Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1315450
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 DECEMBER 2020 MALTATODAY SURVEY KURT SANSONE BERNARD Grech has record- ed his lowest trust rating since September as he and Robert Ab- ela lose the November budget bounce, the latest MaltaToday survey shows. Grech registered a trust rat- ing of 30.1% in the December MaltaToday survey, a decrease of 1.4 points for the Nationalist Party leader over last month's performance. Likewise, the Prime Minister lost 1.6 points to achieve a trust rating of 46.8%. The result leaves the gap be- tween the leaders almost intact at 16.7 points. In November, the gap stood at 16.9 points. Last month, both leaders reg- istered increases, a possible re- flection of their performances after the budget. Since September, the month- on-month fluctuations in trust for both leaders have mirrored each other – both have seen their trust dip together and in- crease together in the same month. This suggests that vot- ers are settling down and trust levels could be plateauing. The good news for Grech is that he has managed to retain trust levels above the 30% mark, something his predecessor nev- er managed to achieve but the bad news is that he appears to have lost the upward momen- tum. The ratings continue to give Abela a comfortable advantage but his fluctuations are bigger than his rival's, suggesting that support could be fickler for the Prime Minister. Abela takes Gozo The December MaltaToday survey shows Abela winning the trust battle among men, women, across all age groups and all re- gions. The Prime Minister was sig- nificantly more popular than Grech among young voters and those aged 65 and over. Abela registered a trust rating of 39.2% among those aged be- tween 18 and 35 against Grech's 18.2%. This was the Opposition leader's worst performance for all age groups. Among the 65+ category, the Prime Minister scored 58.9%, his highest rating, against Grech's 30.4%. The margins are tighter in the other age groups. The December survey shows the Prime Minister regaining the upper hand in Gozo after Grech won the trust battle there last month. Abela recorded a trust rating of 59.5% in Gozo against Grech's 26.6%. The survey was car- ried out a week after the Prime Minister reshuffled his Cabinet and re-appointed Gozitan MP Justyne Caruana a minister. Labour's three Gozitan MPs now occupy ministerial posi- tions, something that may have played a part in Abela's reversal of fortunes in Gozo. The tightest race was in the Northern region, where Abe- la led Grech by just over two points, followed by the North- ern Harbour region, where the gap stood at just over four points in favour of the Labour leader. Grech suffered significantly in the South-Eastern and South- ern Harbour regions despite the news that he will be contesting the general election on the 5th District. Grech hits low point, Abela wins back Gozo Robert Abela Bernard Grech Neither Don't know 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 46.8% 30.1% 17.6% 5.5% 6 Dec 2020 PP change 8 Nov 2020 Between Robert Abela and Bernard Grech, who do you trust the most? Full demographics comparing trust between Abela and Grech ALL PL now PN now No vote PL 2017 PN 2017 Didn't vote 2017 Male Female 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Primary Secondary Post-sec Tertiary Gozo Northern N Harbour S Eastern S Harbour Western 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 46.8% 30.1% 17.6% 98.4% 86.4% 7.9% 9.5% 7.5% 75.4% 7.6% 85.1% 7.8% 68.5% 21.3% 6.8% 26.2% 16.6% 46.7% 10.5% 48.6% 28.2% 18.9% 45.2% 32.0% 16.3% 6.5% 39.2% 18.2% 33.0% 9.6% 40.7% 33.8% 18.4% 7.2% 49.1% 39.0% 9.4% 58.9% 30.4% 8.4% 69.7% 29.0% 49.5% 28.6% 16.0% 44.7% 28.8% 21.4% 33.1% 34.1% 25.1% 7.8% 59.5% 26.6% 9.7% 35.4% 33.1% 19.8% 11.7% 38.2% 34.0% 22.4% 58.1% 20.3% 18.4% 53.0% 23.9% 17.1% 6.1% 47.7% 40.2% 10.9% Robert Abela Bernard Grech None Don't know