Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/260953
YOUR FIRST READ AND FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT Newspaper post maltatoday SUNDAY • 16 FEBRUARY 2014 • ISSUE 745 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY €1.20 Download the MaltaToday App now FRANCIS ZAMMIT DIMECH INTERVIEWED PGS 12-13 Ratings boost for Cabinet ministers Nine ministers lose points among Labour Voters but 11 ministers gain ground among PN voters JAMES DEBONO A survey carried out among 400 respondents over the past week has reconfirmed family and social solidarity minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca as the minister with the highest rate of approval, fol- lowed by energy minister Konrad Mizzi and education minister Evarist Bartolo. Compared to October 2013, all ministers in Joseph Muscat's cabinet have seen an increase in approval, mostly thanks to an in- crease in positive ratings from re- spondents who voted PN in the last general election. This suggests that PN voters have warmed up to some of the ministers, while Labour voters – especially switchers – are showing their first signs of restlessness. Among the most contrasting re- sults were those of health minis- ter Godfrey Farrugia and tourism minister Karmenu Vella. The embattled Farrugia, whose snap idea to extend a Mater Dei Hospital reception area outdoors was overruled by Muscat, saw his rating drop by 11 points among PL voters, but this was compensated by an increase of 10 points among PN voters. Farrugia also registered a four-point drop among switchers, but improved his position among respondents who did not reveal their vote. Karmenu Vella, who defended Malta Tourism Authority CEO Josef Formosa Gauci from accusa- tions of alleged misappropriation of an allowance by the Labour lean- ing l-Orizzont, lost seven points among Labour voters but gained eight among Nationalist voters. Even the most popular minister, Coleiro Preca, loses four points among PL voters but gains a stag- gering 13 points from PN voters. Her performance is now judged positively by a staggering 84% of PL voters and 41% of PN voters. Overall two-thirds judge her per- formance positively. And while nine out of 14 minis- ters saw a decrease in ratings from PL voters, 11 saw an increase in ratings among Nationalist voters. Eight experienced a decrease in ratings among respondents who voted PN in 2008 and Labour in 2013. Only five ministers – high-fliers Evarist Bartolo, Joe Mizzi and low- ranking Chris Cardona, Leo Brin- cat and Anton Refalo – have seen an increase in ratings among both PN and PL voters. JURGEN BALZAN THE man whom police believed manufactured most of the explosive devices used in a spate of bomb attacks over the last 30 years was killed this week. Pietru Cassar, better known as 'il-Haqqa', was murdered in Zejtun on Wednesday, after being shot four times while in his garage in Zejtun. Sources told MaltaToday that Cassar's murder is linked to a number of bomb attacks in recent years, such as the attack on the Transport Mal- ta offices in Pietà and could also be be linked to the attempted murders of known criminals Keith Galea and Paul Degabriele, known as 'is- Suldat'. Cassar was a well-known explosives special- ist who is also thought to have manufactured a number of bombs at the height of the political violence in the 70s and 80s, on the service of thugs and violent elements from both political parties. The murder of a bomb expert PGS 14-15 Pietru l-Haqqa, death of the 1980s' bomb-maker Rent laws falling apart in the courts MIRIAM DALLI MALTA'S archaic rent laws are being chal- lenged successfully in the highest courts, forc- ing taxpayers to fork out compensation of rents owed to landlords, and now with tenants risk- ing eviction from their homes. As five families plan to appeal a civil court judge- ment ordering their eviction, parliamentary sec- retary for justice Owen Bonnici says the govern- ment will await an appeals' court judgement before pronouncing its official position on the 1979 rent laws that convert temporary leases into permanent rental contracts. Bonnici reveals that the Attorney General is cur- rently analysing "the problems" with the rent law. "The government is committed to finding a solu- tion," he says. Meanwhile, the families' lawyers are preparing a case to appeal the judgement. Two families who spoke to MaltaToday expressed their anguish at the civil court's decision. Ratings boost for Cabinet ministers PGS 14-15 mt survey PAGES 16-17 FULL STORY PAGE 4