Politics matter less but most still plan to vote, State of the Nation study says
But one in four have still sought out their MP for a favour, the State of the Nation study reveals
Politics is becoming increasingly irrelevant in people’s lives, with fewer than a third now saying it plays a big part in their lives, according to this year’s edition of the annual State of the Nation study, presented on Friday morning.
Now in its fifth edition, the study asked over 1,000 respondents to gauge how important local politics is in their life.
Just 31% described it as very important, the lowest figure since the survey began in 2020. A further 35% described it as somewhat important.
Interest in politics is low among most people under 55, the survey finds. Young people under 25 are particularly dismissive, with almost half (45%) describing politics as irrelevant to their lives.
Politics is also playing a diminishing role in shaping people’s decisions, the survey finds. In 2021, 44% said they took the position of their political party of choice into consideration when making a decision. This has now dropped to 27%.
Again, this is most marked among young people under 25, where fewer than one in five say the position of their party matters. By contrast, almost half of people over 65 look to their party for guidance before forming an opinion on topics.
Voter fluidity also appears to be on the rise. Although nearly two-thirds of respondents (64%) say they have always voted for the same party, this figure is lower than in any previous edition of the survey.
Meanwhile, the number of people who say they have voted for different parties throughout their life has doubled from 17% in 2021 to 36% today.
And 42% now say they would be open to the prospect of voting for a different party in the future—far higher than the 27% recorded four years ago. Unsurprisingly, this is higher among young people, although a third of those under 25 still say they will stick to their party of choice throughout their life.
Although the importance of politics in daily life appears to be on the decline, this is not reflected in people’s intention to vote in the next general election, with three-quarters of respondents saying they will turn up to vote on election day.
And the politics of patronage still rears its head in the survey, with more than one in four saying they have approached a politician for a favour.
This is particularly widespread in Gozo, where 39% say they have sought out an MP for help.