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12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 MARCH 2019 MALTATODAY SURVEY The results of a new MaltaToday survey put the Labour Party 15 points ahead of the Nationalist Party, as Joseph Muscat continues to widen the trust gap with Adrian Delia. Kurt Sansone reports A slight recovery for the Nationalist Party in General Council week runs counter to a decrease in Adrian Delia's trust rating, a MaltaToday survey out today shows. It appears the PN's General Council which started in Gozo on 17 February and ended with Delia's keynote speech last Wednesday brought mixed for- tunes for the party. The survey results for March show support for the PN running at 27.3%, an increase of three points over the Febru- ary results. This is a partial recovery of the losses suffered since December. But the upward movement will be lit- tle cause for celebration at PN head- quarters. With 83 days to go until the European Parliament election in May, the PN still trails the Labour Party by 15 points and its leader is failing to in- spire trust in people. This is the second survey asking peo- ple how they will vote in the May elec- tion, as opposed to the more abstract 'How will you vote if an election is held tomorrow?' Delia's trust rating dropped to 15.9% from 20.4% last month, as he trails Prime Minister Joseph Muscat by a wide margin across all age groups, re- gions and both male and female voters. If the May election becomes a battle of the leaders – it will be the first elec- toral face-off between Muscat and De- lia – the PL appears to have more space for growth, given Muscat's trust levels. Stable Labour For the Labour Party, the results are all about stability. Support for the PL has settled at 42.3%, a marginal increase of 0.3 points over February, and Muscat's trust rat- ing runs at 54.7%, an insignificant drop of 0.1 points. The PL trumps the PN across all age groups and regions. The party posts its strongest results among voters aged 51 and over and enjoys a positive gap of 19 points over the PN among those aged 18 to 35. On a regional basis, the PL enjoys ad- vantages that range from seven points in the Western region and Gozo, to a massive 30 points in the Southern Har- bour area. The party retains 79.2% of those who voted for the PL in the last general elec- tion. However, 9.7% of 2017 PL voters are now saying they will not vote in the May election and 10.3% are unsure over what to do. Only a meagre 0.4% of 2017 PL voters say they will vote PN for the European Parliament election. In contrast, the PN retains 68.4% of those who voted for it in the 2017 gen- eral election but loses 5% of its voters to the PL. The results suggest the PN is still haemorrhaging voters to the PL at the same time that it is beset by disaffec- tion for its leader. Delia's trust deficit among PN voters Delia's trust rating flounders among those aged 18 to 35, managing only 9.4%, despite the PN's efforts to reach out to young voters. His strongest trust rating is among those aged 65 and over with 26.2%. The PN leader appears to have re- covered in Gozo where his trust rat- ing stands at 24.6%. This stark con- trast with the zero-result obtained last month, suggests either that the Febru- ary rating in Gozo was a fluke or that voters on the island are more fickle when deciding who to trust. In Malta, Delia's strongest trust rat- ing, albeit at 19.9%, is achieved in the South Eastern region. The PN leader retains the trust of 38.9% of those who voted PN in the last general election. Significantly, a large cohort (41.3%) of PN voters say they PN grows, Delia sinks in General Council week MaltaToday Survey and Trust Barometer, 2 March 2019 Between Adrian Delia and Joseph Muscat who do you trust most? Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't know 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 54.8% 15.9% 24.6% 4.6pp 4.7% March 2019 pp change Dec 2018 Trust barometer among different categories of voters All PL voters in 2017 PN voters in 2017 Did not vote 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 54.8% 15.9% 24.6% 94.7% 9.8% 38.9% 41.3% 10.0% 34.3% 60.3% Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't Know Trust barometer among different groups All Male Female Primary Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Gozo Northern Northern Harbour South Eastern Southern Harbour Western 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 54.8% 15.9% 24.6% 56.1% 10.9% 28.5% 53.3% 21.5% 20.2% 66.5% 27.8% 66.8% 15.1% 14.6% 46.0% 7.8% 37.3% 9.0% 35.3% 16.2% 42.4% 6.2% 55.9% 9.4% 31.1% 46.5% 16.0% 31.7% 60.3% 15.8% 16.5% 7.5% 56.9% 26.2% 15.5% 50.9% 24.6% 17.8% 6.7% 45.1% 12.2% 28.8% 13.9% 58.0% 17.4% 20.8% 58.7% 19.9% 15.8% 60.5% 10.5% 28.9% 48.0% 16.5% 35.5% Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't Know MaltaToday Survey and Trust Barometer, 2 March 2019 Between Adrian Delia and Joseph Muscat who do you trust most? Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't know 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 54.8% 15.9% 24.6% 4.6pp 4.7% March 2019 pp change Dec 2018 Trust barometer among different categories of voters All PL voters in 2017 PN voters in 2017 Did not vote 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 54.8% 15.9% 24.6% 94.7% 9.8% 38.9% 41.3% 10.0% 34.3% 60.3% Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't Know Trust barometer among different groups All Male Female Primary Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Gozo Northern Northern Harbour South Eastern Southern Harbour Western 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 54.8% 15.9% 24.6% 56.1% 10.9% 28.5% 53.3% 21.5% 20.2% 66.5% 27.8% 66.8% 15.1% 14.6% 46.0% 7.8% 37.3% 9.0% 35.3% 16.2% 42.4% 6.2% 55.9% 9.4% 31.1% 46.5% 16.0% 31.7% 60.3% 15.8% 16.5% 7.5% 56.9% 26.2% 15.5% 50.9% 24.6% 17.8% 6.7% 45.1% 12.2% 28.8% 13.9% 58.0% 17.4% 20.8% 58.7% 19.9% 15.8% 60.5% 10.5% 28.9% 48.0% 16.5% 35.5% Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't Know For which political party will you vote for if a general election is held tomorrow? MaltaToday Survey and Trust Barometer, 2 March 2019 Between Adrian Delia and Joseph Muscat who do you trust most? Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't know 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 54.8% 15.9% 24.6% 4.6pp 4.7% March 2019 pp change Dec 2018 Trust barometer among different categories of voters All PL voters in 2017 PN voters in 2017 Did not vote 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 54.8% 15.9% 24.6% 94.7% 9.8% 38.9% 41.3% 10.0% 34.3% 60.3% Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't Know Trust barometer among different groups All Male Female Primary Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Gozo Northern Northern Harbour South Eastern Southern Harbour 54.8% 15.9% 24.6% 56.1% 10.9% 28.5% 53.3% 21.5% 20.2% 66.5% 27.8% 66.8% 15.1% 14.6% 46.0% 7.8% 37.3% 9.0% 35.3% 16.2% 42.4% 6.2% 55.9% 9.4% 31.1% 46.5% 16.0% 31.7% 60.3% 15.8% 16.5% 7.5% 56.9% 26.2% 15.5% 50.9% 24.6% 17.8% 6.7% 45.1% 12.2% 28.8% 13.9% 58.0% 17.4% 20.8% 58.7% 19.9% 15.8% 60.5% 10.5% 28.9% MaltaToday Survey and Trust Barometer, 2 March 2019 Between Adrian Delia and Joseph Muscat who do you trust most? Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't know 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 54.8% 15.9% 24.6% 4.6pp 4.7% March 2019 pp change Dec 2018 Trust barometer among different categories of voters All PL voters in 2017 PN voters in 2017 Did not vote 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 54.8% 15.9% 24.6% 94.7% 9.8% 38.9% 41.3% 10.0% 34.3% 60.3% Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't Know Trust barometer among different groups All Male Female Primary Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Gozo Northern Northern Harbour South Eastern Southern Harbour Western 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 54.8% 15.9% 24.6% 56.1% 10.9% 28.5% 53.3% 21.5% 20.2% 66.5% 27.8% 66.8% 15.1% 14.6% 46.0% 7.8% 37.3% 9.0% 35.3% 16.2% 42.4% 6.2% 55.9% 9.4% 31.1% 46.5% 16.0% 31.7% 60.3% 15.8% 16.5% 7.5% 56.9% 26.2% 15.5% 50.9% 24.6% 17.8% 6.7% 45.1% 12.2% 28.8% 13.9% 58.0% 17.4% 20.8% 58.7% 19.9% 15.8% 60.5% 10.5% 28.9% 48.0% 16.5% 35.5% Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't Know For which political party will you vote for if a general election is held tomorrow? PL PN 42.3% 27.3% The PN leader retains the trust of 38.9% of those who voted PN in the last general election. Significantly, a large cohort (41.3%) of PN voters say they trust none of the two political leaders, while 9.8% trust Muscat