The level of satisfaction with democracy in Malta has fallen considerably in just over six months, a recent EU study shows. 

Compared to October/November 2022, the number of respondents in Malta who reported feeling not satisfied with the way democracy works in the country shot up by 22 percentage points to 49%, according to the results of a Eurobarometer survey published on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, the number of those who said they were satisfied was down by 21 percentage points, bringing the percentage of those satisfied and unsatisfied level at 49%. 

This was more than three times the drop seen in Romania, where satisfaction was down by six percentage points to 41%, and Portugal, which dropped by five percentage points while remaining strong overall at 63%.

According to the survey, Malta also witnessed a “very large” drop in the percentage of those who agreed that their voice counts, reducing by 27 percentage points to 54%.

While satisfaction with local democracy fell in Malta, the country was among the top three to see an increase in those who said that voting in national elections is of high importance to them.

This number increased by seven percentage points to 71%, with only Estonia and Lithuania registering more significant increases at 13 and eight percentage points respectively.  

Overall, satisfaction in national democracies fell in seven countries across the EU and rose in 12. The biggest increases in satisfaction were seen in the Netherlands, Cyprus and Lithuania.

Malta also saw the biggest drop across the bloc in the level of satisfaction with democracy at an EU level, reducing by 11 percentage points to 61%. This was followed by Czechia and Denmark, which saw a seven and six percentage point drop respectively.

While satisfaction with European democracy dropped the most in Malta, those in the country and in Cyprus both registered the highest percentages for those who said the EU has an impact on their daily life, with both countries standing at 87%.

Amongst the topics Maltese respondents said they wanted the European Parliament (EP) to address most, public health, action against climate change, consumer rights and migration featured prominently.

Those in the country who reported having a positive view of the EP reduced by 14 percentage points, while those who reported holding a neutral or negative image both increased, by 13 and two percentage points respectively.

The results of this edition of the Eurobarometer study were published exactly one year before the next round of EP elections in June 2024.

While knowledge of when the elections will be held rose in 17 out of the 27 member states from October to November, in Malta the level dropped by 24 percentage points to 27%, the biggest fall across the bloc.

Despite slightly more than a third saying they didn’t know when the elections would be held - which, at 34% was four percentage points higher than the EU average - almost half (48%) placed a high importance on voting.

Similarly, 43% said they were very interested in the elections next year and 21% said they were somewhat interested. These were both higher than the EU average by two and six percentage points respectively.

The Eurobarometer survey is a comprehensive public opinion study designed to gather information about attitudes to social and political issues across the union. The survey is conducted twice per year, from April to May and October to November.

A total of 346 Maltese participants were consulted in face-to-face interviews this spring, with a further 170 interviewed remotely.

In total, 26,376 participants were interviewed across the EU.