Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1521974
6 maltatoday | THURSDAY • 6 JUNE 2024 SURVEY JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Trust Barometer: Abela trust stable as Grech PRIME Minister Robert Abe- la is leading Opposition leader Bernard Grech by 12.3 points on the MaltaToday's Trust Ba- rometer, down from 14.7 points in the last survey. Abela has retained the same trust rating of 38% while Grech has gained two points. However, a substantial 37.1% of the electorate trusts neither leader. Once again, the survey shows that an absolute majority (52.3%) of 16 to 35 year olds trusts nei- ther of the two political leaders. Distrust in both leaders also re- mains widespread in the 36 to 50 age bracket where 49% trust neither of the two main leaders. Significantly, 35.6% of PN voters in 2022 and 23.2% of PL voters trust neither of the two leaders. The survey suggests that PN voters who distrust Grech are more likely to vote for their par- ty than PL voters who distrust Abela. The results show that 27.6% of current PN voters and 12% of current PL voters trust neither Abela nor Grech. Both leaders are making very limited inroads outside their respective parties. While 4% of Labour voters in 2022 now trust Grech more than Abela, 2.8% of PN voters trust Abela more than Grech. Not surprisingly among cur- rent non-voters the vast major- ity (68.4%) trusts neither of the two leaders. But while 17.7% of current non-voters trust Abela only 13.9% trust Grech. This suggests that in the final weeks of the campaign Labour has a greater chance of recovering some sup- port in this category. Abela leads in all age groups The survey shows Abela lead- ing Grech in all age groups. Trust in both leaders is high- est among over 65 year olds where Abela leads Grech by 12.3 points. The Labour leader also leads Grech by 6.2 points among those aged between 51 and 65, by 13.4 points among those aged between 36 and 50 and by 16.1 points among 16 to 35 year olds. Abela leads in five out of six regions On a geographical basis, Abe- la emerges as the most trusted political leader in every Maltese region except the North Har- bour region where Grech leads by 4.4 points. But a relative ma- jority trust neither of the two leaders in the Northern, North Harbour, Western and Gozo regions. Distrust in both politi- cians peaks at 44% in the West- ern region. Abela gets his best rating in the South-Eastern region (48%) where he leads Grech by a whopping 32.3 points and the South Harbour region (52.8%) where he leads Grech by an even bigger margin of 38.5 points. Significantly, Abela leads Grech by 2.6 points in Gozo where the PN commands a 2.3-point lead over Labour. Affluent voters distrust both leaders The survey also shows that distrust in both leaders is high- est among affluent voters; 53.8% among those earning a month- ly income of over €3,000 and 40.9% among those earning be- tween €2,001 and €3,000. Abela enjoys his best trust rat- ing among low income earners, particularly those earning less than €1,000 where 43.7% trust Abela and only 25.6% trust Grech. But surprisingly Abela also leads Grech by 7.5 points among those earning over €3,000. The survey shows Grech en- joying his best trust rating (26.6%) among those earning between €2,001 and €3,000. Abela leads Grech in all edu- cational groups except the ter- tiary educated amongst which the Opposition leader leads the Prime Minister by 6.4 points. But even in this category the majority (50.8%) trusts neither of the two leaders. Trust Barometer: 2022 voters Trust Barometer by gender 52% of under 35 year olds trust neither Robert Abela nor Bernard Grech