83% always vote for same party, 'State of Nation' survey on Maltese finds

An overwhelming 83% of Maltese have always voted for the same party, while only 17% have voted for different parties along the way, a State of the Nation survey has shown.

The survey results, released on Friday morning, explore the cultural norms and values that define Malta and the Maltese. For 48% of the population, Maltese politics is highly important to their lives, while 37% said so-and-so.

Older age groups tend to value politics more than their younger counterparts. While only 28% of those aged 16 to 25 consider politics as highly important to them, a whopping 64% of the over-66s  feel that Maltese politics is important to them.

It is only between the 16-year-olds and 25-year olds that the majority of people hold more scepticism to Maltese politics.

At district levels, those living in the Southern and Northern Harbours, together with the South Eastern and Western districts, are more likely to value local politics to a higher level. Those living in the Northern Harbour and in the Gozo and Comino regions feel more uncertain about Maltese politics.

When forming opinions, 44% of the population taken into account the opinion of their preferred political party on a topic.

Beyond this, 29% said that they don’t consider the opinions of their preferred party, while 27% said that they don’t know.

An overwhelming 83% of Maltese have always voted for the same party, while only 17% have voted for different parties along the way.

While the absolute majority of Maltese have always voted for the same party, vote changes more likely to be seen among those with higher levels of education. In fact, 21% of this group said that they have voted for different parties before.

In future elections, the absolute majority of respondents said that they would not consider voting for another party, standing at 56% of the population. Only 27% said that they would consider voting for a different party in the future, while 17% said that they don’t know.

Youths aged 16 to 25 are most likely to vote for a different party in the future, while the higher the education level, the more likely that person is to vote for a different party.

The survey is based on responses from 1,064 people. Its results were presented by statistician Vincent Marmara during a national State of the Nation conference organised by the Office of the President of Malta.