Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1285850
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 SEPTEMBER 2020 MALTATODAY SURVEY KURT SANSONE BERNARD Grech can hope to halve the trust gap with Robert Abela if he becomes Nationalist Party leader, a MaltaToday sur- vey shows. The trust barometer shows that Grech would receive a score of 32.1% against Abela's 51.7%, a gap of almost 20 points. A similar runoff between in- cumbent PN leader Adrian Delia and Abela sees the for- mer obtain a trust rating of 12% against the Prime Minister's 56%. The gap between Delia and Abela stands at 44 points. The survey was held among the general population between Monday 31 August and Friday 4 September. The trust barometer results show that with Grech at the helm, the PN can start recov- ering some of the lost ground, although it still has a long way to go given Abela's strong show- ing. However, Grech's result pro- vides a more encouraging start than when Delia became leader in September 2017. In the first trust barometer against then Labour leader Joseph Muscat, which was held in October 2017, Delia had scored 22% against Muscat's 51%, a 29-point gap. After that, Delia's trust rating went downhill, scoring his best performance in May 2018, when he obtained 27.2%. It still has to be seen whether Grech's result now is the start of an upward trajectory or the maximum threshold. Abela vs Grech Robert Abela trounces Ber- nard Grech across all age groups with the Prime Minister post- ing his strongest results among those aged 51 and over. Among those aged between 18 and 35, Abela scores a trust rating of 48.4% against Grech's 31.9%. The survey shows that Grech manages to recover valuable territory among those aged below 50, when his results are contrasted with those of Adrian Delia. On a regional basis, Abela emerges ahead of Grech in five of the six regions. The PN leadership contender manages to wrestle the North- ern region out of Abela's hands, obtaining a trust rating of 40.8% against Abela's 35.4%. However, across the rest of Malta and Gozo, Abela comes out on top with significantly high margins in the Southern Harbour and South Eastern re- gions. In Gozo, Abela's trust rating stands at 45.1% against Grech's 39.8%, while in the Northern Harbour region, Abela scores 47.2% against Grech's 34.5%. Although Grech still trails the Prime Minister in Gozo, the PN leadership hopeful's result significantly cuts Abela's astro- nomical lead over Delia in the sister island. In the Western region, Abela registers a trust rating of 50% against Grech's 40.3%. The whole of the south re- mains a Labour Party bulwark irrespective of who the PN lead- er is. In his runoff against Grech, Abela achieves a trust rating of 70.1% in the south east and 60% in the Southern Harbour. Grech could halve Abela's trust lead Neither Don't know 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 11.6% 4.6% Full trust demographics comparing Robert Abela to both Delia and Comodini Cachia Adrian Delia ALL PL PN AD Did not vote M F 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Gozo Northern N Harbour S Eastern S Harbour Western Primary Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 51.7% 32.1% 11.6% 90.2% 8.9% 75.5% 8.9% 6.6% 54.7% 45.3% 24.9% 13.8% 51.8% 9.5% 51.9% 28.6% 13.5% 5.9% 51.5% 36.3% 9.3% 48.4% 31.9% 17.3% 47.4% 28.3% 13.0% 11.4% 55.7% 35.5% 57.1% 32.2% 10.7% 45.1% 39.8% 8.7% 6.3% 35.4% 40.8% 15.2% 8.7% 47.2% 34.5% 14.2% 70.1% 17.4% 7.5% 60.0% 24.8% 12.2% 50.0% 40.3% 7.7% 69.2% 20.0% 8.7% 58.6% 28.4% 8.7% 48.1% 34.2% 12.5% 38.2% 40.1% 16.3% Robert Abela Adrian Delia None Don't know Bernard Grech ALL PL PN AD Did not vote 51.7% 32.1% 11.6% 90.2% 8.9% 75.5% 8.9% 6.6% 54.7% 45.3% 24.9% 13.8% 51.8% 9.5% Robert Abela Bernard Grech None Don't Know MaltaToday Trust Barometer 6 September 2020 Between Robert Abela and Adrian Delia, whom do you trust most? Robert Abela Adrian Delia Neither Don't know 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 56.0% 12.0% 29.7% 6 Sep 2020 pp change July 2020 Between Robert Abela and Bernard Grech, whom do you trust most? Robert Abela Bernard Grech Neither Don't know 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 51.7% 32.1% 11.6% 4.6% 6 Sep 2020 Full trust demographics comparing Robert Abela to both Delia and Comodini Cachia Adrian Delia ALL PL PN AD Did not vote M F 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Gozo Northern N Harbour S Eastern S Harbour Western 51.7% 32.1% 11.6% 90.2% 8.9% 75.5% 8.9% 6.6% 54.7% 45.3% 24.9% 13.8% 51.8% 9.5% 51.9% 28.6% 13.5% 5.9% 51.5% 36.3% 9.3% 48.4% 31.9% 17.3% 47.4% 28.3% 13.0% 11.4% 55.7% 35.5% 57.1% 32.2% 10.7% 45.1% 39.8% 8.7% 6.3% 35.4% 40.8% 15.2% 8.7% 47.2% 34.5% 14.2% 70.1% 17.4% 7.5% 60.0% 24.8% 12.2% 50.0% 40.3% 7.7% Robert Abela Adrian Delia None Don't know Abela vs Delia Robert Abela runs roughshod over Adrian Delia, beating him across all age groups and in all regions with comfortable mar- gins. Abela obtains absolute major- ities across all age groups, post- ing his best performance among those aged between 51 and 65 (59.1%). His 'worst' performance is among young voters (18-35) where the Prime Minister still manages to score a trust rating of 52.7%. Delia scores dismally among the young (6.9%) and those aged between 36 and 50 (7.9%). His best result is among those aged 65 and over where he secures a trust rating of 25%. On a regional basis, Abela runs riot in Gozo, obtaining a trust rating of 63.1% against Delia's 4.4%. Abela also manages to secure the Northern region with a trust rating of 44.3% against Delia's 19.7%. MaltaToday Trust Barometer 6 September 2020 Between Robert Abela and Adrian Delia, whom do you trust most? Robert Abela Adrian Delia Neither Don't know 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 56.0% 12.0% 29.7% 6 Sep 2020 pp change July 2020 Between Robert Abela and Bernard Grech, whom do you trust most? Robert Abela Bernard Grech Neither Don't know 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 51.7% 32.1% 11.6% 4.6% 6 Sep 2020 Full trust demographics comparing Robert Abela to both Delia and Comodini Cachia Adrian Delia ALL PL PN AD Did not vote M F 18-35 51.7% 32.1% 11.6% 90.2% 8.9% 75.5% 8.9% 6.6% 54.7% 45.3% 24.9% 13.8% 51.8% 9.5% 51.9% 28.6% 13.5% 5.9% 51.5% 36.3% 9.3% 48.4% 31.9% 17.3% Robert Abela Adrian Delia None Don't know