47.6% of the respondents to a survey have said that they would still vote for or consider voting for their preferred political party, even if that party is involved in a corruption scandal.

The survey, commissioned by the University of Malta’s Faculty of Social Wellbeing, showed that almost half of respondents would vote or would still consider voting for their preferred political party even if it is involved in a corruption scandal.

Respondents were asked: “If your preferred party is involved in a corruption scandal, will you still vote for it?”

7.4% of the respondents said that they would definitely vote for their preferred party despite the scandal involvement, while 16.1% said that they would also vote for their preferred party in this scenario.

24.1% of the respondents said that they would consider it, responding “maybe”, while 30.6% answered “no” and 21.7% answered “absolutely no.”

Age-wise, the demographic with the highest share of people who said that they would still vote for or consider voting for their party if they are involved in a corruption scandal was the 16 to 25 year-old demographic: 10.4% responded “definitely yes”, 22.9% responded “yes”, and 33.3% responded “maybe.” Only 4.2% responded “absolutely no.”

Asked what factors they consider to be the most important factors when choosing which political party to support, the most chosen factor was the economy.

Indeed, 42.2% of respondents selected this option, with the second most favoured factor being the well-being of their family – a choice for 27.2% of the respondents.

20.1% said that they voted according to the qualities of the party leader, while 19.3% said that the values associated with the political party also played a part in how they decide to vote.

13.5% quoted “job opportunities” as a factor for voting, while 8.9% said that loyalty to the party they have supported in the past plays a major part in deciding who they vote for.

From an age demographic perspective, the economy was seen to be a far more important factor for those below the age of 35, while the qualities of the party leader become more important the older the demographic gets.

In fact, that factor was the most quoted by those over the age of 66.

From an educational perspective, those with tertiary education emphasised most on the economy and on the values associated with the political party, while loyalty to the political party based on past support was more quoted as a reason by those with less school education.

Respondents were also asked to choose what makes up, in their view, the ideal politician.

Asked to complete the phrase “I trust a politician who…”, 25.2% of the respondents chose “works hand in hand with the community” as their preferred option.

20.8% said that their ideal politician is one who was not involved in corruption or scandals, while 17.4% wanted a politician who gives utmost importance to the economy.

12.9% would like a politician who gives utmost importance to social problems, while 7.7% prefer a politician with a professional background.  4.6% said that they wanted a politician who is not afraid of going against the status quo, and a further 4.3% favoured a politician with traditional values such as being religious and anti-abortion.

The survey, commissioned by the University of Malta’s Faculty for Social Wellbeing and carried out by Sagalytics, interviewed 600 people aged 16 and upwards, asking them about a myriad of topics, such as crime, migration, politics and the issues that are most important to them.

The Malta Independent has already reported results from the survey which show how 5.2% of people in Malta describe themselves as ‘very racist’ and how corruption, prison reforms, grey listing rank low among people’s priorities.