Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/753405
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2016 10 Rate the Minister Panamagate sinks Konrad Mizzi THIS year's Rate the Minister survey shows that Panama, transport and the en- vironment, are the Labour government's Achilles heel, while education, the econo- my and health are its strong assets. The survey, in which respondents were asked to rate each government minister's performance, and conducted among 500 respondents, was carried out in the sec- ond week of November. Despite seeing a small two-point im- provement in his rating transport minis- ter Joe Mizzi remains the least positively rated Minister in MaltaToday's 'rate the minister' survey. The survey also shows Konrad Mizzi, in his role as minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, sinking from fifth place, when he was still minis- ter for health and energy, to the penul- timate position, after seeing his positive rating shrink by 18 points. Chris Fearne, Konrad Mizzi's replace- ment as health minister, emerges from the survey as the government's most popular minister. Fearne also strikes a chord with Nationalist voters, 34% of whom judge his performance positively despite the ongo- ing controversy on the partial privatisa- tion of the health service. But while the electorate has warmed to newcomer Fearne, it shuns the come- back of Manuel Mallia, who was fired from the home affairs ministry in the wake of a shooting incident involving his driver. Mallia, who made a return to the cabinet as minister for competitiveness in the wake of a reshuffle after Panama- gate, shares the penultimate position with Konrad Mizzi. Another chief casualty in the survey is justice minister Owen Bonnici who has slipped 11 points. Of particular concern to Bonnici, who lost a bid to become party deputy leader, is that he has also lost eight points among Labour voters. But his rival in the deputy leadership contest, econo- my minister Chris Cardona has also lost six points overall and five points among Labour voters. Cardona, who won the deputy leader- Konrad Mizzi has not only lost his position among the top brass, but is 28 points less popular than he was in February 2014 when his performance was judged positively by a staggering 57% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% -10% Negative 12.3% 11.5% 12.8% 14.0% 11.9% 10.3% 13.6% 13.2% So-So 19.8% 19.8% 21.4% 21.0% 21.0% 22.6% 23.9% 27.2% Don't know 15.6% 17.3% 16.4% 16.9% 20.2% 20.2% 21.2% 21.7% 52.3% 51.4% 49.4% 48.1% 46.9% 46.9% 41.3% 37.9% n/c 1.4% -9.3% 2.8% -1.1% 10.2% -0.7% -2.4% Legend Positive rating as a % of respondents Change Negative So-So Don't know Chris Fearne E. Bartolo E. Zammit Lewis E. Scicluna George Vella Louis Grech Helena Dalli M. Farrugia JAMES DEBONO MaltaToday Survey: Electorate rewards government on economy, health and education, but punishes Konrad Mizzi, who loses positive ratings amongst Labour voters, down from 77% to 55%