Plans to moor a massive LPG tanker at Marsaxlokk Bay may have been dominating the political debate in recent days, but this does not appear to have translated into widespread public concern over the plans.

A survey commissioned by The Malta Independent last week shows that people are still far more likely to cite the controversial citizenship-by-investment scheme as the government decision they do not agree with. Only 3% of respondents cited the LPG storage plans.

No answers were prompted to respondents, and 58% of them did not actually pick any one decision.

These include the 28.3% who declared that they agreed with every decision taken by the government: unsurprisingly, the vast majority of them voted for the Labour Party in last year’s general election. But the 53.4% of Labour voters who found no fault in the government’s first year were also joined by 4.4% of Nationalist Party voters.

A far lower proportion of people – 7.3% – insisted that the exact opposite was true: they did not agree with anything that the government had done.  As expected, PN voters were far more likely to pick this option, although only 17.6% of them did, along with a couple of Labour voters who may have come to regret their 2013 vote.

Ultimately, the most commonly cited “wrong decision” was the citizenship scheme, even though public debate on the issue has largely died down ever since the European Commission and the government reached an agreement on it. The scheme was mentioned by 25.3% of all respondents – a staggering 60.3% of those who actually named a decision they disagreed with.

Those who mentioned the citizenship scheme included 52.7% of all declared PN voters, and just 7.6% of Labour voters. Despite the relatively low proportion of Labour voters who mentioned the scheme, however, the issue still proved to be their main concern.

The plan to store LPG for the Delimara power station in a ship permanently berthed in Marsaxlokk Bay – arguably the biggest political controversy of the day – was the second-most cited example of a disagreeable decision.

But far fewer people brought it up, especially when it comes to those who voted for the Nationalist Party, which has been the most vocal critic of plans which, detractors argue, may put the safety of nearby residents at risk.

Just 2.2% of PN voters mentioned the gas storage plans, along with 5.1% of Labour voters, a higher proportion which may be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that the Marsaxlokk Bay area is a PL stronghold.

The nomination of Social Solidarity Minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca as Malta’s next President – the survey took place after this nomination was made official – was the third-most cited decision, mentioned by 2.7% of respondents.

Ranked fourth and fifth – earning the mention of 2% and 1.7% of respondents respectively – were two issues which were far more likely to be mentioned by PN voters: the government’s perceived failure to stick to its electoral pledge on meritocracy and politically-motivated transfers.

But while no Labour voter decried “politically-motivated transfers,” they were largely responsible for the sixth-placed ranking of the Civil Unions Bill, which was mentioned by 2.5% of PL voters and none of the PN voters surveyed. However, given the small numbers involved, the margin of error may prove to be a determining factor.

Other decisions which were similarly mentioned by 1.3% of respondents were the increase in car licences announced in the 2014 Budget and the €400 allowance meant to assist children at risk of poverty, which was announced by Ms Coleiro Preca while the survey was being carried out.

“Decisions” attracting even fewer mentions – at times by just one respondent – prove to be a mixed bag: they include the establishment of a large cabinet, waiting for a transfer to take place, and the fact that marijuana was still illegal.

Mention a single decision taken by the government that you disagree with                 overall PL voters PN voters I agree with everything 28.3% 53.4% 4.4% The selling of citizenships 25.3% 7.6% 52.7% I don't now 22.3% 22.0% 8.8% I don't agree with everything 7.3% 1.7% 17.6% Plans to store LPG at Marsaxlokk Bay 3.0% 5.1% 2.2% The appointment of Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca as President 2.7% 1.7% 2.2% Meritocracy pledge not followed up 2.0% 0.8% 5.5% Politically-motivated transfers 1.7% 0.0% 3.3% The Civil Unions Bill 1.3% 2.5% 0.0%         Note: answers to this question were unprompted, and similar answers have been grouped together