Surveys of public attitudes are useful but inevitably blunt instruments in gauging public opinion. While providing a simple snapshot of an issue in time, they often also highlight inconsistencies and contradictions in the views of a given sampled population. The most recent Eurobarometer survey reported that Maltese respondents were among a significant minority who placed greater immediate priority on price stability than the defence of highlighted European values such as democracy and freedom. Yet, simultaneously they professed themselves to be among the EU’s most positive supporters. While, overall, nearly six out of 10 (59 per cent) of those surveyed across the EU said the priority should be democracy and freedom, some 39 per cent would, instead, prioritise stability. Malta was reported to be the top third country (63 per cent) whose respondents prioritised price stability. The survey was conducted in the context of the war on Ukraine. The results for Malta have sparked considerable commentary locally, much of it negative. Many sections of the survey offer different (and often contradictory) evidence of Maltese viewpoints which, overall, remain very positive regarding the...