Maltese people's trust in the strength of the country's democracy fell sharply during political turmoil last year, an EU survey has shown.
A Standard Eurobarometer survey found there was a “strong deterioration” in the perception of the strength of democracy in Malta, with 48 percent saying they were satisfied with the situation and 46 percent citing dissatisfaction, in line with trends across the EU.
In 2018, 71 percent of Maltese had said they were satisfied with the state of democracy in the country as opposed to 24 percent who were not.
Respondents were interviewed between November 14 and 28, a period during which Malta was experiencing a turbulent political situation and quasi-daily protests in the capital city, which the report suggests could have left an impact on the responses of participants.
The survey also revealed a significant drop in people’s positive perception of their own country.
Just 58 percent perceived the country's situation to be “good or quite good”, according to the latest Standard Eurobarometer.
In 2018, 87 percent of respondents held a positive perception of the general situation in Malta.
Conversely, only 35 percent of people judged the situation to be bad or rather bad.
The national report of the latest Standard Eurobarometer Survey was published on Friday by the European Commission Representation in Malta and surveyed citizens on their opinion of the EU.
Maltese citizens retained a positive outlook on a variety of issues and reported a strong sense of European identity and trust in European institutions.
However, respondents also reported increased dissatisfaction with the employment situation, the economy and how democracy works in Malta.
Respondents in Malta retained positive perceptions about the EU, with Malta registering the lowest negative outlook on the EU among all member states.
Some 41 percent of respondents said they thought positively of the EU, while 59 percent said they were optimistic about the future of the union.
Lower trust in media, public institutions
Overall, the Maltese showed a general reduction of trust in the media and public institutions. Only 51 percent said they trusted the government, compared to 63 percent in 2018, while only 44 percent of respondents said they trusted parliament, down from 59 percent.
Meanwhile trust in European institutions remained as it was, at times improving in standing among Maltese respondents.
The EU enjoyed 53 percent of the people’s trust, when compared to 56 percent in 2018, trust in the United Nations increased from 50 percent in 2018 to 57 percent in 2019, the European Parliament went from 55 percent to 59 percent of trust and the European Commission from 52 percent to 59 percent.
Respondents in Malta also registered low trust in the media, with only 30 percent saying Maltese media provided trustworthy information. Some 85 percent of respondents said they came across fake news with 65 percent believing they find fake news easy to identify.