Although the Maltese people turn up at general elections in droves, a Euobarometer surey has found that 51% of the Maltese do not trust political parties. Only 34% trust the parties, and 15% have no view.
The autumn 2008 survey, published today, also records the most significant drop in the EU to support for European Union membership. Support in Malta now stands at 46%, down 14 points since a survey just six months ago. However 60% felt Malta had benefited from being an EU member state.
The wide-ranging report found that 84 percent of the Maltese people are satisfied with the life they lead but pessimism is creeping in and 24 percent expect life to get worse, an increase of 12 points over a similar survey last year. Twenty-three percent expect things to improve, down 11 points from last year.
The survey also found that 45 percent said they expect the Maltese economy to worsen, an increase of 25 percentage points over the same survey last year.
37 percent believed that things are going in the right direction for Malta but 39 percent believed the opposite.
84 percent said the situation with regard tot he cost of living is bad and only 14 percent were positive. Just over three quarters believed the situation was worse in Malta than in most European countries.
55 percent also gave a thumbs down on the environment in Malta.
Not surprisingly, just 12 percent gave a positive answer when asked about the affordability of energy in Malta. The same answer was given on housing affordability.
65 percent admitted to having problems paying their bills at the end of the month.
45 percent gave a positive assessment on the way public administration is run in Malta.
When asked to rank the most important issues facing Malta, 48 percent ranked immigration, an increase of eight percent over last year's survey. The cost of living came second at 41 percent followed by energy issues, the economic situation and unemployment. Near the bottom of the list were the education system, the environment and terrorism. Taxation, too, was not a major concern.
58 percent felt the government was sensitive to the issues that concerned the people and 57 percent said they tended to trust the Maltese Parliament, an increase of 15 points over last year. 50 percent trusted the governemnt as an institution, a gain of 5 percent.
The legal system is trusted by 57 percent.
When asked about the EU, less than half of respondents agreed that the EU takes into account Malta's views, and 65% said the EU imposes its view on Malta.