Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1272935
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JULY 2020 MALTATODAY SURVEY KURT SANSONE THE state of the Opposition is the third topmost concern for the electorate just behind illegal immigration and COV- ID-19, a MaltaToday survey has found. In eight months and a multitude of controversies later, concern about the Opposition has gone from 1% in No- vember last year to 13.2% in July. The latest survey was held between the 13 and 17 July, the same week that Na- tionalist Party leader Adrian Delia lost a vote of confidence in the executive. A week before, Delia had lost the trust of a majority of his parliamentary group. The state of the Opposition was flagged as a concern by 17.8% of Labour voters and 12.5% of Nationalist voters. Respondents were asked to list the two major problems facing the country to- day. Illegal immigration topped the list with 14.2%. Labour Party voters were three times more likely than Nationalist voters to consider migration as a prob- lem. Just a month earlier, immigration was on the national agenda when govern- ment refused entry to more than 400 migrants, who were kept in detention on pleasure cruise ships just outside territorial waters. Eventually, after almost four weeks, the government recanted and allowed the migrants to come ashore. Since then, migrant arrivals have dropped but the issue remains a concern for the elec- torate. Immigration was also top of the list in November although concern was running at a much higher level with 32.3% of respondents mentioning it as a problem. At the time, people were still shocked after a violent riot that took place at the Hal Far open centre. However, unlike November, concerns about foreigners working and living in Malta have disappeared from the top- 10 list. Coronavirus and corruption Health concerns related to COVID-19 ranked second highest with 13.5% of people indicating this as a problem. All coronavirus restrictions were lift- ed in June and on 15 July most airline routes were reopened for travel. The number of new cases has re- mained significantly low apart from last week when at least seven positive cases were recorded from a single party held over the previous weekend. The survey was carried out before this new cluster of cases emerged, indicat- ing that COVID-19 remains a constant worry among people. Corruption has climbed up the league table and is now the fourth topmost concern with 8.8%. Back in November the survey was held before the political crisis that erupted as a result of Yorgen Fenech's arrest. Corruption ranked seventh at 2.7%. Since then, the country experienced political turmoil that led to a new prime minister being elected, damning details linking Daphne Caruana Galizia's mur- der to Castille have emerged in court, compromising testimony has revealed alleged links and communication be- tween Fenech and people in power, in- cluding the Opposition leader, and the Auditor General released a scathing re- port on the hospitals concession tender award to Vitals Global Healthcare. The period was also characterised by the Prime Minister's decisions to force Chris Cardona's resignation from depu- ty leader, kick Konrad Mizzi out of the parliamentary group and ask Justyne Caruana to resign from minister be- cause of compromising information that emerged in court and the media. Within this context, corruption has emerged as a higher concern, with Na- tionalist voters six times more likely than Labour voters to flag the issue as a problem. Just beneath corruption, at 8.3% is concern about politics. This is likely to be a broad concern that may include is- sues related to corruption and the Op- position's internal turmoil. Traffic, environment, construction down, economy up Concerns related to traffic, the envi- ronment and construction still appear in the top 10 spots but have dropped down the list. In November, traffic and roads came second with 13.2%. This has now dropped to sixth place with 7.2%, possi- bly a sign of improvements to the road network that have eased traffic flows in different areas. Concern about the environment has dropped from fourth place (7.1%) in November to ninth place (3.1%) now. Similarly, concern about construc- tion and the inconvenience it causes has dropped from fifth place (5.5%) to eighth (3.5%). However, with the negative economic consequences of the coronavirus pan- demic hitting hard, the economy has made an appearance as a top-10 con- cern. In seventh place, the economy was indicated as a concern by 6.9% of respondents. Last November, the economy did not feature as a concern. Migration, the Opposition and COVID-19 Top-10 concerns July 2020 1. Illegal immigration/immigrants – 14.2% 2. COVID-19/Health – 13.5% 3. The Opposition – 13.2% 4. Corruption – 8.8% 5. Political situation – 8.3% 6. Traffic/roads – 7.2% 7. Economy – 6.9% 8. Construction/inconvenience caused by construction – 3.5% 9. Environmental destruction/the environment – 3.1% 10. The government – 2.5% Top-10 concerns Nov 2019 1. Illegal immigration/immigrants – 32.3% 2. Traffic/roads – 13.2% 3. Foreigners living/working in Malta – 9.2% 4. Environmental destruction/the environment – 7.1% 5. Construction/inconvenience caused by construction – 5.5% 6. Cost of living – 3.8% 7. Corruption – 2.7% 8. Low wages – 1.5% 9. The government – 1.2% 10. The Opposition – 1% The state of the Opposition was flagged as a concern by 17.8% of Labour voters and 12.5% of Nationalist voters