Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1509248
EQUALITY FROM THE HEART WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY • 8 OCTOBER 2023 • ISSUE 1248 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Join our team of property consultants and let's grab success together! ACHIEVE ONE STRIKE AFTER ANOTHER franksalt.com.mt/befrank Roberta Metsola could net second term as European Parliament president PAGES 2 - 3 Pending overtime request stalls inspection of Iklin asphalt plant PAGE 4 Horse trading Toxic fumes Human rights Out with MaltaToday Human rights activist NEIL FALZON warns the EU risks lowering its own standards INTERVIEW MT2 PN leads by 5,000 votes as anger sinks Labour • Non-voters account for a third of the electorate • Election now would deliver historically lowest turnout • 29% of PL voters in 2022 will not vote now • 43% of PN voters trust neither leader JAMES DEBONO THE Nationalist Party is ahead of the La- bour Party by a slim margin of 4,858 votes in MaltaToday's October survey. The PN now enjoys a relative majority of 45.8% as opposed to the PL's 43.8%. Third parties collectively poll 10.5%. The survey suggests the turnout if an election is held now will drop to a historic low with just 69% of the electorate casting a valid vote. The difference between the two major parties falls within the survey's margin of error and reflects a growing sense of dissat- isfaction with the current administration. The decline in the PL's support can be attributed in a large part to a decrease in turnout among its supporters. Significant- ly, 29% of Labour voters in 2022 would abstain from voting if an election is held now. The PN retains 77% of its 2022 voters, while Labour retains only 58%. But despite these losses for Labour, Rob- ert Abela maintains a solid 19-point lead over Bernard Grech. This can be attributed to the fact that 43% of PN voters from 2022 have lost trust in both leaders. Abela enjoys the trust of 73% of PL voters. The survey was conducted over the past two weeks and partly coincided with the driving licence racket involving top gov- ernment officials. The survey employed a new methodology, the imputation meth- od, which predicts the voting intentions of undecided respondents through a series of predictor questions. maltatoday VOTING Other: 10.5% | Turnout: 69% TRUST Abela: 39.2% Grech: 20% None: 40.9% | Gap: 19pts FULL RESULTS PAGES 16 - 19 EDITORIAL MT2 PL 43.8% 45.8% PN €1.95 Be sure to get your copy of Gourmet magazine