Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1500237
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 MAY 2023 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 This is the first time that Mal- taToday has asked respondents to rate the government's per- formance. The aim of the new govern- ment performance barome- ter – which will be retained in future political surveys – is to assess the government's pop- ularity, independently of that of the Opposition or its leader, as is the case with the trust ba- rometer and the voting inten- tions survey. The latest trust barometer gave Robert Abela a trust lead of 12 points over Opposition leader Bernard Grech while the electoral barometer shows the PL leading the PN by 4.4 points. The government performance barometer shows the govern- ment getting its highest rating among current PL voters (4.2), and its lowest rating among cur- rent PN voters (1.4). But significantly the govern- ment also gets a low rating of 2.2 among respondents who are in- tent on not voting in a forthcom- ing election. In this category 60% give Abela's government a score of 1 or 2. This suggests that recovering support among this category will be difficult for Labour, unless its performance in government im- proves substantially. In fact, even among Labour voters in 2022, a substantial 15% give the government a low rat- ing of one or two. This figure is nearly equivalent to that of La- bour voters in 2022 who are now intent on not voting (16%). In contrast, only 14% of PN voters in 2022 give the govern- ment a rating of 3 points or over. Younger voters give lowest rating In terms of age, it is younger voters who give Abela's govern- ment its lowest rating. Among 16 to 35-years-olds, a catego- ry where Abela is more trusted than Grech but where a majority trust neither leader, the govern- ment just scrapes the 2.5 pass- mark. In this age group, only 16.6% give the government a high rat- ing of 4 and 5 while 52% give the government a low rating of 1 or 2. But this age group also reports the highest percentage who give the government a modest rating of 3 points (31.5%). In contrast, the government is awarded its highest rating by 51- to 65-year-olds (2.9) among which 37.2% give the govern- ment a high rating of 4 and 5. On a regional level, the govern- ment gets its lowest rating (2.4) in the north harbour region, which is the only one where the PN enjoys a majority over Labour. On the other hand, the government is best rated in the western region (3.1) and the southern harbour region (2.8). In Gozo, the only region which alone corresponds to an elector- al district, Abela's government is rated at 2.6, which is slightly lower than the national average. Gozo also includes the highest percentage which give the low- est score (35.6%). Among different educational brackets, it is secondary-edu- cated respondents who give the government the highest rating (3), while the lowest rating is among the tertiary educated (2.5). Methodology: The survey was carried out between Wednesday 10 May 2023 and Friday 19 May 2023. 634 respond- ents opted to complete the survey. Stratified random sampling based on region, age and gender was used to replicate the Maltese demographic. The estimat- ed margin of error is 4.2% for a confidence interval of 95% for the overall results. Demographic and sub- group breakdowns have significantly larger margins of error. Non-voters give government a lower rating Law graduates in 'limbo' over warrant test MATTHEW FARRUGIA LAW graduates have expressed their frustration over the fact that they cannot yet practice law despite having passed all requirements after five years of studying. The problem boils down to a 'fit and proper' test, which is required at law but over which there is no agreement between Justice Minister Jonathan At- tard and the Commission for the Administration of Justice. Attard is refusing to approve the test because it is invasive. The issue first arose last year when the Committee for Ad- vocates and Legal Procurators, which falls under the CAJ, put forward the test for the minis- ter's endorsement. The minister refused to en- dorse the test, which included questions about students' men- tal and physical health, their disabilities, previous drug or gambling addictions and even where they went to secondary school. The ministry had said the in- formation requested was exces- sive and did not respect the dig- nity and privacy of prospective lawyers. The test has raised eyebrows among mental health advocates and campaigners for the rights of people with a disability. In a recent letter to President George Vella, who chairs the CAJ, Attard said that unless the impasse is resolved government will consider amending the law. Meanwhile, 105 graduates are still waiting to be sworn in as lawyers. Lats week, 11 of them also filed court proceedings against the minister, the Uni- versity of Malta and the CAJ. MaltaToday reached out to some of these graduates, who while wishing to remain anony- mous, expressed their concern. "We are in a state of limbo, and despite having graduated and achieved all that is required to become lawyers, we are still stuck shadowing warranted lawyers," one graduate said. He said the test had been flagged as a possibility for the last two years, even though it was nowhere near completion at the time, and so previous graduates were given their war- rants without taking the test. "The delay makes us useless in court." When asked about the nature of the questions of the fit and proper test, one graduate said it made more sense for such a test to be done before their law degree, instead of after graduat- ing. On one of the questions ask- ing prospective lawyers wheth- er they had any disability, the graduate said it made no sense. "Wheelchair users, to cite just one example, should be able to study and practice law," he said. Another student described the entire situation as "ridiculous", saying there was ample time for an agreement to be reached. In- stead, she stated that the oral warrant exam had been post- poned, and that the graduation ceremonies had also been post- poned. Now, she says, "we have no idea when we will receive our warrants, when we will be sworn in, or whether or not we're going to sit for the fit and proper test." Because of this, she added, graduates working in law firms cannot be promoted and get paid as proper lawyers, and many people are missing opportunities because of the situation. "Our fundamental and Consti- tutional rights of employment are being breached", she em- phasized. The graduate also pointed out that the questions in the fit and proper test are not only inva- sive but have nothing to do with one's ability to practice law. The fate of all 105 law gradu- ates is in the hands of the min- ister and the Commission for the Administration of Justice. Breaking the impasse would either involve the Commission making the necessary amend- ments to the test, or the gov- ernment changing the law to bypass the test. No time to celebrate yet: Graduate lawyers do not know when they can get their warrant to practice law