Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1529458
YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2024 • ISSUE 1306 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY NEW HOME, NEW BEGINNINGS Save When You Buy and Sell through Us franksalt.com.mt/stb FURNISHING VOUCHERS WORTH €20,000 50% OFF HOME INSURANCE FREE ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE €500 TOWARDS NOTARY FEES T&C Apply Exploitation Movi Moviment Graffitti ment Graffitti activist Angele activist Angele Deguara Deguara on workers' on workers' rights and TCNs rights and TCNs INTERVIEW INTERVIEWMT2 MT2 EDITORIAL MT2 maltatoday Highest number of foreign warships visited Malta during Joseph Muscat's term in office PAGE 3 New national strategy proposes Ethics be offered to all 13-year-olds PAGES 15 Military ships Ethics LABOUR'S QUAGMIRE AND BREACHING THE 'NO BEEF' BARRIER €1.95 JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Parties running neck and neck as budget bounce not enough for PL THE Labour Party has experienced a bounce in the polls after the budget but this is not enough to leapfrog the Nation- alist Party, a MaltaToday survey shows. Indeed, the two major parties are prac- tically neck and neck with the PN enjoy- ing a minimal one-point advantage. The difference between the two parties is well within the survey's margin of er- ror. A comparison with a MaltaToday survey held in September shows that the PN's 12,000-vote advantage has whittled down to just 2,600 votes. The PN enjoys the support of 46.3% of the electorate against Labour's 45.3%, a one-point lead over the PL on a pro- jected turnout of 70.6%. The turnout is down from 75.7% in September. The survey also shows that a significant 8% of voters are opting for third parties, split equally between ADPD and other political formations. The survey was conducted after the budget and coincided with the budget reaction speeches of Bernard Grech and Robert Abela, and the controversy sur- rounding the Clayton Bartolo affair. The MaltaToday survey also confirms the unpopularity of PN leader Bernard Grech, who now trails Robert Abela by 18 points on the trust barometer, up from 16 points in September. Crucially, the survey also shows that the PN is only trusted with running the country's finances by 15.5% of voters in contrast to 28.2% who trust Labour. On this aspect, the PL is probably buoyed by its own finance minister, Clyde Caruana, who is given a positive rating of 3.1 out of five by voters. Caru- ana is also given a pass by current PN voters. The survey shows the budget was well-received, obtaining a rating of 3 out of a maximum of five points. But it also shows that despite the extensive tax cuts benefitting lower- and middle-income earners only 24.2% say they have been left with more money in their pockets. While only 15.3% feel worse off after the budget, a significant 36.1% feel they are left in the same position as before. FULL RESULTS CENTRE PULLOUT VOTING INTENTIONS ADPD 4.1%, Others 4.2% | Turnout: 70.6% TRUST Robert Abela 43.2%, Bernard Grech 25%, None 31.8% Government Performance: 2.7 out of 5 Budget rating: 3 out of 5 Finance Minister rating: 3.1 out of 5 Most trusted party on finances: PL 28.2%, PN 15.5% PL 45.3% 46.3% PN