Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/281887
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 MARCH 2014 16 JAMES DEBONO DESPITE the absence of any ma- jor boat arrivals during the winter months, concern about irregular migration has increased by seven points since December, suggesting an explosive situation on the eve of MEP elections over the increased likelihood of boat arrivals over the next few months. The survey also suggests that the increased priority given to migra- tion by government has not allayed popular concerns. In fact, concern over migration has increased by 15 points since June 2013, before the government's unfulfilled threat to push back migrants to Libya and the Prime Minister's call on the European Union to "wake up and smell the coffee". The survey – in which respond- ents were asked to name their top two national concerns – shows concern about jobs rising to 21 points, while concern about the cost of living, utility bills and the economy has continued to fall. Curiously, despite uncertainty about the future of public trans- port, concern about this issue has decreased by 5 points. On the oth- er hand, concern about traffic and parking has increased. Concern about the location of the new gas plant in Delimara, has supplanted the sale of citizenship as the second most urgent concern among PN voters. Concern about the environment has decreased by 3 points but re- mains very high among respond- ents with a university education. Among this category, the environ- ment emerges as the top concern. Concern about corruption is also increasing. Although it only amounts to 5%, it still indicates the highest level of concern on the sub- ject since 2006, according to previ- ous MaltaToday surveys. Concern about corruption is par- ticularly high among respondents who voted PN in 2008 and PL in 2013 – so called 'switchers'. Changed landscape The survey shows a drastic change from concerns under PN govern- ments, when concerns about the cost of living and utility bills topped popular concerns, while jobs re- mained a relatively low-key concern. On the other hand, this survey sug- gests that the election of a Labour government has resulted in growing concerns about jobs, immigration and transport-related issues. Concern about jobs has now risen to 21% – the same level of concern registered in February 2010, when the global economic crisis was in full swing. Concern for the cost of living was expressed by 67% of respondents in 2009 but had already fallen to 27% in June. Now concern on the cost of living has fallen to an all-time low of 12%. Moreover, concern about Labour's electoral trump card – the utility bills issue – has fallen from 50% in 2010 to 7% in December 2013, down to just 2.5% now. Significantly, people are now more concerned about the state of the roads than by utility bills. The decrease in concern over util- ity bills comes in the wake of a com- mitment by the government to re- duce the bills by 25% as from the end of March. Since consumers have not yet expe- rienced any decrease in bills, the de- crease in the percentage of respond- ents who mention utility bills as one of their two top concerns indicates that respondents are reassured by the new government's plan to reduce these bills by building a new 215MW gas plant that will be serviced by an LNG vessel berthed in Marsaxlokk. But the government's energy poli- cies appear to be rubbing people the wrong way, as evidenced by 7.3% showing concern over the location of the new LNG storage vessel. In the wake of the smart meters scandal and the government's deci- sion to grant a partial amnesty to consumers who bribed Enemalta officials, concern on corruption has also risen to 5%, the highest ever re- corded in a MaltaToday survey. Concerns across the spectrum While immigration emerges as the top concern among Labour voters, concern about jobs prevails among PN voters and switchers. Significantly, concern about envi- ronmental issues is markedly higher among PN voters than among PL voters. While the environment is one of the two top concerns of 11 % of PN voters, it is only a concern for 4% of PL voters. On the other hand, immi- gration is a top concern for 19% of PL voters and only 11% of PN voters. Concern about the new gas plant has overtaken concern about the cit- izenship issue among PN voters. Labour controversially decided to sell Maltese citizenship for €650,000, but later had to remove a secrecy clause, introduce a property and financial investment element of €500,000, and also get the European Commission's green light by intro- ducing a residence element in the law. The saga is still dragging on with a new PN motion to repeal the most recent legal notice. Among PN voters, concern about the citizenship scheme has now dropped from 27% to 7%, while con- cern about the gas storage facilities has risen to 17%. On the other hand, only 2% of PL voters are concerned with this issue. Concern about jobs is higher among PN voters and switchers. Concern over migration continues to rise Since an attempt to make Europe 'wake up and smell the coffee' in a botched pushback, concern on migration has only continued to rise on the eve of the European elections Concern over migration continues to rise mt survey Top 5 concerns of 18-34 year olds Immigration Jobs Environment Traffic/Parking Roads Jobs Cost of Living Immigration Traffic/Parking Gas Plant Top 5 concerns of 18-34 year olds Immigration Jobs Roads Health Public Transport Top 5 concerns of over 55 year olds