Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543797
ing his exclusion from the post by the prime minister. The second week of the survey coincided with escalating global tensions over the war in Iran. Once again, the survey suggests that the PL's advantage, although consist- ent, is still considerably lower than the 39,000 'super majority' it enjoyed in the 2022 general election. The reduced gap is mostly explained by the greater percentage of PL vot- ers in the 2022 general election, who now intend not voting. Compared to January, the percentage of non-vot- ers among former PL voters has re- mained stable at just over 13%. This suggests that Labour still struggles in its bid to recover disgruntled former voters and thus re-assemble its super majority. The downside for the PN is that instead of registering their pro- test by choosing the Opposition par- ty, these voters remain parked in no man's land. In contrast, only 5.6% of PN voters in 2022 intend not voting. Overall, the PN retains more of its 2022 votes than the PL does. While 86.3% of PN voters in 2022 will do the same in a forth- coming election, only 78.2% of PL voters will repeat the same choice. Small shift from PL to PN As has been the case in previous sur- veys Labour's problems are also com- pounded by a small shift from the PL to the PN. The survey shows that while 6% of Labour voters in 2022 will now vote for the PN, the PN is losing a smaller percentage (3.7%) of its voters to the PL. However, these gains by the PN are partly offset by greater losses to third parties. While the PL only loses 2.5% of its 2022 support to third par- ties the PN loses 4.5% of its voters to smaller parties. But the PN also benefits from a significant shift from non-voters in 2022, amongst which 20.1 % will vote PN and only 8.8% will vote PL. This is hardly surprising considering that the PN vote between the general elec- tions in 2017 and 2022 had shrunk by 12,463 compared to a smaller 8,269-vote loss for Labour. This re- sult, consistent with previous sur- veys, suggests the PN is consolidating support among the category of voters which abandoned it in the last general election. Still, when taking into account the different shifts from one party or cat- egory to another, it is the increase in abstention among PL voters, which best explains the decrease in support for Robert Abela's party. South and north to PL, central Malta and Gozo to PN The survey shows solid leads for the PL in the South Harbour (28.1 points) and South Eastern regions (18.4 points). Both regions include electoral dis- tricts with solid PL majorities. But the PL also leads by 5.8 points in both the traditionally PN-leaning Northern region. These results are consistent with previous surveys. But the PN has retained a narrow lead in the North Harbour region (4.3 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 < CONTINUES FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Hindered by abstention, Labour can grow Age Gender Region Education 2022 Voters 100.0% 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 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% Trust Barometer Robert Abela Alex Borg None 0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 44.1% 37.7% 18.2% All Voters PL 48.2% ADPD 3.7% Momentum 2.1% PN 45.6% Others 0.4% Age Gender Region Education 2022 Voters 110.0% 100.0% 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0 PL 2022 PN 2022 No vote 2022 78.2% 6% 0.9% 1.5% 0.1% 13.3% 3.7% 86.3% 1.4% 2.7% 0.4% 5.6% 8.8% 20.1% 1.6% 2.4% 0.4% 66.8% PL PN Momentum ADPD Other Will not vote Voting Intentions Trust Barometer All Voters Robert Abela Alex Borg None 0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 44.1% 37.7% 18.2% January 2026 Voting intention based on age How 2022 election voters will vote now