Voters had long decided who to vote for in MEP election, survey results show

Immigration was the most important issue for 20% of the Maltese when voting in May’s European Parliament election, a Eurobarometer survey released today shows.

This was followed by environmental protection, which was the primary motivation for 19% of voters.

But it is doubtful whether these issues had any real impact on a significant part of the electorate whose choices seem to be predetermined by tribal loyalty.

The survey found that 61% of respondents in Malta said they voted for the party they usually vote for, when asked to list more than one reason for their choice of political party.

When pressed for just one reason for their choice, 41% cited party loyalty.

The Maltese were the most likely to cite party loyalty among all EU countries.

Only 12% identified as their sole reason, the party’s stand on European issues, while 15% voted for the party based on its position on national issues. One in 10 voters said their primary reason for their choice was based on the inclusion of candidates they liked on the party list.

The Eurobarometer survey found that only 12% of voters hesitated in their choice between different parties before making their decision. 87% said they were always sure for which party they were going to vote.

This indicates that people’s minds may have long been set on how they will vote, making the election campaign almost irrelevant.

Only 5% decided on who to vote for a few weeks before the election, with a paltry 2% admitting to have made their decision in the final days.

Who were the non-voters?

The survey indicates that more than a third of those who abstained had decided not to vote months before the election while 28% replied that they never vote. 

While 35% of those who did not vote in the MEP election, had decided so a few months before, only 1% had decided not to vote in the last weeks, while 6% had decided not to vote in the last few days.

A further 2% decided not to vote on the day of the vote.

The percentage of those who decided not to vote months before the May election increased by six points over 2014, while the percentage who decided not to vote in the last weeks and days dropped.  

Asked to give three reasons on why they did not vote, 27% replied they were not interested in politics. 23% replied that they were opposed to the EU and18% expressed lack of trust or dissatisfaction with political parties in general. 19% replied that they rarely, or never vote.

Only 12% describe themselves as right wing

Respondents were asked to place their political views on a scale between left and right.

The survey shows that 29% define themselves as left wing (an increase of two points over 2014), 23% define themselves as centrists, (a decrease of four points), while 12% define themselves as right wing, a one-point increase over 2014. 14% did not define themselves. 

The 29% who define themselves as left wing are divided between those 10% who lean more towards the far left and those with more moderate views (18%). While the former declined by two points since 2014, the latter increased by three points.

Spain emerged from the survey as the most left wing European country (41%) while Hungary the most right wing (38%).

Check out MaltaToday's extensive coverage of the 2019 European election here.