Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/884700
10 THE Labour Party leads the Na- tionalist Party by 25 points in a survey on voting intentions car- ried out by MaltaToday, which shows the Opposition still haemorrhaging votes. The overall survey result puts the PL at 46%, four months after a landslide victory in the general election, against the PN's 22%. But the survey also suggests post-election fatigue setting in, if not disenchantment, with 17% of respondents saying they would not vote if an election were held now. Another 13% say they are uncertain who to vote for. However, the survey also shows that the major share of disenchantment with politics comes from the PN voters in the last election, which could be in- dicative of low morale. More than a third of those who voted PN in the last elec- tion say they would not vote, or did not know who to vote for were an election to be held now. These are split equally between non-voters and the undecided. The corresponding figure for the government side sees 12% of PL voters in the last election now adopting a lukewarm ap- proach. However, the undecid- ed, at 8% are double those who would not vote. A deeper analysis of the figures shows that six per cent of PN voters in the last election would now vote PL, while three per cent of PL voters would switch to the blue side. This means that the PN is still losing votes to its political rival in the aftermath of the bruising electoral result. While 57% of PN voters in the last election will sustain their preference and vote blue again, the PL has a higher retention rate, with 84% saying they would vote red once more. The survey registers negligible support for the Democratic Par- ty and Alternattiva Demokra- tika. They jointly score less than half a percentage point, despite the PD's parliamentary presence and vocal outgoing leader Mar- lene Farrugia. If non-voters are removed from the equation and the undecided are split equally between the two major parties, the PL's share of the vote would soar to 65%, as opposed to the PN's 35%, indi- cating a stronger post-election performance for Muscat's party. MaltaToday survey methodology The survey was carried out by telephone and 506 respondents took part. Participants were selected randomly and phone calls were made between October 2 and 5. The sample was weighted according to the electoral result of June 2017, gender, age and region (as determined by the National Statistics Office). The estimated margin of error is plus or minus 4.9%. maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2017 MaltaToday Survey Trust gap puts Muscat 29 points ahead Labour 25 points ahead as PN continues bleeding votes KURT SANSONE JOSEPH Muscat enjoys a trust rat- ing of 51% after the first 100 days, a MaltaToday survey has found. It puts him well ahead of Opposition leader Adrian Delia. The Prime Minister's trust rating is eight points higher than the rat- ing registered in a MaltaToday sur- vey during the same period in the first legislature. Muscat enjoys a 29-point lead over the Nationalist Party leader in the first head-to-head trust barom- eter since Delia took over. In 2013, Muscat enjoyed a 17-point advan- tage on then PN leader Simon Bu- suttil after the first 100 days. However, 27% of respondents said they trust none of the two leaders or are unsure of their choice, reflecting what is possibly political fatigue in the aftermath of an intense general election period. As would be expected, the Prime Minister scores strongly among La- bour Party voters, with 92 per cent saying they trust him. Just four per cent of PL voters in the last elec- tion say they trust Delia, which is equivalent to the percentage of PN voters who express a similar senti- ment towards Muscat. The survey shows Muscat en- joying a stable trust rating among 2008, 2013 and 2017 PL voters –consistently scoring more than 91%. However, Delia loses support among traditional PN voters. While the PN leader has a trust rating of 54% among those who voted PN this year, it drops to 45% among those who said they voted for the party in 2008. Interestingly, Muscat's trust rating among 2008 PN voters is a significant 14%. While Delia's overall trust rat- ing at 22% puts him at a big disad- vantage with his political rival, his bigger problem is with PN voters, where 41% trust none of the two leaders or are uncertain of their choice. This contrasts sharply with just five per cent of PL voters who trust no one or are unsure. The figures paint a rosier picture for Muscat at the start of his sec- ond term than what the situation was four years ago at the same juncture. However, the survey also suggests that instability within the PN is not only harming the party's chances but denting its new lead- er's trust among his own voters. Between Joseph Muscat and Adrian Delia, who do you trust? If an election were held tomorrow, who would you vote for? 46.4% 21.9% 0.2% 0.2% 0 16.7% 12.9% 1.7% 50.9% 22.1% 16.6% 10% 0.5%