Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/487054
maltatoday, Sunday, 29 March 2015 19 MaltaToday Survey equal points in trust rating Trust barometer among different categories of voters in 2013 election 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 PN VOTERS PL VOTERS SWITCHERS Present voting intentions of different categories of 2013 voters How respondents said they voted in March 2013 elections For which party will you vote if an election were to be held tomorrow? March 2015 (Change from January indicated above figures) PL PN AD Others Not voting Don't know No reply +2.9% +3.6% 0.4% -0.2% -4.1% +3.7% +6.2% PL PN AD Others Don't know Under-age fer Muscat to Busuttil. But Muscat offsets these losses by making gains among 2013 PN voters, 8% of whom prefer him to the Nationalist Party leader. This is further confirmation that Busuttil has not stopped the haemorrhage of PN voters, which has been ongoing since 2008. Moreover, the survey, held a few days after the TimesTalk debate between the leaders, shows both leaders registering a two-point drop. This suggests that negative campaigning by both parties dur- ing the past weeks has taken a toll on the two leaders. Labour leads by 8 points For the second time since the 2013 general election, respond- ents were asked to state for which party they would vote if a general election were to be held tomorrow. The survey shows Labour leading by eight points, down from nine points in January. This is because while the PN in- creased its share by four points, the PL has registered an increase of three points. Interestingly the survey shows that while 6% of PN voters in 2013 would now vote Labour, 5% of PL voters in 2013 would now vote for the PN. This suggests a stalemate, with both parties losing nearly as much as they are gaining from the other side. This may suggest that Muscat's personal appeal among a category of PN voters does not necessarily translate into a vote for Labour in a forthcoming general election. The survey also suggests that while 15% of PN voters judge Muscat's performance positively and 8% trust him more than Bu- suttil, only 6% of PN voters in 2013 would vote Labour in a gen- eral election. On the other hand while only 4% of PL voters in 2013 trust Busuttil more than Muscat, 5% of Labour respondents would vote PN in a forthcoming election. This suggests that although Busuttil's appeal among PL vot- ers is limited, it is resulting in a definitive shift of allegiance for these voters while Muscat's ap- peal among PN voters is stronger but translates into a similar shift of voters. But with the PL starting the race with a 36,000-vote gap in its favour, this stalemate means that Labour still retains the same lead over the PN as in 2013. The survey also shows the Greens retaining most of their 2013 voters and increasing their share through small gains from both major parties. A substantial 9% would not vote if an election were held now. Sig- nificantly 5% of PL voters replied that they would not vote. The sur- vey also shows a third of switchers being presently undecided on who to vote for in a general election. Methodology The survey was held between Wednesday 18 and Tuesday 24 March. A total of 832 respondents were contacted by telephone. 600 accepted to be interviewed. The survey was stopped when the 600 quota was reached. The results were weighed to reflect the age and gender balance of the population. The survey has a margin of error of +/-4 points. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 PN VOTERS PL VOTERS SWITCHERS