Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1369939
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 MAY 2021 MALTATODAY SURVEY Robert Abela Bernard Grech Neither Don't know -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 49.6% 25.7% -10.1pp 18.1% 7.8pp 6.6% 9 May 2021 PP change 11 Apr 2021 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 16-35 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 49.6% 25.7% 18.1% 6.6% 93.8% 81.0% 13.4% 34.2% 57.1% 87.7% 7.4% 8.3% 57.8% 24.2% 9.8% 21.4% 20.6% 46.5% 11.5% 48.6% 24.3% 21.0% 6.1% 50.7% 27.5% 14.5% 7.2% 48.9% 13.5% 24.3% 13.3% 45.9% 24.5% 26.9% 51.7% 28.0% 18.3% 52.0% 36.5% 7.9% 60.2% 27.1% 8.8% 57.4% 24.0% 13.9% 46.3% 25.7% 23.3% 35.7% 27.5% 27.9% 9.0% 43.0% 39.2% 13.3% 47.0% 24.4% 17.4% 11.2% 41.9% 32.3% 17.7% 8.1% 56.4% 18.1% 23.2% 61.3% 19.4% 12.9% 6.5% 48.1% 23.4% 23.3% Robert Abela Bernard Grech None Don't know Which political party would you vote for if an election were to be held tomorrow? KURT SANSONE BERNARD Grech's trust rating has taken a hammering with a 10-point drop in just one month, MaltaTo- day's May survey shows. The Nationalist Party leader achieves a trust rating of 25.7%, his worst result since becoming leader last September. This is the first time Grech's trust level has gone below the 30% mark. On the flip side, Prime Minister Robert Abela's trust rating contin- ues to climb and is now at 49.6%, its highest since September. Abela's trust score increases by more than two points since last month and he remains more popular than his par- ty. Grech's decline is steeper than the loss experienced by the PN and he is now less popular than his party. The trust gap between the leaders now stands at almost 24 points, the highest it has ever been between Ab- ela and Grech. The survey was conducted between Monday 3 May and Friday 7 May. Riding wave of optimism The Labour leader appears to be riding on a wave of renewed op- timism brought about by the suc- cessful roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine and government's cautious approach to lifting of restrictions that gives hope of a return to relative normality. This appears to have taken the car- pet from beneath Grech's feet, who had projected people's concerns well when the pandemic numbers soared at the start of the year. The PN leader fails to capitalise on his party's attempt to portray itself like an alternative government when it launched its electoral manifes- to guidelines last Monday. Instead, Grech has had to contend with the umpteenth turbulence within his party, although the impact of the Ja- son Azzopardi-Adrian Delia social media spat may not have been fully captured by this survey. The numbers suggest that the elec- torate still considers the Labour Par- ty and Abela by far the more suitable choice to govern the country. The PN and Grech not only fail to make any inroads among voters that de- serted the party over the years but are losing voters who supported the party in 2017. Grech fails to woo the young Abela beats Grech among men and women, across all age groups and across all regions. The Prime Minister continues to enjoy a high trust rating among those aged between 16 and 35 (48.9%), which contrasts with the Opposition leader's dismal showing of 13.5%. Abela's strongest trust rating is among pensioners where he obtains a score of 52%. This age group also represents Grech's best performance with 36.5%. On a geographical basis, Abe- la's highest trust ratings are in the Southern Harbour and the South- East, where he obtains scores of 61.3% and 56.4% respectively. Grech fails to leave his mark in these tra- ditional Labour-leaning regions, scoring 18.1% in the South-East and 19.4% in the Southern Harbour. In Gozo, the Prime Minister leads with 43% but Grech has managed to narrow the gap since last month, scoring 39.2%. However, Abela has managed to gain the upper hand in the North- ern region, obtaining 47% against Grech's 24.4%. Last month, Grech beat Abela with a comfortable mar- gin in this region. Regional results have to be in- terpreted with caution given that a smaller sample size gives higher margins of error. Grech suffers 10-point blow to trust as Abela continues to ride the wave