The culture of elections is constantly changing. Political parties’ marketing machines regularly conduct social research to determine the electorate’s priorities. They then run campaigns to appeal to the broadest possible section of the voters. A few weeks before the 2022 election, the concerns and aspirations of the electorate are becoming more evident.

A survey conducted by market research firm Esprimi for Times of Malta produced some expected results and quite a few surprising ones.

As many still struggle to return to normality after more than two years of COVID-induced health risks and restrictions on social behaviour, it is not surprising that the health system is still perceived to be the most crucial challenge facing the country.

In more normal times, one would expect economic issues that directly impact most people’s lives to rank in the top three or four priorities. The fast-accelerating growth in inflation is not surprisingly considered a daunting challenge for more than a quarter of the electorate, according to the survey.

So far, both main political parties have glossed over this issue. The Labour Party has promised that, if elected, it would continue to absorb the excessive rise in the cost of fuel and food prices. The Nationalist Party too has pledged to adopt various measures to cushion the people from the harsh effect of galloping inflation.

On the other hand, the risks arising from corruption seem to be a priority for only a fifth of the electorate. And an insignificant proportion of those who took part in the survey are concerned about the country’s greylisting.

Some would argue that this lack of popular focus on reputational risks is not surprising when most of the electorate fatalistically consider corruption to be an inevitable fact of political life. In the real world, however, the investment decisions of foreign investors are based, among other things, on a country’s system of governance and reputation.

Another not-so-surprising result of the survey is that the deterioration in the environment is a concern for just over a tenth of the electorate. Once again, many seem to believe that the degeneration of the urban and rural environment is irreversible. Sadly, many do not expect the next administration to do anything dramatic to change this trend.

Arguably the most worrying result of the Esprimi survey is that only 1.2 per cent of participants believe education is one of the crucial issues that the country needs to address. The promises being made by the parties, of investment in new sectors like artificial intelligence and other economic activities based on information technologies, will never become a reality if the country’s educational system is not reformed radically to improve achievement levels.

Political researchers say that among the main factors influencing the preferences of voters are their background and identification with the candidates, the voters’ party identification and their view of the incumbent’s previous performance.

Many will still vote for the party they have always supported in the next election. But many others will make an independent judgement based on what they believe is good for the country.

The country’s future prosperity will depend on today’s political leaders identifying the critical success factors that will affect investment, social well-being and the nation’s health. It is regrettable when political parties base their electoral programmes on populist measures to hide the harsh realities that the country will inevitably be facing in the next five years and beyond.

Hopefully, in the coming days, politicians will discuss some of the country’s more essential challenges.