Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1501168
10 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 JUNE 2023 JAMES DEBONO A Eurobarometer survey assess- ing the state of European democ- racy one year before the MEP elections, has shown satisfaction with the measures taken by the Maltese government to tackle the rising cost of living has declined significantly. The satisfaction level dropped by 32 percentage points, from 66% in October 2022 to 34% in March 2023. On the other hand 65% are now dissatisfied. This decline in satisfaction was the sharpest among all EU coun- tries. Despite the drop, Malta's satisfaction level with govern- ment measures remains one point above the EU average. The most satisfied with their national governments' measures against inflation are respondents in Luxembourg (63%) and in Denmark (54%). Respondents in Cyprus (14%) and Slovakia (14%) were the least satisfied. The survey also revealed that a relative majority of respondents in Malta believe that their coun- try is going in the wrong direc- tion. The proportion of people who think Malta is going in the right direction decreased by 29 points, from 65% in October 2022 to only 36% in the current survey. Regarding satisfaction with the measures taken by the EU to ad- dress inflation, Malta also experi- enced a significant decrease. The satisfaction level dropped by 24 percentage points, from 52% in October 2022 to 28% in the lat- est survey. This decline was the highest among all EU countries. However, despite the increased dissatisfaction with the govern- ment's and EU's actions to coun- ter inflation, the majority of Mal- tese respondents (73%) reported 'never' or 'almost never' experi- encing difficulties paying their bills. In terms of satisfaction with the way democracy works in Malta, respondents were evenly split. 49% of respondents expressed satisfaction, while 49% were not satisfied. Satisfaction levels with democracy varied among differ- ent EU countries. The highest satisfaction levels were reported in Finland (88%), Denmark, and Ireland (86%), while the low- est levels were found in Greece (29%), Slovakia (31%), and Bul- garia (35%). The survey also showed that 83% of Maltese approve the EU's support for Ukraine. Of these 53% say they strongly approve the EU's support for Ukraine. Only 3% of Maltese express their disapproval of EU support for Ukraine. Only 7% of Maltese have a negative perception of the EU compared to 17% of all EU citizens. 65% think government not doing enough on inflation Eurobarometer shows only 34% of Maltese are satisfied with government measures to curb inf lation – down from 66% in October 2022