Politics... who cares?

A Eurobarometer survey has dispelled the myth that the Maltese are more politically-minded than fellow Europeans.

More than a third of the Maltese (35%) never discuss politics with their friends and relatives, and 31% claim that they are not at all interested in politics, the EU survey found.

Moreover, Malta registered the second highest number of respondents among the EU 27 (after Portugal) who replied that they are not at all interested in politics.

The survey shows that 16% are strongly interested in politics, 32% express a 'medium interest', 21% a low interest while 31% replied that they are not at all interested.

While the number of Maltese who are strongly interested in politics was one percentage point higher than the EU average, other Europeans were more likely to express a 'medium' interest in politics.

Bankrupt Greece emerges as the most politically interested country. 36% of Greeks express a strong interest in politics. The Greeks are followed by the Dutch (26%)  and Danes (25%).

The Maltese were also less likely to discuss national political matters with friends and relatives.

While 73% of Europeans discuss such matters frequently or occasionally, only 65% of the Maltese do likewise, while the number of Maltese who talk about politics frequently with relatives and friends was one notch higher than the European average.

Also, a staggering 35% of Maltese claim that they never discuss national politics with friends and relatives. 

The Maltese are only surpassed by the British and Portuguese, in which countries 37% never discuss politics with friends.

Unsurprisingly, the Maltese and the Brits were the least likely to discuss European political matters with friends and relatives. In fact, 52% of Maltese, when compared to 40% of  Europeans, do not discuss European politics with friends. 

At the other extreme, 79% of Slovaks and Greeks and 76% of Germans, Finns and Swedes have claimed that they do discuss European politics with their friends.

The Maltese were also the least likely in Europe to talk about local council politics. Only 61% of Maltese (compared to 74% of Europeans) discuss these issues with their relatives and friends.

But despite their general lack of political interest the survey shows that the Maltese are the most likely to try  persuade friends, relatives or fellow workers to share their views. 26% of the Maltese (compared to just 10% of Europeans) find themselves doing so frequently.