Maltese say country ‘less fair’ than in 2017

A Eurobarometer survey suggests that in the past five years the Maltese are substantially less likely to believe that life is fair and that they have equal opportunities to move ahead in life.

The survey shows that the percentage of people who believe that they have equal opportunities for getting ahead in life, like everyone else, has declined by 20 points. The same survey also shows a nine point drop in Maltese respondents who believe that most of the things that happen in their life are fair. And while the percentage of those who believe that in Malta people get what they deserve, the percentage of those who disagree has increased by 9 points.

Still despite the increased perception of unfairness in everyday life, the Maltese remain more likely to consider their society as fair, then other Europeans. In fact, in the EU as a whole 47% believe they enjoy equal opportunities like everyone else to move ahead in life, in Malta 53% believe so. And while in the EU as a whole 37% believe that people generally do not get what they deserve, 35% of Maltese think the same.

But the surveys also expose a wide regional division in perception of fairness. While 69% of Finns, 65% of Swedes and 63% of Danes believe that they enjoy equal opportunities like everyone else to move ahead in life, only 21% of Cypriots and 14% of Greeks think likewise.

The survey also suggests that coming from a wealthy family is considered a more important factor in getting ahead in life in Malta than in most other EU countries. While 23% of Maltese consider family wealth as essential, only 12% of European in general think so. Moreover, being a man or a woman us also considered an essential factor to move ahead in life, compared to just 8% of respondents in all the European Union who think likewise.

The survey also shows that 80% of Maltese and 81% of all EU respondents think that nowadays differences in people’s incomes are too great. But while in the EU as a whole the percentage who think inequalities are too great has declined by 4 points over 2017 levels, in Malta the perception that inequalities are too great has increased by 7 points.