Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543797
IN a head-to-head confrontation, Robert Abela is trusted with running the country by 44.1% of voters, against 37.7% who opt for Alex Borg. Abela's trust rating has increased by 2.8 points since January and likewise, the Opposition leader has registered an upward movement of 1.8 points. The result suggests that the height- ened political tension in the past weeks over the appointment of the next chief justice has slightly benefitted Abela more than Borg. Possibly, Abela who has recovered the same level of trust as last November, also benefits from in- cumbency in an increasingly unstable global scenario. But the survey also sees Alex Borg getting his best ever trust rating since being appointed PN leader last September. The survey shows Borg's trust rating increasing by 3.6 points since October. The survey also shows that both leaders are trust- ed by the vast majority of their respective party vot- ers; while 94.6% of current PL voters trust Abela, 87.4% of PN voters trust Borg. But worryingly for the PN, the sur- vey also shows that current non-vot- ers are more likely to trust Abela than Borg. While the vast majority of them (63%) trust neither of the two lead- ers, only 12.3% trust Borg while 24.8% trust Abela. This suggests that Labour has more space to grow in the next months among non-voters who prefer Abela to run the country. The survey shows both leaders mak- ing some inroads among 2022 election voters of the opposing party. While 4.5% of PL voters in 2022 now trust Borg, 4.6% of PN voters trust Abela. Interestingly, the percentage of PL voters in 2022 opting for Borg is lower than the percentage who would vote PN (6%) if an election is held now. In contrast, the percentage of PN voters in 2022 opting for Abela is higher than those intent on voting Labour (3.7%) now. Abela leads in four out of six regions As has been the trend in previous surveys Abela is leading Borg by very substantial margins in the South East- ern (24.9 points) and South Harbour (18 points) regions. Significantly, Ab- ela also leads by 10 points in the tradi- tionally PN-leaning Northern region. Moreover, despite the PN's four-point lead in the North Harbour region, Abela enjoys a marginal 0.5 trust lead over Borg in this region. Borg is trusted to lead the country in only two regions—his home dis- trict, Gozo, where he leads Abela by nine points, and for the first time, the Western region, where he leads by 12 points. These breakdowns are only indic- ative due to a considerably higher margin of error among sub groups but largely confirm trends in previous sur- veys. Abela more trusted by all age groups The survey also shows Abela leading in all age groups. Significantly, among 16- to 35-year-olds where the PN is leading by seven points, Abela leads Borg by nearly eight points. This sug- gests that Labour has more space to grow in this age group where a sub- stantial number of voters trust Abela over Borg but still intend not to vote. Abela also leads by nearly 15 points among 36- to 50-year-olds and by 12 points among 51- to 65-year-olds. Once again, the gap between the two leaders in these age groups is substan- tially higher than that between the two parties. But the two leaders are nearly equally trusted by pensioners among which Abela leads by less than a point. A breakdown by gender also shows Abela leading by nearly four points among women despite a marginal lead by the PN in the same category. But Abela's lead among men (9%) is substantially larger than that among women (4%). The survey confirms previous trends showing Abela leading Borg by a sub- stantial margin among secondary edu- cated voters (14.8%) and Borg leading by 12 points among the tertiary edu- cated. But among the post-secondary educated, where the PN leads by 5.6 points, the two leaders are neck and neck in another indication that Abe- la outperforms his own party among strategic voting categories. THE ALL-NEW B10 STARTING FROM €20,900* (*2025 GOVERNMENT GRANTS AND SCRAPPAGE SCHEME INCLUDED. TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY). mt SURVEY SUNDAY • 8 MARCH 2026 | maltatoday Trust barometer: Abela leads Borg by six points JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0 16-35 36-50 51-65 65+ PL PN Momentum ADPD Other Will not vote Age 110% 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0 16-35 36-50 51-65 65+ 41.6% 34% 24.4% 46.2% 31.3% 22.5% 41.2% 38.9% 20% 46.9% 46.1% 7.1% Robert Abela Alex Borg None Trust Barometer Profile of non-voters Age Gender Region Education 2022 Voters 28% Robert Abela Alex Borg None 0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 44.1% 37.7% 18.2% All Voters