THE country's general outlook re-
mains a far cry from the 'best of
times' but a growing sense of opti-
mism is creeping in, a MaltaToday
survey finds.
A substantial majority (60.5%) still
think the country has taken a wrong
turn, but the mood has been shifting
gradually since October.
The trendline for those who be-
lieve the country is going in the right
direction has increased from 31%
in October to 35% in November to
39.5% now.
The feelgood factor seems to have
endured until October 2022 when a
Eurobarometer survey conducted by
the European Commission showed
that a staggering 65% of Maltese re-
spondents thought the country was
going in the right direction.
But the mood progressively de-
teriorated throughout 2023 when
another Eurobarometer survey con-
ducted in May showed that the pro-
portion of people who think Malta
is going in the right direction had
already decreased to 36%.
The latest MaltaToday survey sug-
gests that the mood is once again
shifting for the better.
Significantly, optimism has in-
creased among those aged between
36 and 50, a category which is more
likely to include those workers at
the peak of their careers and parents
with dependent children.
In this cohort the percentage who
think the country is going in the
right direction has increased from
23% in November to 38% now.
A similar upward movement was
registered among those aged be-
tween 51 and 65. In this age cohort,
the percentage of those who think
the country is going in the right di-
rection increased from 34% to 44%.
Pensioners (65+) remain the most
optimistic even though the percent-
age of those who think the country
is moving in the right direction has
shrunk from 49% to 46%.
The least optimistic are those aged
between 16 and 35 amongst which
only 30% (down from 32% in No-
vember) think that the country is
going in the right direction.
PAGE 18
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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 FEBRUARY 2024
SURVEY
JAMES
DEBONO
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
Malta is slightly less gloomy but
concern on inflation has increased
