Cost-of-living concerns shoot up over six months

Concerns about rising prices have shot up over the past six months, according to a survey commissioned by Times of Malta.  A quarter of respondents (25.2%) cited the cost of living as one of the country’s biggest issues, up from just 6.3% in August. Fieldwork for the latest survey was carried out between February 14 and February 24 by market research firm Esprimi. In the latest survey, price concerns were just marginally behind worries about healthcare and COVID-19, with health cited as one of the main problems the country is facing by 27.2% of people. Corruption concerns Corruption was mentioned as the third biggest issue in the country by 20.8% of respondents. Concerns about corruption vary widely across party lines. Half the people who claimed they would vote for the PN in the next election cited corruption as one of the country’s problems. In contrast, corruption was only flagged as an issue by 7.3% of people who say they intend to vote Labour. The government has, in recent weeks and months, moved to ease the public’s concerns about rising prices through a mix of handouts and freezes on energy and fuel bills. The survey results matching February 2022 and August 2021. Youths...