Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1529458
mt SURVEY SUNDAY • 17 NOVEMBER 2024 | maltatoday Trust Barometer Abela leads Grech by 18 points PRIME Minister Robert Abela is still significantly more trusted to run the country than Opposition leader Bernard Grech despite the parties running neck and neck. The MaltaToday Trust Barometer shows that Abela is trusted by 43.2% up 0.6 points since September while Grech's rating stands at 25% down by 1.6 points. This means that the trust gap has in- creased from 16 points in September to 18 points now. The results show that 31.8% trust nei- ther of the two political leaders, up from 30.7%. While the survey confirms Abela's strong advantage over Grech, it also sug- gests that Grech's poor trust rating is not deterring a sizeable number of voters who trust neither of the two leaders from voting for the Opposition in a forthcom- ing general election. In fact, 23.7% of current PN voters trust neither leader and surprisingly 5.4% trust Abela more than Grech but would still vote PN . This stands in sharp contrast to Abela's 98% rating among current Labour voters. What is definitely bad news for the Nationalists is Grech's extremely low standing among current non-voters – a strategic category where the PN needs to make inroads to secure victory in the next general election. In this sizeable category, which includes 29% of voters, only 4.4% trust Grech to run the country, while 30.9% trust Abela. This suggests that Labour has more room to grow in this vital category than the PN does. Abela leads Grech in five out of six re- gions Despite Labour trailing the PN in four out of six regions, Abela leads Grech in all regions except the Northern region. However, his lead over Grech ranges from 35.1 points in the South-eastern re- gion and 30 points in the South Harbour, to 14.5 points in the North Harbour re- gion, 10.5 points in the Western region and 8.2 points in Gozo. While the Prime Minister's trust rat- ing peaks in the South Harbour region, where he is trusted by a staggering 58% of respondents, Grech's popularity peaks in the Northern region, where he is trusted by 33.8%. The highest percentage of voters who trust neither of the two leaders is found in the South-eastern region, where 36.5% trust neither Grech nor Abela to run the country, followed by the Northern re- gion, where 36.2% trust neither leader. Men trust Abela more than women While Abela leads Grech among both men and women, the trust gap is consid- erably higher among men (24.7 points) than among women (12 points). And while only 21.1% of men trust Grech to run the country, his rating increas- es to 28.7% among women. In contrast, while 45.8% of males trust Abela, his rating drops to 40.7% among women. Men (33.1%) are also more likely to trust neither of the two leaders than women (30.6%). Abela leads in all age groups Both leaders are least trusted among 16- to 35-year-olds. However, in this age group, Abela is trusted by 35.4% of vot- ers, while Grech is only trusted by 20%. Despite Grech's poor trust rating, 29% of young voters will still vote PN. Grech's trust rating does not signifi- cantly improve with age, rising to just 21.2% among both 36- to 50-year-olds and 51-to 65-year-olds. In contrast Ab- ela's rating increases to 40.1% among 36-to 50-year-olds and to 48.8% among 51- to 65-year-olds. Both leaders are significantly more trusted by pensioners, among which Abela is trusted by 49.9% and Grech by 37.3%. Significantly, the survey also shows Abela leading Grech among both the tertiary and the post-secondary educat- ed, two categories where the PN is in the lead. Among the tertiary educated Abela leads Grech by 4.3 points while among the post-secondary educated, Abela leads Grech by 12.7 points. Abela's lead increases to 28.1 points among the sec- ondary educated. Distrust in both leaders peaks among the post-secondary educated (40.3%) and the tertiary educated (38%). Trust: All voters