Future Barometer Commissioned By The Government
What are the people of Liechtenstein worried about? What are the main problems of the future that must urgently be solved? How do the people of Liechtenstein envision their personal future and the future of the country? To obtain answers to these questions, the Government has commissioned a barometer to gauge concerns and the future.
The three most important concerns of the Liechtenstein population are transportation, the integration of foreigners, and unemployment. The evaluation of the population survey explains the high importance given to transportation with reference to the small size of the country, which makes everyone realize quickly that traffic is becoming a burden. Prime Minister Otmar Hasler is not surprised by this result: "On the one hand, people want the greatest possible degree of mobility, which includes private transportation; on the other hand, they want a greater expansion of public transportation." The Prime Minister notes that the other topic areas giving rise to anxiety in the population are situated in a similar field of tension.
The barometer of concerns ranks transportation, integration of foreigners, and unemployment as top priorities. The authors of the study conclude the following from the population’s responses: The people expect political action in the short term with respect to the transportation problem and the integration of the high proportion of foreigners, but also in dealing with the drug problem. More important in the medium term are the educational offerings for the people of Liechtenstein and hence their ability to succeed on the labor market. In the long term, the main concern is environmental policy.
A large majority of the Liechtenstein people believes that its own economic situation is good: 84% of the Liechtenstein population believes it is in good economic shape, and more than a quarter believes it is even in very good shape. Only a small minority of 4% believes that it is in bad or even very bad shape. Interestingly, this self-assessment of one’s own economic situation is not correlated with Liechtenstein or foreign citizenship. However, foreigners from German-speaking countries believe their economic situation is better than foreigners from foreign-speaking countries do, especially those from regions outside the EU.
With respect to concerns of future generations, environmental policy is ranked first. The majority of the Liechtenstein population expects that succeeding generations will have to suffer the most from environmental problems and climate change. But many also fear that transportation and energy supply will be problems in the future, along with social policy and migration. The respondents expecting that the general economic situation will be worse in the future are more concerned with the economy and social security. Respondents in worse economic shape are mainly concerned with unemployment, social security, and the economy than with the environment and transportation.
The Reigning Prince, the Prime Minister, and the National Administration enjoy the trust of about two thirds of the population, which is a very high share compared with similar surveys in Switzerland. Trust in the municipalities is even higher: Three quarters trust the municipal administrations and governments. The population has less trust in the Church and the political parties. "I’m pleasantly surprised," Prime Minister Otmar Hasler said, commenting on the level of trust especially in the National Administration and the National Police. "The results show that the people appreciate the work we’ve done."
As a small sovereign inland nation in the heart of the EU area, Liechtenstein is confronted with similar problems as Switzerland, the authors of the survey conclude. In their evaluation of the problems and proposed solutions, they see a field of tension between modernity and tradition, between open and closed foreign policy. "While some believe the independence and neutrality of a small country is a strength and want the country to maintain this autonomy in the future, others perceive it as a weakness and demand stronger foreign policy links and internal opening." Liechtenstein is situated in a field of tension between opposing forces perceived in different ways by the population: as strengths and weaknesses, as opportunities and obstacles, as solutions and problems. In particular the small size of the country is viewed simultaneously as a strength and as a weakness. Prime Minister Otmar Hasler adopts a pragmatic attitude with respect to this cluster of problems: "Small size is an advantage when we have fast decision-making processes, short official channels, and can react flexibly to changes. It is a disadvantage when we want to contribute our views on the international stage. Internationally, large players simply have more weight in the discussions."
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