Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/584253
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2015 10 MaltaToday Survey Traffic woes send Mizzi to the bottom of the pile Rate-The-Minister Survey As tourist arrivals soar Edward Zammit Lewis also flies high while finance minister Edward Scicluna gets 10-point boost on eve of Budget JAMES DEBONO THIS year's Rate the Minister survey has confirmed that trans- port and the environment are still the Labour government's Achil- les' heel, while the economy and tourism are its strong assets. This is confirmed by the un- popularity of transport minister Joe Mizzi in MaltaToday's 'rate the minister' survey, who hits rock-bottom, while environment minister Leo Brincat retains last year's low ratings; on the other end, the survey confirms the in- creased popularity of tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis and finance minister Edward Sci- cluna. The survey was conducted among 500 respondents carried out in the first week of October in which respondents were asked to rate each minister's perform- ance. Only 22% of respondents in MaltaToday's latest survey judge the performance of Transport Minister Joe Mizzi as positive, down from 25% last year and 52% in February 2014. Amid increased concern on traffic congestion and the state of public transport, Mizzi's per- formance was judged negatively by 34% of respondents and 'so-so' by 31%. Mizzi was also the minister to have received the lowest ratings from either PN and PL voters, re- spectively 8.5% and 40.8%, under- lining the cross-party agreement on the minister's performance over the past year. Environment minister Leo Brin- cat retained the same positive rat- ing as last year (30%) but saw the percentage of respondents who judge his performance negatively increase by 4 points. Survey confirms 'feel-good' factor on economy On the other hand, tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis has not only seen an 8-point in- crease in his positive rating but now emerges as the Cabinet's most popular minister with an approval rate of 59%. Significantly, a relative major- ity (43%) of PN voters in 2013 also judge his performance posi- tively. Zammit Lewis's popularity indicates the general satisfaction with the tourism sector, which dates back to the previous admin- istration when present PN dep- uty leader Mario de Marco, who served in the same role (coupled to the more contentious environ- ment portfolio), was the previous government's most positively rat- ed minister. Moreover, on the eve of the budget finance minister Edward Sciculuna registers an 11-point increase in positive ratings from 34% a year ago to 45% now. Significantly, Scicluna has seen a 15-point increase in ratings among PN voters in 2013. Despite holding what is traditionally seen as the most unpopular portfolios, Scicluna is now the sixth most popular minister, surpassing so- cial solidarity minister Michael Farrugia, civil liberties minister Helena Dalli and home affairs minister Carmelo Abela. Under the previous (Gonzi) adminis- tration, finance minister Tonio Fenech was consistently the sec- ond least popular PN minister after transport and infrastructure minister Austin Gatt. In another sign of satisfaction with the government's economic policy, economy minister Chris Cardona has also seen his approv- al rate increase by 4 points. But in an indication that his popularity has been dented by controver- sies during the summer revolving around the rent of an apartment in Portomaso, his negative ratings have also increased by 6 points. In what could shed light on La- bour's changed ideological blue- print following the departure of Marie Louise Coleiro Preca from the social policy portfolio, Michael Farrugia is less positively rated than economy-related min- istries. He is judged positively by only 40% (up 1 point from last year) compared to the 68% who judged Coleiro Preca's per- formance as positive in February 2014. The cabinet's top brass In a sign of consolidation, 10 ministers improved their positive ratings over last year and only five ministers registering losses. The survey confirms the stand- ing of veteran education minister Evarist Bartolo, who apart from Zammit Lewis is the only min- ister to surpass the 50% mark. But amid controversy on a White Paper suggesting earlier school times to solve the traffic prob- lem, the senior minister loses a point over last year and has seen his negative ratings increase by 2 points. Justice minister Owen Bonnici retains his position among the top 3 but has seen his positive ratings decrease by 2 points. Despite a small increase in posi- tive ratings, energy and health minister Konrad Mizzi has lost his position among the top brass and is 11 points less popular than he was in February 2014 when his performance was judged positive- ly by a staggering 57%. Mizzi's decline comes in the wake of a delay in the govern- ment's tight deadlines for the new LNG terminal and criticism over a bank guarantee to ElectroGas. But in an indication of his high standing among Labour voters, Mizzi now emerges as the second most popular minister among La- bour voters, 77% of which judge his performance positively – just 3 points less than tourism minis- ter Edward Zammit Lewis. In what could be an indication of sympathy following a heart attack, George Vella emerges as the fourth most popular minister after a 9-point surge in his posi- tive ratings. Vella's ratings among PN voters have increased by 13 points. Deputy PM Louis Grech has also seen his positive rating increase by 4 points but a third of respondents could not judge Grech's performance as minister. The sharpest losses over last year are registered by civil liberties Edward Zammit Lewis 58.7% (7.8) Evarist Bartolo 50% (-0.9) Owen Bonnici 48.3% (-1.9) George Vella 48% (8.5) Konrad Mizzi 46.3% (1.7) Edward Scicluna 45.3% (10.5) Chris Cardona 43% (3.9) Joseph Muscat 42.3% (-2.7) Amid increased concern on traffic congestion and the state of public transport, Mizzi's performance was judged negatively by 34% of respondents and 'so-so' by 31%