Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1037099
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 OCTOBER 2018 MALTATODAY SURVEY ADRIAN Delia has registered a slight improvement in his trust rat- ing but not enough to significantly claw back the massive gap with Jo- seph Muscat, the MaltaToday sur- vey shows. The October trust barometer out today shows that trust in the Na- tionalist Party leader is running at 19.8%, an upward movement of al- most two points over the previous month. The latest MaltaToday survey was held after the PN's Independence Day celebrations on the Granaries, which traditionally mark the start of a new political season for the party. This year's festivities were used by the party to try and rally the troops behind Delia in search of unity ahead of next year's European Par- liament election. The survey suggests that the PN's efforts may have yielded some re- sults. Delia sees his overall trust rating go up and in the Northern region he manages to get ahead of Joseph Muscat. Perhaps more significant is an increase of four points in the trust level among those who voted PN in the last election. Delia now enjoys the trust of 46.7% of 2017 PN vot- ers. There is also a drop in 2017 PN voters who said they trust no one – from 44.8% in September these have climbed down to 40.3% in the latest survey. And PN voters who trust Muscat also decreased to 7.8% from 9.4% a month earlier. The figures may offer Delia some reprieve after August's dismal showing in the aftermath of the Egrant inquiry findings. Whether they match the party strategists' expectations is unclear but for a leader who has, over the course of a year, struggled to be a significant challenger to the Prime Minister, it is evident that Delia has a very steep hill ahead of him. Delia's numbers appear fickle when compared to Muscat's strato- spheric run that sees him enjoy a trust rating of 52.9%. This repre- sents a marginal drop of less than a percentage point over the Septem- ber survey. The gap between the Prime Min- ister and Delia stands at 33 points. Muscat continues to outstrip De- lia across all age groups and in all regions, bar the Northern region. In the north, which comprises the localities of Mellieħa, St Paul's Bay, Għargħur, Mġarr, Mosta and Naxx- ar, Delia edges out the Prime Min- ister with a trust rating of 32.9% as opposed to Muscat's 30.5%. This region is also the one with the highest percentage of people who lack trust in the political es- tablishment. A third of voters in the north say they trust neither of the two leaders. Muscat's strongest performance is in the South-Eastern region where he registers a trust rating of 72.6%. This region, which includes the localities of Marsaskala, Żejtun, Birżebbuġa and the villages around the airport, is also the one where Delia posts his weakest result at 9.7%. In Gozo, Muscat scores a trust rating of 62.1% as opposed to De- lia's 25%. While Delia still struggles to draw trust from those who voted for the PN in the last election, it is a com- pletely different story for Muscat. The Prime Minister retains the trust of 95% of those who voted La- bour last year, while only 0.7% say they trust the Opposition leader. Overall, there are 24.3% of voters who trust neither of the two party leaders, while another 3.1% are un- certain. Still a long way ahead for the PN If politics were a game of snakes and ladders, the October MaltaToday survey shows that Adrian Delia has climbed a very short ladder. But while the PN leader is in the bottom half of the game board, Joseph Muscat is 33 steps ahead of him, KURT SANSONE reports % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % 1 19.8% 32.9% 19 20.5% 9.1% 24.0% All PL 2017 PN 2017 Did not vote Male Female 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Gozo Northern N Harbour S Eastern S Harbour Western Primary Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary 52.9% 19.8% 3.1% 24.3% 95.0% 7.8% 46.7% 5.2% 40.3% 22.5% 7.5% 66.9% 53.3% 20.5% 24.0% 52.4% 19.1% 24.6% 38.3% 19.8% 36.9% 58.4% 16.1% 25.5% 61.5% 17% 16.1% 57.4% 29.1% 13.5% 62.1% 25% 30.5% 32.9% 33% 50.9% 19.3% 29.1% 72.6% 9.6% 17.8% 57.3% 18.3% 19.7% 55.5% 13.7% 8% 22.8% 59.7% 35.4% 64.1% 17.4% 16.6% 48.8% 17.7% 32.7% 34.1% 16.2% 42.7% Trust barometer among various categories Joseph Muscat trust rating 52.9% (-0.6pp) 19.8% (1.9pp) Adrian Delia trust rating [October, and pp change over September] MUSCAT DELIA Neither Don't know