Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/278185
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 MARCH 2014 18 so far seems keen on projecting a hawkish and assertive opposition in a bid to raise the morale of the party's grassroots. The latest decision to vote in fa- vour of Coleiro Preca as President of the Republic could represent an effort to project a more conciliatory approach. Ultimately the survey shows that growing discontentment among La- bour voters and switchers is being cancelled out by a more favourable attitude amongst a section of PN voters. The PL's power of incum- bency and the party's shift to the centre-right on several issues could also be a factor in Muscat's ability to charm a category of PN voters. On the other hand, this shift may alienate a part of the Labour vote. Muscat leads Busuttil by 18 points Compared to December 2013, Muscat has slightly increased the trust lead over PN leader Simon Busuttil by a point. Both leaders have lost ground over last month. While Muscat lost a point, Busuttil has lost 2 points. The percentage of respondents who trust neither of the two leaders has also increased slightly, by a point. Significantly, while 4% of PL vot- ers in the last election trust Busut- til more than Muscat (up from just 1.4% in December), 7% of PN voters trust Muscat more than Busuttil. This suggests that Muscat is mak- ing more inroads in the Nationalist Party's restricted voting base than Busuttil in Labour's larger base. The good news for Busuttil is that 9% of switchers who voted PN in 2008 and PL in 2013 now prefer him to Muscat. If this trend con- tinues over the next years, the next general election could be a more balanced affair. But Muscat still retains the trust of two-thirds of switchers (64%) while 9% trust neither of the two leaders. This suggests that al- though the loyalties of this cat- egory remain fluid, Muscat is still the preferred leader among this strategic category of voters. The survey also shows Busuttil being trusted by 75% of PN voters while Muscat is trusted by 90% of Labour voters. This suggests that Muscat enjoys a more solid hold within his own party than Busut- til. The survey even shows that Busuttil has lost 10 points among the PN category of voters since December. Significantly, while 83% of PL voters (down from 85% in Decem- ber) judge Muscat's performance as prime minister positively, 90% trust their leader more than Bu- suttil. This suggests that a section of Labour voters is disenchanted by Muscat's performance in gov- ernment but would still prefer him to Busuttil. The bad news for Labour is that this category could send a mes- sage by not voting in May. Added to this is a latent euroscepticism, which could make Labour voters more lukewarm on electing repre- sentatives to the EU parliament. Labour 7 points ahead Curiously, while Busuttil trails Muscat by a staggering 18 points, the gap between the two parties when it comes to voting inten- tions for elections for the Euro- pean parliament due next May amounts to only 7 points. This means that compared to last year's election, the PN has already mt survey PN PL AD Others Not voting Don't know No reply PN PL AD Others Not voting Don't know No reply 25.5 32.7 5.3 75.2 Which political party do you intend to vote for in elections for the European parliament due on 24 May? PN 25.5 PL 32.7 AD 1.3 Others 0.5 Not Voting 5.3 Don't Know 25.5 No Reply 9.2 How PN voters in 2013 general election intend to vote in May PN 75.2 PL 2.6 AD 0.9 Not Voting 3.4 Don't Know 16.2 No Reply 1.7 How do you rate Joseph Muscat's performance as Prim Minister? April June July October Dec March Positive 59 46.4 42.1 50.6 46.6 47.8 Negative 5.6 9.5 8.4 14.7 16.4 15.3 So-So 13.4 28.7 26.3 23.4 20.2 31.3 Don't know 21.9 15.5 23.2 11.3 17.4 5.6 According to political orientation: PN PL Switchers Positive 11.1 83.1 68.2 Negative 38.5 3.5 18.2 So-So 45.3 12.2 13.6 Don't Know 5.1 1.2 0 Positively Negatively So-and-so Don`t know Joseph Muscat Performance rating according to political orientation Apr 2013 Jun 2013 July2013 Oct 2013 Dec 2013 Mar 2014 so far seems keen on projecting a How do you rate Joseph Muscat's performance mt survey