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10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 APRIL 2019 NEWS MALTATODAY SURVEY ADRIAN Delia has regained some of the lost ground since December with the latest MaltaToday survey putting his trust rating at 21.5%. The Opposition leader gained al- most six points in the April survey. The gains come on the back of a dismal showing last month when he registered 15.9% on the trust barom- eter. Delia's trust is now at February levels. This result represents the first up- ward tick for Delia since the begin- ning of the year. Delia's trust rating in December stood at 24.7% but the Nationalist Party leader experienced two successive drops in the February and March surveys. The relative improvement came at a time when Delia faced renewed scru- tiny over his involvement some 13 years ago as a lawyer to Maltese in- dividuals who ran a prostitution ring in London. The fresh information leaked from a report compiled by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit showing bank transfers that passed through a Jersey bank account held by Delia does not appear to have deepened his woes. It remains to be seen whether the latest improvement will be main- tained over the coming months, giv- en Delia's erratic track record. The PN leader's trust level over the course of more than a year has never gone beyond 27.2%, achieved in May 2018. The gap between him and the Prime Minister has dropped to 28 points from 38 points a month earlier – an improvement but still a chasm. The survey found that Joseph Mus- cat lost five points in his trust rating and now stands at 49.6%. It is the first time in eight months that Muscat's trust rating dropped below the halfway mark at a time of renewed speculation on the Prime Minister's future. The result is unlikely to cause con- cern because it is the previous trust levels running at almost 55% that were extraordinarily high. Muscat's lowest trust rating was achieved in February 2018 when he scored 41%. Despite his slip, Muscat still trumps Delia across all age groups, male and female voters, and all regions. The Prime Minister registered his highest trust rating among those aged 65 and over (63%). Delia's strongest showing was also among those aged 65+, recording a trust level of 25.4%. Among those aged between 18 and 35, Muscat scored 43.1% and Delia 22.7%. Ahead across all regions Muscat comes ahead of Delia across all regions in Malta and Gozo, a pat- tern that has been maintained for quite a stretch. Muscat's highest trust rating at 60% is registered in the Southern Harbour region, composed of localities with strong Labour leanings. His lowest, at 43.1%, was achieved in the Northern Harbour region, composed largely of localities with Nationalist tendencies. Delia's strongest showing was in the Western region, where his trust level ran at 36.5%. This was also the region where the gap between the two lead- ers – eight points – was the closest. Delia's weakest showing was in the South Eastern region, where his trust rating stood at 10.6%. In Gozo, the Prime Minister en- joyed a trust rating of 51.3%, while the Opposition leader registered a dismal 18.6% in this once PN strong- hold. Delia's problematic Nationalists A significant difference between both leaders is the level of trust they enjoy among people who voted for their respective parties in the last general election. Muscat has retained the trust of 90.4% of PL 2017 voters, while De- lia could only command the trust of 51.9% of PN 2017 voters. There are 1.7% of PL 2017 voters, who now trust Delia but these are offset by 3.9% of PN voters who trust Muscat. The PN leader's problem is with Nationalist voters who insist they trust no one. At 36.6%, these voters pose a stiff challenge for a party that has tried over the past few months to bridge internal differences. This contrasts with 6.2% of PL vot- ers who now say they trust none of the two leaders. ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Joseph Muscat slips as Adrian Delia posts meek recovery MaltaToday's April trust barometer gives Adrian Delia some reprieve in a month where his credibility was challenged by fresh information on money laundering allegations, KURT SANSONE reports MaltaToday Survey and Trust Barometer, 7 April 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 49.6% -5.2pp 21.5% 5.6pp 23.9% 5.0% April 2019 pp change March 2019 Trust barometer among different categories of voters All PL voters in 2017 PN voters in 2017 Did not vote in 2017 Will vote PL in 2019 Will vote PN in 2019 Will not vote in 2019 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 49.6% 21.5% 23.9% 90.4% 51.9% 36.6% 7.5% 16.9% 68.1% 12.7% 97.9% 71.6% 26.0% 24.4% 7.2% 68.4% Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't Know Trust barometer among different groups All Male Female 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Primary Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary Gozo Northern Northern Harbour South Eastern Southern Harbour Western 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 49.6% 21.5% 23.9% 46.8% 19.8% 27.7% 53.1% 23.7% 19.2% 43.1% 22.7% 31.6% 41.1% 18.1% 37.5% 54.2% 20.6% 14.7% 10.6% 63.0% 25.4% 9.9% 72.7% 22.4% 54.2% 22.2% 16.2% 7.5% 42.7% 20.3% 34.4% 33.0% 20.6% 44.6% 51.3% 18.6% 26.8% 49.7% 17.5% 29.7% 43.1% 23.3% 30.7% 55.7% 10.6% 16.8% 16.8% 60.0% 19.3% 17.1% 44.5% 36.5% 17.0% Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Neither Don't Know For which political party will you vote for if a general election is held tomorrow? PL 41.8%