Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1509678
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 OCTOBER 2023 SURVEY Over two thirds think country CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 For the first time in MaltaToday's sur- veys, respondents were asked whether they think the country is going in the right or the wrong direction - a standard question used in surveys internationally to assess the pub- lic mood. In a result which defies the upbeat tone which characterised Labour's term in office after 2013, the survey shows that while 69% think Malta is going in the wrong direction, only 31% think the country is going in the right direction. This represents a sharp change in the pub- lic mood from just a year ago when a Euro- barometer survey conducted by the Euro- pean Commission in October 2022 showed that a staggering 65% of Maltese respond- ents thought the country was going in the right direction. The mood has progressively deteriorated over the past 12 months. Another Euro- barometer survey conducted in May 2023 showed that the proportion of people who think Malta is going in the right direction decreased by 29 points to only 36%. The MaltaToday survey now shows a fur- ther five-point decline in the percentage of people who think the country is going in the right direction. A breakdown by age shows that respond- ents aged between 16 and 35 (77%) of those aged between 36 and 50 (79%) are the most likely to think that Malta has taken a wrong turn. On a regional level, respondents in Gozo are the most positive with 45% believing that the country is going in the right direction. People living in the PN-leaning Northern region where 76.5% think the country has taken a wrong turn, are the most negative. Significantly a strong majority in the La- bour leaning Southern Harbour (64%) and South-Eastern regions (61%) also think the country has taken a wrong turn. Significantly nearly half of Labour voters in the 2022 general election (49%) and more than one fourth (27%) of its current voters think that the country is going in the wrong direction. The sentiment that the country has taken a wrong turn rises to 86.9% among current non-voters and among tertiary educated voters (84.5%). Cost of living weighing on personal finances Also contributing to the bleak outlook is the fact that only a fifth or respondents (21%) think their personal finances are get- ting better. In contrast, 39% think that their person- al finances have taken a turn for the worse while 40% are not experiencing any change. Respondents aged between 36 and 50 who are in the middle of their working lives and more likely to have dependent children, were the most likely to feel the pinch. In this age group 43% say their finances are deteri- orating. The survey also found that respondents in this age bracket were the most likely not to vote in a general election. On a regional level the pinch is felt most in the Labour leaning Southeastern region which also registers a high percentage of non-voters (36%). In this region 49% say their finances have taken a turn for the worse. In an indication that the lower middle class is the most impacted by rising prices, among respondents with a post-secondary educa- tion 46% are experiencing a decline in their finances in contrast to 38% of university ed- ucated respondents. And in an indication that abstention is driven by economic factors, 49% of current non-voters are experiencing a decline in their financial situation. Among this cate- gory only 10% have seen an improvement in their financial situation. Foreigners and inflation emerge as top concern When respondents were asked to state what worries them most about the state of the country, 25% of respondents referred to the number of foreigners living in Malta as their main concern closely followed by infla- tion (24%). But while foreigners are clearly a top con- cern of current Labour voters (31%), the cost of living is the top concern of current non-voters (36%). The survey shows that current Labour voters are more concerned with foreigners than PN voters. 'Foreigners' ranks third after corruption and the cost of living among PN voter concerns. Concern on foreigners is also strong among non-voters, 30% of which referred to the number of foreigners as their main concern. On the other hand, corruption tops the concerns of PN voters (23.5%) in contrast to non-voters amongst which 5% regard cor- ruption as their main concern and to Labour voters where concern on corruption falls to 1.5%. This suggests that despite a series of scan- dals which rocked the government during the summer including the disability pen- sions racket and ministerial recommenda- tions for candidates sitting for their driving exams, disenchantment among non-voters is more likely to be driven by the decrease Top 5 concerns overall Personal finances - overall Personal finances - 2022 voters