BRUSSELS. “Do we want peace or the air conditioner on?” The passage of Mario Draghi at the press conference on the war in Ukraine and the not easy choices to be made to end the conflict have led to discussions, but today a part of the Italians respond to the Prime Minister. In order to reduce the cost of their bills, more than one in two citizens is willing to put the thermostat back on and reduce the internal temperature of their home. He declares that 56% of Eurobarometer interviewees are ready to do so for the new special edition of a study on the behavior of Europeans towards the delicate war in Ukraine and all that derives from it.
Over 26 thousand interviewees in the last week of April, just over a thousand of them in Italy, who are the most attentive to the issue. Eight out of ten people (82%) discuss it daily, with friends, family and colleagues, and discuss the topic more than once during the day. Furthermore, among those who watch the news only once (22%) and those who also look for updates and last hours (37%), Italians are the first population in the EU for wanting to keep up to date on the subject.
Information on the subject that is sought above all on institutional channels. Six out of ten people (60%) trust what comes from the national authorities, including the invitation to think about the use of the air conditioner. But given the choice of multiple sources of information, half of those interviewed (52%) admit that they look closely at what non-governmental organizations have to say about the war in Ukraine. Journalists come next (46%). What is certain is that Italians do not seem to trust social media, which are considered reliable only for just two out of ten people (22%).
The search for information, continuous and daily, is explained by the sense of concern for the Ukrainian people. At least this is what emerges from the Eurobarometer survey, where among those who declare themselves worried (46%) and very worried (44%), nine out of ten people (90%) declare that they care about the fate of the people who remain in the country and those who are you have already gone out.
The Italians, however, just like the populations of the other Member States, are also worried about themselves. They declare that they fear for the energy price increase, as a consequence of the deterioration of relations with Moscow and sanctions. More than eight out of ten people (86%) admit that they fear for their purchasing power and ask for action at EU level to reduce the cost of their bills.