Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/977918
12 maltatoday SUNDAY 6 MAY 2018 MaltaToday Survey KURT SANSONE A vociferous segment of society be- lieves that the mastermind behind Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder may have political connections. These people reflect the Caruana Galizia family's belief that the slain journalist's work to uncover corrup- tion at the highest level of politics was the reason for her assassination. It appears they are not alone to be- lieve politics had to do with the jour- nalist's murder. A MaltaToday survey found that a relative majority of 41.2% believe that the person who ordered the journalist's killing has a political connection. The survey did not ask people to define 'political connection', which means they were allowed to understand it as they deemed fit. An equally strong segment (38.5%) are unsure as to whether the person who commissioned the bombing has a political connection. Only 19%, believe there is no politi- cal connection to the execution. When the results are broken down by political party allegiance, it shows that voters who voted for the Na- tionalist Party in 2017 are more con- vinced of the political link than peo- ple who voted for the Labour Party. In fact, 72.6% of PN 2017 voters believe the person behind Caruana Galizia's killing has a political con- nection. Only 5.3% of PN voters be- lieve this is not the case, while 21.3% are uncertain. On the flipside, PL voters are less uniform in their beliefs. Most of these voters (47.8%) are uncertain about the political connection, fol- lowed by 32.7% who believe this is not the case. However, 18.1% of 2017 PL voters agree that the person who ordered Caruana Galizia's murder has a political connection. The results for PN voters are hardly surprising because they tally with the narrative set out by the party's pre- vious leadership linking the govern- ment to corruption to the murder. On the PL side, it appears that vot- ers have shunned the voices trying to link the murder with politics, includ- ing some within their own party who have trumped up the fact that before she was killed, Caruana Galizia's main target was PN leader Adrian Delia. These voters have largely opt- ed for a cautious approach instead. The Caruana Galizia murder inves- tigation has so far led to three men being charged with the bombing. However, there is no suggestion yet of what the motive may have been and who could have commissioned the crime. The Daphne Project The first story released by the Daphne Project had reported anony- mous eye witnesses who saw Econo- my Minister Chris Cardona drinking in the same bar as one of the accused, before and after the murder. Cardona denied meeting the ac- cused but acknowledged that he sometimes drank at the Siġġiewi bar identified by the international con- sortium of journalists. The bar is a popular jaunt. He also denied any connection with the murder. In a subsequent story, the journal- ists noted that no politicians were in- terrogated by the police throughout the investigation. The survey would have captured people's reactions to both of these stories. Cardona had told the journalists that he had been summoned by the inquiring magistrate to testify on the day of the murder but did not get the chance to be interviewed because the Caruana Galizia family had asked for a change in magistrate. The newly- appointed magistrate, who enjoyed the family's trust, did not follow up on his predecessor and no politicians were summoned to testify. However, after the bar story was released by the Daphne Project, Car- dona went of his own volition to the police and gave a deposition. Methodology The MaltaToday survey was car- ried out between Monday 23 April and Friday 27 April, 2018. Stratified random samplings defined by age, gender and region discriminants were used to replicate the fidelity of the population. There were 553 re- spondents who chose to take part in the survey. The margin of error for a confidence interval of 95% is esti- mated at 4.2%. Regions based on NSO classification Southern Harbour: Valletta, Vittoriosa, Senglea, Cospicua, Zabbar, Fgura, Floriana, Kalkara, Luqa, Marsa, Paola, St Lucija, Tarxien, Xghajra. Northern Harbour: Qormi, Birkirkara, Gzira, Hamrun, Msida, Pembroke, Pieta, St Julians, San Gwann, St Venera, Sliema, Swieqi, Ta' Xbiex. South Eastern: Zejtun, Birzebbuga, Gudja, Ghaxaq, Kirkop, Marsascala, Marsaxlokk, Mqabba, Qrendi, Safi, Zurrieq. Western: Mdina, Zebbug, Siggiewi, Attard, Balzan, Dingli, Iklin, Lija, Rabat, Mtarfa. Northern: Gharghur, Mellieha, Mgarr, Mosta, Naxxar, St Paul's Bay. Gozo: Gozo and Comino A relative majority of 41.2% believe that the person who ordered the journalist's killing has a political connection OVERALL PL 2017 PN 2017 Didn't vote Uncertain about voting Won't vote again 41.2% 19.0% 38.5% 18.1% 32.7% 47.8% 72.6% 21.3% 33.6% 60.0% 37.2% 9.6% 50.1% 50.2% 44% Respondents asked whether they believed the murder has a political connection Yes No Don't know No reply Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder: A political connection Respondents' answers according to gender and age 38.2% 21.2% 38.4% 44.3% 16.8% 38.6% 42.1% 16.5% 38.4% 37.6% 25.9% 36.5% 41.9% 21.8% 36.3% 43.8% 10.4% 44.1% Male Female 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Primary Secondary Post Sec Tertiary 38.2% 56.1% 35.4% 23.1% 40.4% 47.7% 20.8% 29.1% 46.5% 18.5% 34.2% Gozo Northern Northern Harbour South Eastern Southern Harbour Western 54.5% 8.2% 35.5% 36.4% 17.8% 45.8% 48.5% 15.0% 36.5% 34.0% 30.3% 30.7% 5% 31.6% 25.2% 42.1% 41.9% 16.3% 40.1% Respondents' answers according to education Respondents' answers according to geographical region Yes No Don't know No reply