Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1541360
THE ALL-NEW B10 STARTING FROM €20,900* (*2025 GOVERNMENT GRANTS AND SCRAPPAGE SCHEME INCLUDED. TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY). mt SURVEY SUNDAY • 16 NOVEMBER 2025 | maltatoday Trust Barometer: Robert Abela leads Alex Borg by 10 points ROBERT Abela is trusted with run- ning the country by 45.2% of voters while Alex Borg scores 35.3% in a di- rect confrontation, MaltaToday's post budget survey shows. Compared to October, Borg has gained a point while Abela has lost two points, with the trust gap being reduced from 13 points to 10. This suggests that the budget skir- mish between the two leaders has not substantially changed things—Abela emerges slightly dented but still com- mands a healthy lead. The survey also suggests that despite being under increased pressure and scrutiny, the new PN leader is holding on to the momentum gained during his honeymoon phase. Moreover, unlike his predecessor, Borg is trusted by the vast majority of PN voters—87% of which trust him over Abela. Within this group, the percentage of those who trust neither leader has dropped from 38.1% in June when Bernard Grech was leader to 12.8% in October to just 10.2% now. In June, Grech was trusted by just 58.3% of current PN voters. Non-voters prefer Abela to Borg Despite Borg's improved rat- ings over his predecessor's, the survey still shows that Abela remains substan- tially more trusted than the Opposi- tion leader among current non-voters. Among this strategic category, while 32.3% trust Abela, only 4.6% trust Borg. This suggests that Labour has potential to grow among those re- spondents who prefer Abela to Borg but are still intent on not voting. The survey also shows both leaders making inroads among voters of the opposing camp. While 9% of PL voters in 2022 now trust Borg more than Ab- ela, 9% of PN voters in 2022 now trust Abela more than Borg. Borg takes the lead in Gozo and the north Borg is now more trusted to lead the country in three regions. In his home district, Gozo, Borg leads Abela by 15 points. The PN leader enjoys a more tenuous lead in the Northern region (2.5 points) and the North Harbour (4.1 pp). These figures are only indicative due to the considerably larger margin of error when survey data is broken down in sub sets. But Borg still trails Abela by a con- siderable margin in the traditionally Labour-leaning South Harbour (31.7 points) and South Eastern (48.8 points) regions. Abela has seen his trust rating sky- rocket in the south east of Malta to 64.2%, up from 55.5% last month. In contrast only 15.4% trust Borg in this district. Abela more trusted by all age groups Despite the PN leading the PL among the 16- to 35-year-old cohort, Robert Abela still enjoys a substantial trust lead of 11.8 points over Alex Borg in this category. This suggests that a substantial portion of younger voters presently intent on not voting still lean towards Labour. Both Borg and Abela register their highest trust rating among over 65-year-olds. But in this category, while 47.1% trust the prime minister, 42.2% prefer Borg. Abela also leads Borg by nearly 13 points among those aged between 36 and 50 and by nearly 10 points among those aged between 51 and 65. Borg leads among women One of the most striking results in the survey is that Borg is leading Ab- ela by over six points among women, while trailing Abela by a staggering 27 points among men. This is not the first MaltaToday sur- vey to have shown PN leaders faring better among women but the gender divide has never been so stark. Still, due to the substantial margin of error when analysing sub groups, one has to treat this result with caution and see whether the trend will persist in future surveys. But Abela is still more trusted than Borg in all educational groups with the gap ranging from 20 points among the primary educated to 4.6 points among those with a post-secondary education. The tertiary educated are the most likely to trust neither leader (38.8%). 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0 PL 2022 PN 2022 No vote 2022 7.8% 0.2% 1.3% 0% 11.8% 5.4% 0.3% 2.5% 0% 5% 7.7% 17.8% 0.9% 7.1% 0% PL PN Momentum ADPD Other Will not vote Current voters 110% 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0 Current PL voters Current PN voters Current non voters 95.5% 3.1% 1.4% 3% 86.9% 10.2% 32.3% 4.6% 63.1% Robert Abela Alex Borg None Trust Barometer Profile of non-voters Age Gender Regions Education Past vote 35% Robert Abela Alex Borg None 0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 45.2% 35.3% 19.5% All Voters JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt