The latest Valicon survey shows that two-thirds of respondents are affected by the rising costs of living – Slovenian Press Agency reports that the number of people whose daily lives have been significantly affected by falling asset values is increasing month by month. This time, 19 percent of respondents chose this answer. And OECD research findings show that this is not just about people’s feelings. Namely, Slovenia is inexorably moving closer to the OECD countries that are currently suffering the most from inflation.
Since March, the respondents have ranked the rising costs of living as the highest of the top ten political and economic circumstances or events affecting our daily lives. This was the choice of 67 percent of respondents in the July survey, which is a significant decrease from the 75 percent who chose this answer in June. The second most important factor is the possible shortage of goods, food and energy, with 45 percent of respondents choosing this answer. The share of respondents who chose this answer has been at a similarly high level since March, only falling below 40 percent in April, just before the elections to the National Assembly.
Climate change is in third place with 38 percent, which is twice as many as in March: This increase coincides with rising daily temperatures, Valicon explained. On the other hand, the proportion of those who chose the war in Ukraine as a having significant impact on their daily lives is down by almost half compared to March. This time it is 23 percent. The biggest change in the July measurement is the choice of “the spread of the coronavirus” answer, which was chosen by almost a quarter of respondents, or ten percentage points more than a month earlier. The normality index, which tracks personal perceptions of the situation, stands at six and is positive for the fourth consecutive month. This means that there are more people who experience the current situation more positively than not. This is exactly where the index was at when it was first measured at the end of March 2020, less than two weeks after the first closure of public life due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The financial position index was minus 28 in July
Meanwhile, the financial situation and consumption volume indices have deteriorated significantly compared to the start of the year. The Financial Situation Index, which tracks the assessment of a person’s current and expected financial situation, was minus 28 in July. This means that the share of those whose financial situation has worsened or is expected to worsen is higher than the share of those for whom this does not apply. The Consumption Index, which tracks the assessment of the volume of consumption, is even more pessimistic, as it is below minus 60 for the second month in a row. This means that there are significantly more people who have already or are expected to further reduce their consumption than those who answered the opposite.
The share of those who say that they will definitely or likely get vaccinated is 80 percent
Finally, the survey asked about the intention to get vaccinated against Covid-19, which has remained unchanged for several months. The proportion of 18–75-year-olds who have gotten vaccinated at least once and those who say that they will definitely or are likely to get vaccinated is 80 percent. Meanwhile, the proportion of 18-75-year-olds who have been vaccinated at least once and/or who have been infected, which was confirmed with a PCR test, or who are absolutely sure they have been infected but have not been tested is 89 percent. Valicon conducted the latest #NewNormal survey between the 18th and the 21st of July, with 515 respondents.
Janez Janša: we are already in the upper part of the ranking
The drastic deterioration in living conditions was also highlighted by former Prime Minister and current leader of the opposition, Janez Janša, who wrote online: “A few months of “freedom,” and we are already in the upper part of the inflation ranking.” He also shared the OECD post, which shows relentless data that the dominant media outlets in Slovenia cannot falsify.
Sara Bertoncelj
