Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1534549
US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu re- ceived poor scores in MaltaToday's latest survey. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelen- skyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen fared modestly, fall- ing just below the midpoint. The survey asked respondents to rate five global leaders – each directly or indi- rectly involved in the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East – on a scale from zero (very negative) to 10 (very pos- itive). Putin registered the lowest average score at 1.9, followed by Netanyahu (2.7) and Trump (3.2). Von der Leyen scored 4.6, while Zelenskyy followed closely at 4.4. Trump, Putin find more sympathy among PL voters The new US President receives a negative rating from both PN and PL voters. How- ever, in a clear case of ideological disso- nance, Labour voters tend to be somewhat more positive towards the right-wing US leader. While PN voters give Trump an abys- mal rating of 2.5, his score improves to 3.6 among Labour voters. The percentage of those rating Trump below 5, drops from 73% among PN voters to 54% among PL voters. Labour also harbours a larger cohort of Trump sympathisers than the PN. While 26% of PL voters give Trump a rating of 6 or more, only 15% of PN voters do the same. And while 38.2% of PN voters rate Trump at zero – the lowest score possible – 22.6% of PL voters do likewise. PL voters are also marginally more posi- tive about the authoritarian Russian pres- ident, who, apart from invading Ukraine, stands in stark contrast to Labour's trail- blazing track record on LGBTQ rights. While PN voters give Putin a rating of just 1.3, PL voters rate him at 2.3. And while both parties include a small cohort of Putin sympathisers, only 6% of PN vot- ers give him a rating of 6 or more, com- pared to 14% of PL voters. Non-voters follow a similar trend to La- bour supporters, giving Trump (3.5) and Putin (2), higher scores than PN voters. PL supporters negative about Von der Leyen, Zelenskyy Reflecting the PN's historically more Western-leaning and pro-European for- eign policy orientation, its voters are more positive towards the Ukrainian President and the European Commission President. Zelenskyy, who over the past three years has led his country's resistance against the Russian onslaught, is rated at 5.2 by PN voters. His rating drops to just 3.9 among Labour supporters. Both major parties, however, include de- tractors of the Ukrainian leader. While a third of PL voters give Zelenskyy a score between 0 and 2, only 13% of PN voters do likewise. JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt mt SURVEY maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 APRIL 2025 9 Maltese dislike Putin, Trump and Netanyahu, lukewarm on Zelenskyy and Von der Leyen PL voters marginally more positive in their assessment of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin; Nationalists more favourable towards Ursula Von der Leyen and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Netanyahu scorned by PN and PL voters alike CONTINUES NEXT PAGE > 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 PN Voters Non-voters PL Voters Vladimir Putin: 1.9 Overall 0 10 0 10 Male Female maltatoday World leaders' rating Polling and market research since 2002 SURVEY Male Female 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 PN Voters Non-voters PL Voters Donald Trump: 3.2 Overall 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 PN Voters Non-voters PL Voters Vladimir Putin: 1.9 Overall 0 10 0 10 Male Female maltatoday World leaders' rating Polling and market research since 2002 SURVEY Male Female 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 PN Voters Non-voters PL Voters Donald Trump: 3.2 Overall