Inflation has supplanted illegal immigration as the most worrying issue for the Maltese but in a survey carried out a few weeks ago they still expressed more hope than anyone else in the EU in economic and employment prospects.
The government and the direction it is taking also obtained high marks.
The spring Eurobarometer, carried out between March 26 and April 4, was published in Brussels yesterday.
The European Commission conducts an EU-wide survey of public opinion every six months and in the last one illegal immigration was perceived as the top cause of concern for the Maltese.
Now it is inflation. A total of 40 per cent said they considered rising prices as the main problem facing the country. Illegal immigration, on the other hand, was mentioned by 29 per cent of the Maltese questioned for the survey.
This reflects a similar trend in Europe: The rising cost of living was the most important problem raised across the EU. In fact, the Eurobarometer shows that 37 per cent mentioned inflation as the biggest problem facing their country at the moment followed by unemployment, 24 per cent.
The Maltese, were more confident, in comparison with the rest of their fellow EU citizens, when it came to prospects for the economy and jobs in the following 12 months.
Forty per cent - a five per cent increase on the previous survey conducted in autumn - said they were expecting the Maltese economy to perform better in the coming year, against 17 per cent (-3 per cent on autumn 2007) who expected a turn for the worse. Twenty-four per cent said they didn't expect any change and 19 per cent did not know how to answer.
On the prospects of more job creation, 43 per cent (+10 per cent) said they were expecting growth and better prospects while those stating the opposite dropped to 16 per cent (-3 per cent). Twenty-seven per cent said that the situation will remain unchanged.
Asked about governance and the direction of the country, 56 per cent said that Malta was moving in the right direction, an eight per cent increase on the previous survey. Seventeen per cent said the island is moving in the wrong direction, a drop of 12 percentage points on the previous autumn study. Twenty-three per cent said the country is stable.
On the same line of questioning, trust in the government increased by 11 per cent over the past six months, reaching 56 per cent. On the other hand, 34 per cent (-nine per cent) said they did not trust the government.
The feel-good factor was also evident when it comes to the EU. Sixty-nine per cent of Maltese respondents said they think that Malta benefitted from membership, an increase of five per cent over autumn, while those stating the opposite decreased by eight per cent, dipping to 16 per cent.
Sixty-five per cent (+nine per cent) said they trusted the EU.