Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/904009
maltatoday SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2017 9 MaltaToday Survey CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 While the share of those who said they would not vote decreased by one point to 15.7%, there was a drop of 6.4 percentage points in the undecided, which now stand at 6.5%. Those who chose not to an- swer increased from 1.7% in Octo- ber to 3.6% in November. A breakdown of voting inten- tions, based on how people voted in the June 2017 general election re- veals that 93.2% of PL voters would confirm their choice again if an election is held now. The survey also shows that 4.7% of PL voters last June are having second thoughts. On the other hand, 54.1% of June 2017 PN voters would retain their preference at the ballot boxes, while 35.8% are either unsure of what to do or opting not to vote if an election is held now. The PN would also see 1.6% of its voters now choosing the PL. Significantly, 3.1% of PN voters in the last election would now vote for AD while 1.3% would vote PD. Moreover, 19.2% of those who stated that they did not vote for either party back in June 2017 indicated they would cast their preference for the PL this time around. The survey indicates that the significant increase in the margin between the two parties since the June election would largely be due to a low turnout among PN vot- ers. This also reflects the internal discord that has characterised the PN since Adrian Delia's election as party leader. Muscat weathers storm Joseph Muscat has not only weathered accusations that his government undermined the rule of law but emerged even stronger over the past month, a Malta- Today survey found. The Prime Minister's trust rating increased by 2.8 percentage points since October and now stands at 53.7%. This is Muscat's highest trust rat- ing since becoming Prime Minis- ter in 2013. It appears from the result that people may have judged the Prime Minister positively over his handling of the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder fallout that over- shadowed the Budget, which was characterised by no tax increases. But Muscat's good performance has its flipside in Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia's trust rating. Delia, who became PN leader last September, has floundered over the past month with his trust rating dropping by 6.9 percent- age points. The Opposition leader now enjoys a trust rating of 15.2%. The survey shows that Delia's trust rating is significantly ham- pered by his inability to convince PN supporters. Only 39% of those who voted PN in the June general election trust Delia. An overall majority of PN voters (54.5%) said they trust neither Delia nor Mus- cat. This contrasts significantly with the result obtained by Muscat, who enjoys the trust of 97.8% of PL voters in the last election. The survey registered an in- crease of more than 10 points in those who do not trust Muscat or Delia. These now stand at 27.5%. However, the undecided dropped to 3.1% from 10% in October. CONTINUES PAGE 11 Trust according to voters in the 2017 election PN voters 2017 PL voters 2017 MUSCAT DELIA Neither Don't know No reply Trust Barometer Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Don't know None 3.1% (-6.9pp) 53.7% (2.8pp) 15.2% (-6.9pp) 27.5% (10.9pp) 39% 54.5% 5.3% 97.8% Adrian Delia: a long road ahead Muscat's trust rating at all-time high as Adrian Delia flounders Beware of the hegemon: polls once again confirm Joseph Muscat and Labour surviving dents to the government's credibility Trust rating for November, with change over October survey in brackets