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James Debono
Scrapping the Maltese Lira to make way for the Euro is going to be a hard job as the majority of people are against adopting the Euro in 2008, the target date set by government.
A survey conducted published in last Wednesday Business Today reveals that a majority of respondents oppose the early introduction of the Euro in 2008.
Only 35 per cent agree with government’s decision to change the currency in two years’ time. The non-approval rate of government’s policy totals 41.4 per cent. A big chunk of the electorate is still undecided on the issue with 23.6 per cent saying they had not yet made up their mind.
Although the introduction of the Euro is obligatory for all new member states, the EU does not impose a date for the change in currency.
New member states, Hungary and Poland have opted for a later date than the 1 January 2008 target set by the Maltese government.
Even though the same survey revealed that a relative majority would prefer the PN in government if an election were held tomorrow, support for this central plank of government’s policy is lacking.
Among those voters who are yet undecided on whom to vote for if an election were held, support for early adoption of the Euro is lacking.
Opposition to the Euro reflects a mood of disenchantment with EU membership. Only one fourth claim to be better off since Malta joined the European Union. On the other hand 37.7 are worse off.
This mood prevails among those intending to vote for the MLP - the party which opposed EU membership in 2003.
While favouring the eventual introduction of the Euro - the MLP has suggested that it opposes an early introduction of the Euro in 2008.
Only 6.3 per cent of MLP respondents favour an early introduction of the Euro while nearly two thirds are against.
Yet lack of enthusiasm for the Euro is shared by those categories of voters who will ultimately decide the next election; those who are still undecided on who to vote for and those who at the present moment intend not voting for anyone.
While 22.7 of undecided respondents favour an early introduction of the Euro, 42.4 are opposed to this decision. Among those who intend to abstain from the vote, 45.1 per cent disagree with government’s intention to introduce the Euro in 2008. On the other hand less than a third agree with government’s policy.
Opposition to the Euro reflects lack of satisfaction with EU membership among these categories of voters.
Only 9 per cent of those intending to vote for the MLP claim to be leading a better life since Malta joined the EU. Satisfaction with membership is even lower among those intending not to vote- with only 7.8 per cent faring better since Malta joined the EU.
Among undecided voters, satisfaction with EU membership is higher, with 19.7 per cent claiming to be better off. But a greater number of undecided respondent - 34.8 per cent still claim to be faring worse since Malta joined the EU.
Enthusiasm for the Euro is greater among those intending to vote for those parties who supported EU membership in 2003.
Still a significant 13.6 per cent of PN oriented voters and 16.7 per cent of AD oriented voters oppose the early change in currency. In fact there are more PN oriented voters who are opposed to adopting the Euro in 2008 than MLP oriented voters who support an early adoption of the Euro.
Greater support for the introduction of the euro among these categories of voters reflects greater satisfaction with EU membership.
55.7 per cent of PN oriented voters claim to be living a better life since Malta joined the European Union. Only 4.5 per cent of these voters feel they are worse off with membership.
The Greens are also relatively satisfied with EU membership with only 25 per cent claiming to be worse off since Malta joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
Methodology
A total of 416 respondents were randomly selected from the telephone directory. 297 of these respondents accepted to participate in the survey. This survey has a margin of error of +/- 5.7 per cent. The survey was conducted between Tuesday 29th November and Thursday 1st December. Respondents were asked to state whether they agree with the introduction of the Euro in 2008. Respondents were also asked whether they are faring better or worse, with EU membership.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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