Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/306555
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 4 MAY 2014 XI Europe 2014 difficult to determine the standing of other candidates and a very large segment of voters remains unde- cided. Moreover, these results are only indicative because actual seats will be determined on the basis of second, third and subsequent pref- erences. Much will depend on how the surplus of the front runners will be distributed among the rest of the candidates. This means that candidates with a low first count may still overtake stronger candidates who do not man- age to attract the second preferences of the front runners and eliminated weaker candidates. Muscat leads Busuttil by 16 points Compared to last month, Muscat has seen his trust lead increase by 6 points. While Muscat retains the same rating as last month Simon Busuttil has seen his trust rating de- creasing by 6 points. The survey suggests that Busuttil has lost some of the inroads he made during the past months, during which he saw his trust rating increase from 26% in June 2013 to 34% in April. At 28% Busuttil now enjoys the same trust rating he enjoyed in March. In an indication of disillusionment with the political system, the percent- age of respondents who trust neither of the two leaders has increased by 5 points. The survey sees Busuttil enjoying the trust of 82% of PN voters, but making little or no inroads among PL voters and switchers. On the other hand, Muscat, who enjoys the trust of 92% of PL voters, is more trusted than Busuttil by 6% of PN voters in 2013 up from 3% last month. This suggests that Muscat is still making inroads in the PN's restricted vote base. This suggests that another segment of PN voters could shift to Labour in the future even if only 1% of PN voters in 2013 intend to vote Labour on May 24. Muscat to Busuttil has decreased from 7% last month to 3%. This suggests that the PN has man- aged to contain any further losses to Muscat's party. Moreover while 50% of switchers intend voting Labour again, 66% of switcher trust Muscat more than Bu- suttil. The survey confirms previous ones showing around two thirds of switch- ers (68%) still preferring Muscat to Busuttil. This suggests that a segment of these voters may harbour doubts about renewing their allegiance to the Labour Party, but are still loyal to Muscat. On the other hand, only 11% of switchers trust Busuttil more than Muscat – the same amount who would vote PN in the May election. mt survey PL frontrunners (candidates' % of PL vote) Alfred Sant 32.4 -7.1 Marlene Mizzi 10.2 -0.2 Miriam Dalli 9.6 -2.2 Clint Camilleri 2.9 -0.6 Cyrus Engerer 2.2 +0.9 Others 4.4 +2.2 Don't Know 38.3 5.7 11% 6% 3.3% 3% 3.5% 2% 1.5% 1.5% 1.3% 1% 3% 62.9% PN's frontrunners (candidates' % of PN vote) Roberta Metsola 23.8 -1.8 David Casa 11.9 -1.3 Therese Commodini 5.9 -1.1 Francis Zammit Dimech 5.9 +3.6 Norman Vella 5 -1.2 Others 6.9 -5.7 Don't Know 40.6 +5.2 Which candidate will receive your first preference? % % change April Alfred Sant 11 -3 Roberta Metsola 6 -2.1 Marlene Mizzi 3.5 - Miriam Dalli 3.3 -0.9 David Casa 3 -1.1 Arnold Cassola 2 +0.2 Therese Commodini 1.5 -0.7 Francis Zammit Dimech 1.5 +0.7 Norman Vella 1.3 -0.6 Clint Camilleri 1 -0.2 Others 3 -2.3 No Reply 62.9 +9.4 Switchers: how respondents who voted PN in 2008 and PL in 2013 will vote now April May % Change PN 10.5 12.5 +2 PL 36.8 50 +13.2 AD 5.3 6.3 +1 Not Voting 5.3 6.3 +1 Don't Know 42.1 21.8 -20.3 No Reply 0 3.1 +3.1 25.6% 34% 2.3% 5.8% 20% 12.3% 80.2% 0.9% 2.6% 1.7% 10.3% 4.3% 0.6% 78.8% 1.3% 3.8% 12.9% 2.6% Methodology 602 respondents were contacted by telephone between Monday 28 April and Thursday 30 April. 400 accepted to be interviewed. The results of the survey were weighed to reflect the age and gender balance of the population. The survey has a margin of error of +/-4.9%. Alfred Sant Marlene Mizzi Miriam Dalli Clint Camilleri Cyrus Engerer Roberta Metsola David Casa Therese Commodini Cachia Francis Zammit Dimech Norman Vella