Survey among Gozitans

The latest opinion survey which The Sunday Times commissioned sociologist Mario Vassallo to carry out on its behalf was unusual, because the 300 respondents who were interviewed by telephone were exclusively Gozo residents.

This was because the survey - held between June 1 and last Monday - set out to determine how Gozitans feel they are treated by the central government, their views on the Maltese and foreign tourists, on life and work opportunities in Gozo, on outsiders' perceptions of Gozitans, and on other Gozo-related issues.

Gozitans have overwhelmingly confirmed their strong regional identity, since 92% of respondents consider themselves 'primarily Gozitan' as against a mere 5.7% who feel they are 'primarily Maltese'; 2.7% did not answer.

Asked whether Government was giving enough importance to Gozo affairs, a very high 79.3% said no; only 14.7% said they are happy with the way Government addresses Gozo's affairs; 6% did not answer the question.

Surprisingly, given the recent controversy about Maltese voters registered in Gozo, thus pushing up the total number of the island's eligible voters above the national average, leading to the possible detachment of Ghajnsielem from the Gozo district, the survey found that 71 per cent of Gozitans feel that the voting document should be issued to a person "wherever one owns a house". Only 22.7% think one should vote wherever "one spends most of the time"; 6.3% did not offer an opinion.

Another surprising finding is that the overwhelming majority of respondents - 74.7% - clearly stated that they preferred the Maltese who cross over to Gozo to foreign tourists. Only 16.3% said the foreign tourist is better; 9% would not comment.

Eighty-nine per cent of the respondents said there are not enough work opportunities in Gozo; only 7.3% felt there are, while 3.7% did not offer an opinion. Asked in which areas work could be created, 57% replied crafts, and 27.3% tourism; the third mentioned area was construction, with 5%.

Regarding ferry services, which are vital for Gozo and the Gozitans, 57.3% said they were happy with them; 36% were dissatisified; 6.7% did not commit themselves. While 66.3% praised the ferry service for being frequent, only 2.3% said it is cheap.

Of those who are dissatisfied with the service, 51.9% said it was because it was too expensive; 43.5% said that there were not enough crossings.

Respondents were then asked to express their agreement or disagreement on five common perceptions regarding Gozitans: that they spend a lot of energy arguing about festas; that they do not pay taxes as much as they should; that in Gozo VAT barely exists; that in Gozo one is stuck unless one has 'friends' in politics; and that the helicopter service will not succeed.

The statement that Gozitans agreed with most (46.89 points on a 100-point index) was that one is stuck if one does not have friends in politics; this was followed by the statement on the helicopter service (44.89 points). Festa feelings appear quite high because although the statement that Gozitans spend a lot of energy arguing about festas scored a positive 8.44 points, the fact that it scored so low suggests that many do not agree that this is a 'waste of energy'!

On the other hand, Gozitans strongly disagreed that VAT hardly exists (-45.56 points) and that they do not pay their taxes (-20.22 points).

Asked to comment on the findings, Professor Vassallo said: "This study confirms the popular beliefs about the Gozitans: tightly knit but intelligent enough to prioritise to ensure that their interests are safeguarded.

Only this can explain the apparent contradictions that result in this study which was, contrary to initial fears, not difficult to conduct since most Gozo residents were not reticent at all to express their views!

"In effect, Gozo residents have a sense of identity and do not consider their petty feuds as necessarily disruptive. From an anthropological viewpoint in fact, structured divisions can often point to hidden strengths and a deep sense of commitment and solidarity.

"At the same time, Gozitans realise that Maltese visitors, whether temporary or semi-permanent, earn them more money than foreigners, who normally cross for the day and stay in balloon-like ghettoes for the few hours they spend on the island!

"Gozitans are very critical of the same government that they voted for in their majority a number of times in recent history, and do not hesitate to scream for having to spend increasingly more money when they need to cross the Channel.

"Often sociologists remark that Maltese society is both a macrocosm and a microcosm. This study shows that Gozo, despite its similarities to Malta, is perhaps even more so," Professor Vassallo concluded.