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James Debono
Unemployment tops the list of the concerns of the Maltese for 2006, hot on the heels of the loss of 800 jobs at Denim Services, and growing instability in the job market – a third of respondents consider unemployment as the greatest problem the country will be facing in 2006.
Unemployment tops the list of concerns of all voters although Labour and AD-oriented voters are more concerned on this problem than Nationalist voters are – 20.2 per cent regard the rising cost of living as the country’s top problem in the next year and 14.1 have singled out water and electricity bills as the greatest problem the country will be facing in the next year. This means that growing inflation worries more than a third of respondents.
Labour voters are the most concerned about the cost of living but a substantial 15.9 per cent of Nationalist voters consider rising water and electricity bills as next year’s biggest problem.
Illegal immigration, a theme that dominated public debate during 2005, features fourth on the list of problems for the next year, still far below inflation and unemployment, the major concerns of the public.
Only 6 per cent think that illegal immigration will be next year’s top concern, an indication that despite the passions stoked up by the Maltese far-right, people are more preoccupied with bread and butter issues.
While only 8 per cent of Nationalist voters think the country’s main problem in 2006 will be immigration, only 1.3 per cent of Labourites believe so. Unsurprisingly, none of those intending to vote for the more liberal Greens consider immigration as next year’s top problem.
Although reducing the deficit dominates the government’s financial policy, only 2.7 per cent consider the deficit as the country’s main concern in 2006.
In the light of the protest held by the General Workers Union to coincide with November’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and the Sea Malta debacle, a number of respondents consider the GWU and its actions, as the country’s biggest problem for next year.
The General Workers Union is considered as the biggest problem facing the country by 6 per cent of Nationalist and 8 per cent of AD voters.
Quality of life issues like the environment, education and health do not feature among the top concerns for next year, confirming that the Maltese are primarily materialistic in their concerns for the next year.
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