Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1407953
8 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 08 SEPTEMBER 2021 Survey snapshot: Grey PN. Middle-aged Labour loses ground among young voters, pensioners, tertiary-educated but grows with 51-65s, while PN gains with pensioners but does not benefit from Labour's losses to young and educated JAMES DEBONO THERE have been very little change in the overall results of the most recent Mal- t a T o d a y survey com- pared to the previ- ous survey in July. B o t h p a r t i e s have lost a percent- age point while La- bour lead- er Robert Abela has retained the same trust rating he had in July. But the sur- vey shows significant chang- es in support for parties and leaders within different age and educational groups. Although these chang- es have to be treated with extra caution due to the increased mar- gin of error when the sample is bro- ken down in small- er age and educa- tional brackets, the overall picture from the survey is that La- b o u r ' s s t r o n g s h o w - i n g w i t h those aged 51-65 has compensated for considerable losses among pen- sioners – where the PN has made substantial inroads; while the PN fails to capitalise on Labour's losses among younger and more educated voters. PN fails to capitalise on Labour's losses among young and ter- tiary-educated Among university-educated vot- ers, the survey shows the PN leading Labour by 14 points and Grech lead- ing Abela by five. Yet when the September is com- pared to July, Labour loses six points among this segment, the PN loses a point, and while Abela drops by nine points, Bernard Grech retains roughly the same level of trust as in July. This shows that among univer- sity-educated voters, Labour's loss- es have simply resulted in a 6-point increase of non-committed voters who are either undecided or won't vote. Significantly 30% of university-ed- ucated voters are still undecided or intend not voting, showing Malta's greylisting by FATF, the Caruana Galizia public inquiry, corruption probes and environmental issues have had their toll on Labour's sup- port in this category, yet a signifi- cant chunk of these voters remains wary of the PN. To close the overall gap the PN desperately needs to maximise its support in this category. Even among post-secondary vot- ers, where both Abela and Labour still enjoy a notable advantage over Grech and the PN, non-committed voters increased by six points over July. A similar pattern is observed among younger voters (16-35) even if Labour still retains a 2-point lead and Abela a more substantial 14-point lead. But similarly a 9-point drop in trust in Abela was matched by a 4-point drop in Grech's rating. And a 5-point drop in support for Labour is matched by a 3-point drop in support for the PN. It's another indication that a chunk of younger voters who are disillu- sioned by Labour are wary of the PN. And here the percentage of non-committal voters has increased by 7 points when compared to July. ADPD also registers its highest support (4%) among tertiary-edu- cated voters and younger voters in another indication that disillusion with Labour among these voters does not necessarily translate in a vote for the PN. PN is making inroads among pen- sioners The good news for the PN is that an eight-point drop in non-commit- ted voters among over-65s saw it gaining 13 points and Labour losing four, where now the PN is leading this age group for the first time in the past months. But despite a 5-point drop in his trust rating, Abela still enjoys a 2-point trust lead over Grech. It remains to be seen whether these PN gains are sustained in future surveys, especially in view of the forthcoming budget which may well include measures targeting this cat- egory. It also remains to be seen how the lifting of COVID restriction will impact on a category, which is more exposed to risk. The good news for the PN is that the 65+ bracket registered the sharp- est drop in non-committed voters, bringing gains to the Opposition. Compared to July, the percentage of non-committed voters has dropped from 14 to 6 points. The question is: will a similar drop in non-committed voters in other age groups yield the same result? The survey results also put the PN in a quandary in appealing to the sensitivities of different age groups. While its conservatism appeals to older voters, it could also be one main reason why younger voters shy away from the party.