative achievements and agenda; 14 out of 25 bills submitted by the executive in the past year were passed by the legislature, another 11 are under committee review and five further bills from previous years were also enacted into law. Legislation still pending includes the Code of Conduct for Public Servants, crucial to efforts to address corruption, and the Children Protection Act, while eight new bills will be presented this year, including legislation relating to national insurance, education reform and public pensions.

Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf suggested that the country stands at a crossroads in a crucial election year, implying that only her re-election can ensure continuation of the peace, stability, economic growth and gradual improvements in quality of life that her administration has promoted since it took power in 2006. She went on to make a lengthy assessment of the progress made by the government in various areas to back up this claim. These ranged from the restoration of the country's international standing and improvements in security, through the reconstitution of the armed forces and police, to the important economic achievements of her administration. Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf emphasised the country's strong economic growth rates, which recovered to an estimated 6.3% in 2010, up from 4.6% in 2009, claiming that Liberia was among the 20 fastest-growing countries in the world. She referred to the healthy budget, the increase in foreign-exchange reserves, the almost total relief from the country's US$4.9bn debt and the US$16bn of investment attracted by her administration over the past five years.

The president also listed major infrastructural improvements in roads, healthcare, education and water provision, with 24-hour pipe-borne water expected to reach more than 700,000 residents in the capital, Monrovia, by May 2011, and water and sanitation facilities also being extended to various regional towns and cities. While supporters of the government lauded the courage and patriotism that drives the president's vision, her critics were highly sceptical, particularly given the lack of tangible progress on the provision of basic needs to most Liberians. This debate over the substance of the president's grand claims about both existing achievements and future plans will only intensify as the October elections approach.