EU survey shows sharp drop in government support

Just 38 per cent of the Maltese have faith in the government, the lowest level of support in five years, according to the recent Eurobarometer survey.

The figure marks a drastic decline from the 51 per cent support registered in a survey carried out just last Autumn.

Similarly, support for the political parties is also at a five-year low, with just a quarter of respondents saying they trusted them.

Details of the study, carried out among 500 respondents, were given by the head of the EU Permanent Representation and the survey's editor Robert Micallef.

The increase in the electricity surcharge that followed the persistent rise in the international price of fuel is likely to have contributed to the drop in government support, the survey report says.

A total of 53 per cent of interviewees say they trust the EU, five points more than the EU average. At 44 per cent, support for the country's EU membership was virtually equal to that in the previous survey. Only 18 per cent say membership is a bad thing.

The proportion of Maltese interviewees in favour of the European Constitution fell from 60 per cent to 46 per cent.

When asked what the EU meant to them, most of the Maltese associate positive connotations, with 43 per cent saying the EU gave them freedom of movement to travel, study and work.

Almost half the Maltese respondents expect the EU to give top priority to fighting unemployment, and no fewer than 43 per cent would like the Union to focus on fighting illegal immigration, compared to just 15 per cent in other EU countries.

On the other hand, just 11 per cent of the Maltese are concerned about crime, 13 points lower than the EU average.

Fifty-three per cent say the EU is playing a negative role in relation to rising prices and 39 per cent think it is contributing negatively to the unemployment problem.

The downward trend in life satisfaction among the Maltese continued, down three per cent to 77 per cent since the last survey, and down 11 per cent since Autumn 2004.

On the other hand, Maltese interviewees expressed greater optimism about the short-term prospects.

In view of the persistent increase in the price of fuel oil, interviewees were also asked a number of questions on energy consumption habits. The Maltese respondents were overwhelmingly against having to pay more for their energy requirements