Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1190498
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 DECEMBER 2019 MALTATODAY SURVEY KURT SANSONE CHRIS Fearne enjoys a trust rating never seen before by any other leader, hitting the 60.6% mark in the MaltaTo- day trust barometer. The survey was carried out last week when it was not yet clear who would contest the leadership of the Labour Party. MaltaToday asked peo- ple who they trusted most between Opposition leader Adrian Delia and each of the four candidates – Chris Fearne, Miriam Dalli, Ian Borg and Robert Abela – touted as possible contest- ants for the leadership. On Thursday, Dalli an- nounced she will not con- test but the question in her regard continued to be asked. The survey ended by Friday early afternoon just before Fearne's announce- ment that he will contest and Borg's withdrawal in support of Fearne. Each of the four PL ex- ponents would have beat- en Delia hands down but Fearne emerged as the most trustworthy. Fearne's trust rating was also the highest ever regis- tered in a MaltaToday sur- vey by any political leader. The direct contest with Fearne saw Delia register a dismal 17.8%, a loss of al- most four points since No- vember. Fearne trumped the PN leader across all age groups, all regions and among men and women. A paediatric surgeon by profession, the survey re- sults suggest that at this precarious juncture people may be attracted to Fearne's serious demeanour. He enjoys a trust rating of 62.6% among those aged between 18 and 35, which is generally an age group that is very coy on attributing trust. Fearne registers his high- est trust rating in Gozo (69%), followed by the Southern Harbour (68.2%) and the South-Eastern re- gion (63.5%). He also en- joys absolute majorities in the Northern and Northern Harbour regions. The only region where Fearne suffers is the West- ern region, albeit still ob- taining a rating of 49.8% against Delia's 23.6%. Trouble for Delia The results spell trouble for Delia, especially since many of his supporters have always harboured the hope that he would be able to bridge the gap when the Labour Party elects a new leader after the ever-popu- lar Muscat. Delia only manages a trust rating of 38.6% among those who voted for the PN in the last general election. A sig- nificant 27.6% of the same cohort trust Fearne over Delia. Fearne obtains the trust of 92.7% of PL voters. Delia obtains better results in run-offs against Ian Borg and Robert Abela but still sustains heavy damage. In the direct clash with Borg, Delia registers a trust rating of 22.6% against the minister's 51.2%. In the direct clash with Abela, the PN leader regis- ters a trust rating of 21.5% as opposed to the Labour MP's 49.3%. Of the four La- bour contenders, Abela has the lowest trust rating. In the direct clash with Miriam Dalli, Delia falters with a trust rating of 17.3% against the MEP's 51.7%. The political crisis has seen Delia and the Nation- alist Party take somewhat of a back seat as civil soci- ety groups marched in the street and called the shots. At one point, Delia was even booed by the crowd as he exited parliament. The survey results suggest that the rapprochement be- tween Delia and the faction in the party that still sup- ports Simon Busuttil has not helped improve the PN's standing among the elector- ate and neither boosted De- lia's trust rating. Methodology The survey was carried out between Monday 2 Decem- ber 2019 and Friday 6 Decem- ber 2019. 660 respondents opted to complete the survey. Stratified random sampling based on gender, region and age was used to replicate the Maltese demographics. The estimated margin of error is 5% for a confidence interval of 95%. Demographic and sub-group breakdowns have a larger margin of error. Chris Fearne hits highest ever trust rating for any leader 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 29.2% 38.5% 32.3% 27.8% 51.0% 21.2% 29.7% 52.8% 17.5% 38.4% 52.3% 9.3% 33.8% 46.6% 19.6% 24.6% 52.6% 22.8% 11.2% 40.6% 48.1% 19.7% 59.5% 20.8% 20.1% 46.7% 33.2% 24.5% 51.3% 24.2% 28.3% 39.9% 31.8% 41.8% 40.9% 17.3% 19.5% 43.1% 37.4% Trust ratings between PN leader Adrian Delia and Labour exponents touted for possible leadership bid Overall PL voter PN voter Will not vote Voted PL 2017 Voted PN 2017 M F 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 17.3% 51.7% 8.4% 22.7% 91.8% 53.4% 8.1% 11.0% 27.4% 36.6% 10.0% 52.3% 87.6% 8.0% 39.0% 14.6% 9.0% 37.5% 17.9% 50.8% 8.0% 23.3% 16.6% 52.6% 8.8% 22.1% 13.2% 53.3% 8.3% 25.3% 14.3% 53.5% 26.7% 18.6% 48.8% 10.9% 21.7% 24.4% 51.1% 8.7% 15.8% 18.6% 63.9% 7.2% 10.4% 17.5% 55.3% 11.2% 16.1% 19.5% 60.3% 15.0% 15.5% 37.5% 41.0% 14.1% 56.7% 24.5% 19.8% 52.7% 7.6% 19.9% 15.8% 45.6% 9.2% 29.3% 20.1% 58.3% 10.9% 10.6% 11.5% 61.8% 7.9% 18.9% 22.7% 41.0% 6.9% 29.5% Adrian Delia Miriam Dalli Don't know None Overall PL voter PN voter Will not vote Voted PL 2017 Voted PN 2017 M F 18-35 36-50 51-65 21.5% 49.3% 10.3% 18.8% 93.6% 64.7% 8.6% 22.7% 28.4% 16.3% 50.1% 88.7% 47.6% 8.3% 12.1% 32.1% 22.8% 48.0% 8.0% 21.3% 20.3% 50.7% 12.7% 16.3% 17.2% 46.8% 12.0% 24.0% 20.5% 50.6% 9.0% 19.9% 22.1% 48.9% 10.5% 18.5% Adrian Delia Robert Abela Don't know None Miriam Dalli, Labour MEP, will not contest leadership Robert Abela, Labour MP, could be interested in running F 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 20.2% 54.5% 9.7% 15.7% 19.2% 51.6% 9.8% 19.4% 21.1% 52.4% 21.1% 21.5% 49.9% 9.4% 19.3% 30.6% 51.1% 7.6% 10.7% 18.6% 62.5% 6.8% 12.2% 21.5% 56.7% 9.7% 12.1% 23.9% 60.4% 12.2% 25.5% 34.4% 8.5% 31.6% 30.1% 51.0% 16.6% 27.1% 48.9% 19.6% 22.0% 45.6% 9.0% 23.4% 23.3% 52.9% 12.4% 11.3% 15.1% 66.1% 12.3% 24.1% 45.7% 10.4% 19.8% Overall PL voter PN voter Will not vote Voted PL 2017 Voted PN 2017 M F 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 17.8% 60.6% 7.6% 14.1% 96.3% 54.9% 14.8% 13.1% 17.2% 51.6% 7.8% 35.3% 92.7% 38.6% 27.6% 10.0% 23.8% 17.8% 58.0% 18.4% 17.7% 63.2% 9.4% 9.8% 12.8% 62.6% 8.2% 16.4% 17.3% 64.1% 13.7% 20.0% 57.1% 9.3% 13.7% 22.2% 58.4% 7.4% 12.0% 18.6% 64.2% 12.0% 17.2% 63.1% 8.9% 10.9% 19.4% 63.2% 7.2% 10.1% 17.6% 54.2% 6.7% 21.5% 16.5% 69.0% 12.1% 23.3% 57.2% 15.0% 15.4% 59.6% 10.6% 14.4% 15.8% 63.5% 8.8% 11.9% 14.3% 68.2% 12.6% 23.6% 49.8% 8.8% 17.8% Adrian Delia Chris Fearne Don't know None Chris Fearne, deputy PM, wants the job, heir apparent among Cabinet Made with Delia vs Fearne Overall PL voter PN voter Will not vote Voted PL 2017 Voted PN 2017 M F 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 17.3% 51.7% 8.4% 22.7% 91.8% 53.4% 8.1% 11.0% 27.4% 36.6% 10.0% 52.3% 87.6% 8.0% 39.0% 14.6% 9.0% 37.5% 17.9% 50.8% 8.0% 23.3% 16.6% 52.6% 8.8% 22.1% 13.2% 53.3% 8.3% 25.3% 14.3% 53.5% 26.7% 18.6% 48.8% 10.9% 21.7% 24.4% 51.1% 8.7% 15.8% 18.6% 63.9% 7.2% 10.4% 17.5% 55.3% 11.2% 16.1% 19.5% 60.3% 15.0% 15.5% 37.5% 41.0% 14.1% 56.7% 24.5% 19.8% 52.7% 7.6% 19.9% 15.8% 45.6% 9.2% 29.3% 20.1% 58.3% 10.9% 10.6% 11.5% 61.8% 7.9% 18.9% 22.7% 41.0% 6.9% 29.5% Adrian Delia Miriam Dalli Don't know None Overall PL voter PN voter Will not vote Voted PL 2017 Voted PN 2017 M F 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 21.5% 49.3% 10.3% 18.8% 93.6% 64.7% 8.6% 22.7% 28.4% 16.3% 50.1% 88.7% 47.6% 8.3% 12.1% 32.1% 22.8% 48.0% 8.0% 21.3% 20.3% 50.7% 12.7% 16.3% 17.2% 46.8% 12.0% 24.0% 20.5% 50.6% 9.0% 19.9% 22.1% 48.9% 10.5% 18.5% 28.0% 52.0% 9.2% 10.9% 18.6% 62.5% 6.8% 12.2% 20.1% 54.6% 13.1% 12.3% 28.6% 56.9% 11.0% 21.9% 32.8% 10.6% 34.7% 20.9% 52.2% 10.4% 16.6% 23.1% 45.4% 7.5% 24.0% 20.5% 45.5% 11.2% 22.8% 21.4% 53.4% 14.3% 10.8% 16.6% 63.4% 7.6% 12.3% 28.3% 38.4% 10.4% 22.9% Adrian Delia Robert Abela Don't know None Overall PL voter PN voter 22.6% 51.2% 8.2% 18.0% 95.5% 65.2% 9.0% 20.1% Adrian Delia Ian Borg Don't know None Labour MEP, will not contest leadership Robert Abela, Labour MP, could be interested in running Ian Borg, transport minister, slated for deputy PM in pact with Fearne Delia vs Abela Gozo Northern Northern Harbour South Eastern Southern Harbour Western 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 37.6% 62.4% 56.5% 43.5% 57.5% 42.5% 64.1% 35.9% 58.6% 41.4% 53.6% 46.4% Overall PL voter PN voter Will not vote Voted PL 2017 Voted PN 2017 M F 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 26.4% 46.3% 27.3% 54.9% 40.6% 48.9% 51.1% 11.7% 46.1% 42.3% 50.3% 42.2% 7.5% 47.7% 50.6% 21.9% 47.5% 30.5% 31.1% 45.0% 23.9% 20.6% 43.5% 35.9% 29.2% 38.5% 32.3% 27.8% 51.0% 21.2% 29.7% 52.8% 17.5% 38.4% 52.3% 9.3% 33.8% 46.6% 19.6% 24.6% 52.6% 22.8% 11.2% 40.6% 48.1% 19.7% 59.5% 20.8% 20.1% 46.7% 33.2% 24.5% 51.3% 24.2% 28.3% 39.9% 31.8% 41.8% 40.9% 17.3% 19.5% 43.1% 37.4% Carry on with mandate Don't know Resign now Of those who say no, should Muscat: Trust ratings between PN leader Adrian Delia and Labour exponents touted for possible leadership bid Overall PL voter PN voter Will not vote Voted PL 2017 Voted PN 2017 M F 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Primary Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary Gozo Northern Northern Harbour South Eastern Southern Harbour 17.3% 51.7% 8.4% 22.7% 91.8% 53.4% 8.1% 11.0% 27.4% 36.6% 10.0% 52.3% 87.6% 8.0% 39.0% 14.6% 9.0% 37.5% 17.9% 50.8% 8.0% 23.3% 16.6% 52.6% 8.8% 22.1% 13.2% 53.3% 8.3% 25.3% 14.3% 53.5% 26.7% 18.6% 48.8% 10.9% 21.7% 24.4% 51.1% 8.7% 15.8% 18.6% 63.9% 7.2% 10.4% 17.5% 55.3% 11.2% 16.1% 19.5% 60.3% 15.0% 15.5% 37.5% 41.0% 14.1% 56.7% 24.5% 19.8% 52.7% 7.6% 19.9% 15.8% 45.6% 9.2% 29.3% 20.1% 58.3% 10.9% 10.6% 11.5% 61.8% 7.9% 18.9% Adrian Delia Miriam Dalli Don't know None Miriam Dalli, Labour MEP, will not contest leadership Delia vs Dalli Will not vote Voted PL 2017 Voted PN 2017 M F 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 36.6% 10.0% 52.3% 87.6% 8.0% 39.0% 14.6% 9.0% 37.5% 17.9% 50.8% 8.0% 23.3% 16.6% 52.6% 8.8% 22.1% 13.2% 53.3% 8.3% 25.3% 14.3% 53.5% 26.7% 18.6% 48.8% 10.9% 21.7% 24.4% 51.1% 8.7% 15.8% 18.6% 63.9% 7.2% 10.4% 17.5% 55.3% 11.2% 16.1% 19.5% 60.3% 15.0% 15.5% 37.5% 41.0% 14.1% 56.7% 24.5% 19.8% 52.7% 7.6% 19.9% 15.8% 45.6% 9.2% 29.3% 20.1% 58.3% 10.9% 10.6% 11.5% 61.8% 7.9% 18.9% 22.7% 41.0% 6.9% 29.5% Overall PL voter PN voter Will not vote Voted PL 2017 Voted PN 2017 M F 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 21.5% 49.3% 10.3% 18.8% 93.6% 64.7% 8.6% 22.7% 28.4% 16.3% 50.1% 88.7% 47.6% 8.3% 12.1% 32.1% 22.8% 48.0% 8.0% 21.3% 20.3% 50.7% 12.7% 16.3% 17.2% 46.8% 12.0% 24.0% 20.5% 50.6% 9.0% 19.9% 22.1% 48.9% 10.5% 18.5% 28.0% 52.0% 9.2% 10.9% 18.6% 62.5% 6.8% 12.2% 20.1% 54.6% 13.1% 12.3% 28.6% 56.9% 11.0% 21.9% 32.8% 10.6% 34.7% 20.9% 52.2% 10.4% 16.6% 23.1% 45.4% 7.5% 24.0% 20.5% 45.5% 11.2% 22.8% 21.4% 53.4% 14.3% 10.8% 16.6% 63.4% 7.6% 12.3% 28.3% 38.4% 10.4% 22.9% Adrian Delia Robert Abela Don't know None Overall PL voter PN voter Will not vote Voted PL 2017 Voted PN 2017 M F 18-35 36-50 22.6% 51.2% 8.2% 18.0% 95.5% 65.2% 9.0% 20.1% 8.6% 33.2% 9.9% 48.3% 90.7% 49.9% 9.9% 9.5% 30.8% 25.1% 48.1% 6.7% 20.2% 20.2% 54.5% 9.7% 15.7% 19.2% 51.6% 9.8% 19.4% 21.1% 52.4% 21.1% Adrian Delia Ian Borg Don't know None Robert Abela, Labour MP, could be interested in running Ian Borg, transport minister, slated for deputy PM in pact with Fearne Delia vs Borg