The menace of corruption and the Panama scandal have been ranked as the top two issues of concern and together account for 30.8 per cent of the population’s main concern, the April 2016 Malta Independent iSurvey has shown.

Respondents were asked to make a list of what they consider to be the issues of greatest concern, without being prompted. A wide range of issues were mentioned, from Malta’s reputation abroad to lack of attention to the elderly.

Corruption took up the highest portion of the vote with 19.8 per cent. Second was the Panamagate scandal, at 11.4 per cent. The latter refers to the discovery that Minister for Energy and Health Konrad Mizzi, together with the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, own a trust registered in New Zealand with a company registered in the secretive jurisdiction of Panama. They have both been accused of corruption and receiving kickbacks; however nothing illegal has been found so far and they have both denied any wrongdoing.

The scandal has taken on an international dimension after the leak of 11.5 million documents which show how Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm, helped many of the world’s rich and powerful to conceal their wealth.

Since the scandal broke, there have been two national protests against corruption organised by the Opposition, as well as a motion of no confidence presented in Parliament last week. The motion will be debated and voted on tomorrow during a marathon parliamentary session.

Third on the list is an issue that tends to rank consistently high in Malta – immigration and foreigners taking Maltese jobs, at 4.7 per cent. Last year saw a significant reduction in the number of irregular migrants reaching Malta, which is reflected by the relatively low proportion of concern compared to previous years. In addition to this, issues related to corruption have made far more headlines than those of immigration, which could contribute towards the shift in public concerns.

Trailing behind number four is the issue of terrorism and security, at 4.5 per cent. Recent months have seen terrorist attacks in Paris and at an airport and metro station in Brussels. The persistence of terrorist groups such as ISIS, together with the prevalence of attacks on Western ideals has led to the issue being ranked so high on the list.

Traffic and lack of road discipline ranked number five, at 3.6 per cent. This is also another issue sensitive to the Maltese, as levels of traffic have been on the rise over the past few years. The Nationalist Party has said that people waste 10 hours a week in traffic. The issue of traffic has not made too many headlines over the past few months, but people are bracing themselves for when the construction of the Kappara flyover kicks into full swing.

With the exception of the top two ranking issues of concern, the spread of issues mentioned by respondents other issues is fairly even. Issues such as Malta’s reputation abroad, and uncertainty and instability, both being awarded two per cent of the vote, rank numbers eight and nine. The PN creating a bad feeling, at 2.4 per cent, ranks number seven.

All three issues stem directly from the Panama scandal, with the Labour Party accusing the Opposition of trying to ruin Malta’s reputation abroad, and of creating a ‘bad feeling.’ The Nationalist Party has accused Labour of creating a feeling of uncertainty and instability, which they say is bound to affect Malta’s healthy economic growth negatively.

PN voters gave the highest number of mentions to the issue of corruption, at 39.9 per cent, while PL voters gave the highest number numbers of ‘don’t knows’, at 24.9 per cent.