Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1547077
ROBERT Abela continues to hold a substantial advantage over Alex Borg on personal trust even as their re- spective parties are virtually level in voting intentions. The MaltaToday October sur- vey shows that when asked whom they trust most to lead the country, 44.4% of voters choose Abela, com- pared with 35.1% who opt for Borg. The result gives the Labour leader a 9.3-point advantage. Meanwhile, 20.6% of the electorate say they trust neither. The result stands in marked con- trast to voting intentions, where the PL and the PN are virtually tied. The contrast raises an important ques- tion: If Labour's electoral support has weakened to the point of parity with the PN, why has Abela's trust rating remained substantially higher than Borg's? The survey data provides several possible explanations without estab- lishing a single cause. The strongest evidence of the sepa- ration between party preference and personal trust comes from current voting intention. Among respondents, who currently would vote Labour, 92.1% trust Abe- la most, while only 2.8% trust Borg. Among current Nationalist voters, 81% trust Borg, compared with 6.9% who trust his rival. But the difference becomes particu- larly interesting among those who currently say they would not vote. In this group, 31.3% trust Abela compared with just 16.3% who trust Borg. This translates in a 15-point lead in this electorally-strategic co- hort of voters. However, in this group more than half, 52.4%, trust neither. This suggests that the pool of current non-voters includes a greater share of voters who remain positively dis- posed towards the Labour leader. This gives the PL greater space for a future comeback. Abela trusted by former Labour voters The former-voter data provides an- other indication that party allegiance and personal trust have separated. Among people who voted Labour at the last election, 84.5% trust Abela most, even though only 76.2% of that group currently says it would vote Labour. The difference is notable. A section of former Labour voters no longer intends to vote for the party but still identifies Abela as the leader it trusts most. This group includes the 16.9% of former Labour voters, who now say they would not vote and a small- er group, who have moved to the PN or other parties. The former PN electorate shows a broadly parallel, but less pro- nounced, relationship. Borg is trust- ed by 75.8% of those who voted PN in the election and 81.9% of those who intend to vote PN now. The figures therefore suggest that electoral disengagement does not automatically amount to a complete loss of personal confidence in a par- ty leader, a factor more pronounced among Labour voters. Abela leads across most demographic groups Abela's advantage is visible across the age groups. Among 16–35-year- olds, he leads Borg by 9.1 points. Among 36–50-year-olds, the gap is wider, at 11.8 points. Among 51–65-year-olds, Abela leads by 5.4 points, while among pensioners, Ab- ela leads by 10.5 points. Unlike the voting intention ques- tion, where the PN enjoys a small lead among all age groups except those aged over 65, Abela remains ahead of Borg in every age category. The gender figures also show a con- sistent lead for the prime minister. He is trusted by 42.4% of women, compared with 36.9% for Borg, and by 46.4% of men, compared with 33.2% for Borg. Abela edges ahead of Borg in Gozo The survey suggests Abela is lead- ing in all regions with the exception of the North, where the PN leader leads by a significant 22 points. In the North Harbour, however, the two leaders are virtually level—Abe- SUNDAY • 11 OCTOBER 2026 | maltatoday Trust barometer: Robert Abela JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt 20.0% 10.0% 0 PL 2026 PN 2026 No vote 2026 5.8% 1.1% 16.9% 4% 1.5% 12.6% 7.4% 13.4% 2.6% PL PN Others Will not vote Age Gender Region 2026 Voters Current Voters 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0 PL voters PN voters Did not vote 84.5% 5.1% 10.4% 7.6% 75.8% 16.5% 23.6% 20.6% 55.8% Trust Barometer Robert Abela Alex Borg None 0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 44.4% 35.1% 20.6% All Voters Alex Borg greeting supporters during Mosta mass meeting (Photo: PN)