Majority of Maltese feel country on right track for first time since 2022

Majority of Maltese Feel Country on Right Track for First Time Since 2022
By a Hot Malta Correspondent | 09 June 2024

For the first time in 24 months, more Maltese than not believe Malta is “heading in the right direction,” according to the latest MaltaToday survey released this morning. The turnaround—51 % positive versus 34 % negative—marks a psychological watershed for an island that spent the better part of two years arguing over fuel prices, traffic, and the ethics of golden passports.

Walk through any village square this week and the shift is palpable. At the band club in Żejtun, elderly men who once greeted each other with a resigned “X’ħin hi din?” (“What times are these?”) are now swapping stories of grand-children landing new tech jobs in SmartCity and of cousins finally selling apartments they couldn’t shift during the COVID lull. The baroque façade of the nearby parish church—scaffolded for years—has just been unveiled, its honey-coloured limestone gleaming as if to mirror the mood.

Prime Minister Robert Abela wasted no time claiming credit, telling party radio that “the country’s resilience is paying off.” But outside the partisan bubble, the optimism feels more grounded in everyday victories. A mother in Qormi says her teenage son no longer has to wake up at 5 a.m. to catch the only bus to MCAST because additional services rolled out in April. In Gozo, farmers who feared new EU nitrate rules would cripple them report that government vouchers for organic feed arrived on time this season. Even the perennially pessimistic taxi drivers at the airport—Malta’s unofficial barometer—admit ride numbers are back to 2019 levels, with tips to match.

Culturally, the island is rediscovering its swagger. Village festa committees, starved of funds during the pandemic, are splurging on new fireworks and brass-band arrangements. The annual L-Imnarja folk festival at Buskett drew record crowds last week, with rabbit stew sold out by 9 p.m.—a sure sign that disposable income is creeping up. Meanwhile, Malta’s Eurovision after-party at Gianpula pulled in 7,000 revellers, a stark contrast to last year’s half-empty hangar. Spotify streams of local artists like The Travellers and Ira Losco have spiked 30 % since March, suggesting that feel-good nationalism is also good for business.

Business leaders echo the sentiment. Silvio Schembri, the economy minister, points to January-April data showing foreign direct investment up 18 % year-on-year, led by gaming and aviation services. At the Malta Chamber of Commerce, president Marisa Xuereb says SMEs are finally “investing in people instead of just fire-fighting.” Even the construction lobby—usually first to complain about skilled-labour shortages—has welcomed a new government scheme fast-tracking visas for Moroccan plasterers, a move framed as proof that the economy is running hot enough to need more hands.

Yet the optimism is not universal. NGOs warn that the feel-good numbers mask persistent inequality. The survey shows that while 65 % of university graduates are upbeat, only 38 % of those with secondary education agree. In Żabbar, pensioner Doris Borg still counts centimes at the supermarket checkout. “They say the country’s doing well, but my medicine bill went up again,” she sighs, clutching a paper bag of prescription drugs. And environmentalists note that the same wave of investment fuelling GDP growth is also chewing up ODZ land at an alarming rate.

Still, the overall tone has shifted from survival to cautious ambition. Talk in cafés has moved on from “Will my children have to emigrate?” to “Which EU master’s programme can we afford?” The University of Malta’s admissions office reports a 12 % jump in mature-student applications, many from workers upskilling to ride the AI boom. Even Malta’s football ultras—traditionally more interested in flares than forecasts—were overheard debating whether a new national stadium might actually happen before 2030.

If the trend holds, Malta may have turned a psychological corner. The island that once prided itself on stoic endurance is daring to believe in momentum again. As the late afternoon sun sets over Valletta’s Grand Harbour, the restored bastions glow gold, and a cruise ship horn echoes across the water—part greeting, part reminder that the world is watching. For now, at least, most Maltese seem happy to wave back.