Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1494132
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 MARCH 2023 NEWS e Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta Maltese Association Order of Malta National Art Exhibition 24th March to 6th April 2023 St John's Cavalier 10.00 am to 6.00 pm daily Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays included Angel (height 59cm by width 41cm) Stoneware, wood fi red at 1280 degrees A collec ve of 165 ar sts including painters, ceramicists, bronzists, sculptors, photographers and others. Flyer 1 A5.indd 1 Flyer 1 A5.indd 1 26/02/2023 16:36 26/02/2023 16:36 JAMES DEBONO A Eurobarometer survey sug- gests that in the past five years the Maltese are substantially less likely to believe that life is fair and that they have equal oppor- tunities to move ahead in life. The survey shows that the percentage of people who be- lieve that they have equal op- portunities for getting ahead in life, like everyone else, has de- clined by 20 points. The same survey also shows a nine point drop in Maltese respondents who believe that most of the things that happen in their life are fair. And while the percent- age of those who believe that in Malta people get what they de- serve, the percentage of those who disagree has increased by 9 points. Still despite the increased perception of unfairness in everyday life, the Maltese re- main more likely to consider their society as fair, then other Europeans. In fact, in the EU as a whole 47% believe they enjoy equal opportunities like every- one else to move ahead in life, in Malta 53% believe so. And while in the EU as a whole 37% believe that people generally do not get what they deserve, 35% of Maltese think the same. But the surveys also expose a wide regional division in per- ception of fairness. While 69% of Finns, 65% of Swedes and 63% of Danes believe that they enjoy equal opportunities like everyone else to move ahead in life, only 21% of Cypriots and 14% of Greeks think likewise. The survey also suggests that coming from a wealthy family is considered a more important factor in getting ahead in life in Malta than in most other EU countries. While 23% of Mal- tese consider family wealth as essential, only 12% of European in general think so. Moreover, being a man or a woman us al- so considered an essential fac- tor to move ahead in life, com- pared to just 8% of respondents in all the European Union who think likewise. The survey also shows that 80% of Maltese and 81% of all EU respondents think that nowadays differences in peo- ple's incomes are too great. But while in the EU as a whole the percentage who think inequal- ities are too great has declined by 4 points over 2017 levels, in Malta the perception that ine- qualities are too great has in- creased by 7 points. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Maltese say country 'less fair' than in 2017 Eurobarometer survey finds only 53% think in Malta everyone has an equal opportunity to get ahead in life – five years earlier it was 73% "Nowadays in Malta you have equal opportunities for getting ahead in life, like everyone else" 2017 Now Agree 73 53 Disagree 11 27 Neither agree nor disagree 11 19 Don't know 5 1 You believe that most of the things that happen in your life are fair? 2017 Now Agree 56 47 Disagree 13 24 Neither agree nor disagree 24 28 Don't know 5 1 You believe that, by and large, people get what they deserve in Malta 2017 Now Agree 40 41 Disagree 29 34 Neither agree nor disagree 24 23 Don't know 5 1 Malta... less fair than it ever was back in 2017