Maltese cross most popular by far

The image of the Maltese cross received the overwhelming majority of votes in an online poll asking respondents to choose their preference for the euro coin.

No fewer than 58.5 per cent voted for the Maltese cross in a week-long poll by The Times which attracted the highest number of votes so far.

The other three options were only separated by some 60 votes - the Mnajdra altar and Malta's coat of arms got 14.2 per cent of the vote, with the baptism of Christ image receiving 13 per cent.

The result contrasts sharply with an SMS poll carried out last January by the National Euro Changeover Committee where the majority had opted for the image depicting the baptism of Christ, a decision which sparked debate.

Most of those who opted for the Maltese cross did so because of the historical implications - even if in reality the image will be minted on a coin no bigger than a few centimetres in circumference.

One respondent based his vote on events dating back 500 years - he said he would opt for the Maltese cross simply to taunt the Turks who were hoping to join the EU!

Of course some disagreed with the Maltese cross, with one voter lamenting that it looked like the Malta Football Association logo. Quite a few argued that the Maltese cross was not Maltese at all, but a symbol belonging to the Order of the Knights of St John.

Malta was lucky to have the oldest stone-age temples in the world and should therefore capitalise on this, some of those that voted for the Mnajdra temple argued.

Several respondents argued against the image of the baptism of Christ, saying that religion and money should never mix.

A Maltese Catholic lay minister in Australia said he would like to see coins depicting Christ "to be in the hands of people of other religions".

Another asked why the public was being asked to vote for the image again when a vote had already been taken, an opinion shared by another individual who charged: "Isn't it better if they tell us what they want us to vote for right away?

"We should not be afraid to stand up and proclaim our faith to the world, in spite of the adverse propaganda against the figure of Jesus by The Da Vinci Code," he wrote.

Some people gave their own suggestions - one individual proposed including the year 1565 on the coins, in reference to the Great Siege. Others were more insular and said that the "eye" of the Maltese dghajsa or even the kelb tal-fenek should make it to the euro coin.