Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1470053
8 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 JUNE 2022 MaltaToday Survey: Are Nationalists JAMES DEBONO THE latest MaltaToday survey shows that the PN's post-elec- toral blues have been amplified by the emergence of a new cat- egory of recent PN voters who lost their trust in PN leader Ber- nard Grech after the latest elec- toral drubbing. The disenchantment of PN voters could be temporary, re- flecting demoralisation in the party's grassroots in the face of a third consecutive electoral drubbing and revulsion at inter- nal squabbling within the party. By dedicating the next, 'quiet' months of the summer to re- build the party, Grech may well be in a better position in time for his next appointment with the European elections in 2024. But significantly, the survey suggests that lack of trust in Grech among PN voters is high- er than that among his party councillors. For while 81% of councillors voted to confirm Grech as leader, only 65% of PN voters trust Grech. One major problem could be that as the face of defeat, Grech will find it hard to project himself as the man to lead the recovery. The survey shows distrust in- creasing in political leaders, increasing in the Gozo and western regions, which also reg- istered a sharp drop in trust in Grech. In the strategic Gozo region, which used to elect a PN ma- jority up until 2013 but which Labour won in the past two elections, a 20-point drop in Grech's trust rating is reflected in a 20-point increase in voters who say they trust neither lead- er. But while the drop in trust in Grech in Gozo is reflected in an increase of voters who trust neither leader, in the western region, this is reflected in in- creased trust in Abela. Abela's popularity, Grech's dilemma Despite the rising cost of living that is eating into low incomes, Abela is still in honeymoon mode, securing an eight-point boost in trust over his pre-elec- tion level. Abela's surge in the polls could also reflect a tendency for voters tend to rally behind the party in government, in a context where the Labour gov- ernment has so far managed to shelter the population from the hike in energy prices. In fact La- bour's rejection of austerity may still be the main reason contrib- uting to its electoral strength. The question is how far can this approach be sustained in the in- creasingly unstable internation- al situation. Abela's popularity reflects the feelgood factor at a time when the country is enjoying the start of a pandemic-free summer. Electoral fatigue and the de- creased political temperature is working in Abela's favour. This raises a risk of complacency as more people withdraw to the Grech's latest problem: a 26-point drop in trust among PN voters ref lected in a 20 point increase in PN voters who trust neither leader, and a 4 point increase in PN voters who trust Abela