Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1197486
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 JANUARY 2020 NEWS system similar to that applica- ble to drivers, when it comes to the revocation of licences. Dealing with big business Both candidates have been adamant on not giving the im- pression of rocking the boat. Abela spoke of the need of in- troducing effective measures that restore the distinction be- tween business and politicians "without declaring a war on business." Fearne also spoke on the need to "work with business," while arguing for more transparency and for opportunities "to be equal for all, not restricted to the same four or five people, so that everyone will have the opportunity to invest and do business in this country". Abela says he will speak to businesses about giving them a level-playing with foreign com- petitors who are enjoying tax rebates under Malta's taxation system, a system which Fearne will not touch, citing the im- portance of FDI to Malta. In a sign of continuity with Muscat's distributive model which also saw the removal of exam fees and free school transport, Fearne promised that by the end of 2020, park- ing will be free at Mater Dei Hospital. More greenwash? Both candidates spoke ge- nerically on the need of more sustainable development and u r b a n green spaces, but failed to propose any policies limiting the construction in- dustry. Fearne spoke of "development that goes hand in hand with a better quality of life", while Abela wants incentives for the regeneration of properties in urban conservation areas. Fearne said he will launch a plan to introduce green spaces in every Maltese town and vil- lage, arguing that people have a right to unwind in their home- towns. But he also confirmed he is in favour of the proposed tunnel linking Malta and Gozo, arguing that the project will have obvious benefits to the entire economy. Making the party Labour again Both candidates have indicat- ed a shift from the pro-business mantra when it comes to work- ers' rights, partly addressing the perception that the party has moved away from its so- cialist roots. It was Fearne who first proposed enforcing the principle of equal pay for equal work in all government enti- ties, a proposal which was also endorsed by Abela. Fearne re- ferred to thousands of workers who are employed by contrac- tors who then provide services to different entities within the government. These workers, he said, are doing the same work that other government workers do, but are paid less. On his part Abela was keen- er on linking wage stagnation with the availability of cheap foreign labour. None of the candidates have proposed an increase in the minimum wage. When asked by MaltaToday whether he would consider this, Abela replied that any raise would have to be seen in context of "the impact it has on the market" adding "if the country's economy allows it, why not?" Rule of law and constitutional reform Fearne will convene a confer- ence that will debate govern- ance and the rule of law, add- ing that the current situation calls for immediate action. It is still unclear how the constitu- tional reform will proceed and whether this will have a clear timeframe to ensure that the re- forms are enacted. Abela has not given much importance to the subject and has hinted at giving particular attention to the home affairs ministry because he could not be "trustful enough". A question of style Fearne showed a greater will- ingness to speak to the inde- pendent media from the very initial stages of the campaign. Abela was initially hesitant. But after not inviting the me- dia to his campaign launch and receiving flak for it, Abela was more forthcoming in accept- ing interviews. In itself Abela's reluctance to engage suggested that while his adversary was more focused on addressing the nation as its future Prime Min- ister, Abela was more keen on winning the hearts of Labour members, focusing on how the party has gone astray and how "Labourites" and the party's tra- ditional working class constitu- ency, have ended up with the wrong end of the stick. In contrast to Abela's more populist campaign, Fearne has presented himself as the "no- nonsense" leader who will tack- le institutional shortcomings. Yet in the past week Fearne seemed keener on reaching out to party members. He did so the wrong way by resorting to a di- visive jibe. Fearne not only suggested that as long as he is alive the PN will not win an election but in bad taste said that his tomb will be adorned with the epithet 'RIPN'. This in itself came as confir- mation of Fearne's difficulty in reaching out to the grassroots, resorting to a divisive comment to give the impression of being something he clearly is not. For, so far, it was Fearne who pro- posed the least divisive policies, including the appointment of the next police commissioner by a two-thirds majority. On the other hand, while Ab- ela represents greater continu- ity with Muscat's style of over the top charismatic leadership, the country may well be yearn- ing for the kind of sobriety of- fered by Fearne who is shown by surveys to command more trust than Abela among Nationalist and undecided voters. It would be a great pity if Fearne undermines this good- will by resorting to divisive tribalism to win points among a restricted cohort which may not even be decisive in his bid to win the internal contest. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The MaltaToday survey suggests that Abela has gained ground in recent days as he continued with his grassroots campaign. According to MaltaToday's poll, Abela is more popular among those aged 18-35, obtaining 28.6% of support against Fearne's 12.6%. Sup- port is evenly split among those aged between 36 and 50 – Abela receives the support of 15.1% against Fearne's 14.3%. But the deputy prime min- ister steams ahead in the higher age groups, which are more characteristic of the party's membership base. Among those aged between 51 and 65, Fearne obtained 20.2% against Abela's 12.8% and among those aged 65 and over, Fearne obtained 17.4% against Abela's 12.4%. Fearne is more popular than Abela among both men and women. The numbers give Fearne an advantage over Abela as the race enters its final week, however the numbers have to be read with caution be- cause of several limitations with the polling. PL members still trust Muscat The survey also asked PL members how much they trusted outgoing leader Jo- seph Muscat on a scale of one to 10. The results were grouped into three broad categories (Low, Medium, High). Muscat scored 84.3% in the high category (scores between 8 and 10), show- ing that he still enjoys over- whelming support among the party faithful. However, while Muscat scores high across most age groups, this is less pro- nounced among party mem- bers aged between 18 and 35. In this age group, Muscat scores 48.6% in the high cat- egory and 44.1% in the me- dium. In all other age groups the high category superseded 60%, growing to more than 90% in the older age groups. The lowest level of trust is found among those aged be- tween 36 and 50, where 26% gave the Prime Minister a lowly score of between one and three. How is this survey different? There is a marked differ- ence between this survey and others normally held by MaltaToday. While or- dinary surveys of the whole population are benchmarked against characteristics such as sex and age obtained from the National Statistics Of- fice, the PL membership sur- vey is conditioned by the fact that this newspaper did not have access to similar data. MaltaToday was leaked an anonymised list of members' phone numbers according to locality with no information on age and sex, making it im- possible to weight the results according to the make-up of the membership base. The only weighting possible was according to geographic distribution, ensuring that the sample accurately re- flected the distribution of the party members by local- ity. The survey was carried out between 2 January and 3 January and 461 respondents opted to complete it. Strati- fied random sampling based on locality was used to repli- cate the PL membership ge- ographical distribution. The estimated margin of error is 6.2% for a confidence inter- val of 95%. Demographic and sub- group breakdowns have a larger margin of error. Abela gains ground with grassroots campaign The numbers give Fearne an advantage over Abela as the race enters its f inal week, however the numbers have to be read with caution because of several limitations with the polling