Half of the Maltese population is not satisfied with the way democracy works in Malta, according to the results of a Eurobarometer study published on Tuesday.

The study included over 26,000 Maltese respondents and was conducted by the European Parliament throughout March 2023.

Forty-nine per cent of Maltese respondents chose ‘not satisfied’, with another 49% reporting to be ‘satisfied’ and 2% claiming not to know.

Sentiment for how democracy works in the EU compared to Malta was much more positive among the Maltese, with 61% saying they were satisfied.

The European Parliament conducted the Special Eurobarometer study across all 27 member states of the European Union ahead of the 2024 EU MEP elections to judge public opinion about the European Parliament and life within the EU.

When asked about the main reasons to vote in the 2024 European Parliament elections, Maltese respondents overwhelmingly claimed that their vote would be cast to support a particular political party or specific candidate, with 61% and 52%, respectively, choosing these options.

The data shows that political party partisanship continues to be an issue among the Maltese, with only 34% saying they would vote first and foremost because it is their duty as citizens, landing the option in third place.

The average response among all other 27 EU nations placed this as the primary reason to vote.

Maltese interviewees said that the European Parliament should prioritise protecting human rights within the EU and worldwide and the defence of democracy and the rule of law.

Maltese citizens also showed much greater concern about climate change and public health when compared to the average European citizen, choosing them as the top two topics that the Parliament should prioritise.

When asked whether their voice felt heard in their home country, only 54% of Maltese respondents responded in the affirmative, down 27 percentage points since autumn.

The Eurobarometer study also questioned interviewees about current affairs within the Union, including the EU’s support of the war in Ukraine, the standard of living of EU citizens and whether respondents found difficulties in paying household bills.

Maltese respondents were slightly more worried about their standard of living when compared to their average EU citizen counterpart, with 62% responding that their standard of living has been reduced and 83% believing that it will decline in the next year.

The study involved 26,376 Maltese respondents 15 years old and up, with fieldwork conducted between 2 and 26 March, contrasted with the previous study from Autumn 2022.

The full results can be accessed here.