The PN has lost 10.2 per cent to the opposition parties in Gozo, with both Labour and Alternattiva gaining 5.1 per cent from the PN’s pool of votes in the 2003 election.
On the other hand the MLP only loses 1.8 per cent of its 2003 vote pool to the PN.
This emerges from MaltaToday’s latest survey, in which 300 Gozitan respondents randomly chosen from the directory were asked how they would vote in a forthcoming election and how they had voted back in 2003.
The survey shows the MLP trailing the PN by just five per cent in this traditionally PN leaning region – a much narrower margin than the 18 per cent margin separating the two parties in the 2003 general elections.
The survey also shows that Josie Muscat’s new party Azzjoni Nazzjonali has not left a mark on the Gozitan electorate. Despite the PN’s losses, Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono is still trusted by 53 per cent of Gozitans.
The survey reveals the extent of popular outrage against MEPA’s recent decision to allow 23 villas overlooking the popular Ramla l-Hamra bay, with nearly two thirds of respondents disagreeing with MEPA’s decision to grant this controversial permit.
Even a majority of Nationalist voters reject this decision.
A majority of Gozitan respondents also declared themselves against the proposed development at Hondoq ir-Rummien and at Ta’ Cenc.
This surge in environmental awareness in Gozo is reflected in greater support for Alternattiva Demokratika which scores nearly four per cent in this traditionally conservative locality.
The survey also shows that Gozo still cherishes traditional Catholic values by rejecting divorce and same sex marriages.
While nearly half Maltese respondents had expressed themselves for the introduction of divorce in February, only 25 per cent of Gozitans agree.
The survey also shows that patronage networks are still very strong in Gozo.
While only 2.7 per cent of Maltese citizens admitted receiving favours for their vote in a previous MaltaToday survey, 12 per cent of Gozitan respondents openly admitted receiving favours in exchange of their vote.
Gozo: the end angered crib
While becoming politically more adventurous, with the Green Party emerging as a small third hill between the two mountains dominating the Gozitan political landscape, patronage networks and traditional values remain as strong as ever in this bastion of traditionalism.
Pope Benedict XVI would feel very much at home in an island which resists divorce and same sex marriages, even if there is a greater openness towards secular values among those under 34 years of age. But while Gozo remains a crib of traditional values, Gozitans are now yearning for the pristine environment of yesterday.
Significantly, a majority of Gozitans have lost their awe for mega development projects, which promised a trickle down effect benefiting the various strata of Gozitan society.
Back in the 1990s, when the boom was in full swing, Gozitans expressed little sympathy for Maltese environmentalists who were derided for wanting to maintain Gozo as a “presepju” (crib).
Nowadays Gozitans seem to have rediscovered a love for the land which seemed all but lost amid the building and touristic boom in the 1990s.
Significantly, the Gozitan green renaissance comes at a time of economic crisis where employment emerges as the greatest concern for Gozitans.
Still, despite the primacy of bread and butter issues and the hunger for jobs, Gozitans do not perceive mega development projects as a panacea for the prevailing economic ills.
Projects in Ramla l-Hamra, Ta’Cenc and Hondoq ir-Rummien are all rejected by a majority of Gozitan respondents.
This scepticism could be a response to the transformation of a number of main hotels in to blocks of apartments during the past few years.
