The percentage of Maltese people who believe the country is going in the right direction has plummeted to the lowest since 2012, when the Nationalist Party was living out its last few months in government.

The latest Eurobarometer figures published reveal that only 36% of Maltese people believe the country is going in the right direction. Earlier this winter that figure was much higher – 59% – and this time last year it was at a record 68%.

In the last survey, 42% of respondents said the country was going in the wrong direction, 15% said it was neither and seven% said they did not know.

An analysis of the figures that emerged from all Eurobarometer surveys over the past years reveals that the last time this figure was lower than 36% was in autumn 2012, a few months before the PN suffered a heavy electoral defeat. Back then, only 30% of Maltese people said the country was going in the right direction.

The latest figures are even more noteworthy because while in 2012 the country was experiencing an economic slowdown, this week’s figures come in the context of a still-growing economy which consistently ranks among the strongest in the EU. There is almost full employment and the government is using subsidies to shield people and businesses from the impacts of inflation and high energy prices.

The last time this figure was lower than 36% was in autumn 2012

The Eurobarometer is a collection of public opinion surveys conducted by the EU in every member state every few months to keep tabs on the shifting trends in attitudes to social and political issues among European citizens.

People have been asked the same question ever since they started in 1974, making the figures comparable across time.

Eurobarometer figures have revealed that since Labour rose to power 10 years ago, most Maltese people have most of the time said the country was going in the right direction.

In 16 out of the 21 times the survey was conducted since Labour’s victory in 2013, more than half of the Maltese saw Malta as heading in the right direction. In 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 they were more confident about this than in every other EU state, tying with Ireland at the top in 2015.

Those levels of confidence exceeded 60% even in the months following the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and peaked this time last year at 68% – among the highest in the EU.

But the latest Eurobarometer figures should perhaps come as no surprise. A year ago, a US poll found that the Maltese were the angriest people in the EU, while a large part of the population said they were worried, stressed and in pain. Many cite over-development and the state of the environment as their top concerns. And a Times of Malta poll last March revealed that Labour’s lead had shrunk to about 23,000 votes and the share of non-voters ballooned to 27%.

In an interview during last week’s State of the Nation conference, Abela dismissed a question about people’s general dissatisfaction and insisted the feeling that things are not going well is merely a perception created by social media. Reality on the street was different he said, quoting the then available Eurobarometer data to back his point.

“I look at the Eurobarometer survey. If there’s an objective statistic, that’s the one. It shows that three out of every four Maltese people believe the country is going in the right direction.”

The fresh set of Eurobarometer figures were published four days later, last Tuesday. That survey was carried out in March, in the weeks following the landmark court judgment on the hospitals deal which called it fraudulent and annulled it.

It also revealed that the level of satisfaction with democracy in Malta has fallen considerably in just over six months.