Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/977918
10 maltatoday SUNDAY 6 MAY 2018 MaltaToday Survey ADRIAN Delia's trust rating has maintained an upward trend but the Opposition leader's resurgence is still a slow, hard slog, a Malta- Today survey has found. Delia's trust rating now stands at 27.2%, up seven points since March and above the previous high of 22%, registered last October in the first head-to-head contest with Joseph Muscat. But despite the improving numbers, Delia still trails the Prime Minister by 21 points. The survey was held between the 23 and 28 April, in the second week of the Daphne Project revelations and before the Labour Party's Workers' Day mass meeting. Muscat's trust rating now stands at 48.6%, a drop of four points since March, when the last trust barometer was held. Muscat's drop is only three points lower than the abnormally high level of trust registered last October, his first 100 days in office after the June election. The numbers suggest that the Daphne Project revelations, in- cluding the discovery of a clear link between 17 Black, a mys- terious Dubai firm, and the Panama companies of Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, did not have a devastating im- pact. Despite Muscat's refusal to comment on the revelation, the drop in his trust rating falls within the margin of error, leav- ing him relatively unscathed by the reports. Muscat wins Malta, Delia gets Gozo The Prime Minister's trust rating trumps Delia's across all regions in Malta but trails in Gozo. Muscat's strongest numbers are in the tra- ditionally Labour leaning southern regions. In the Southern Harbour, Muscat registers a trust rating of 59.6%, followed by the South East with 59.1%. The Prime Minister's weakest result is in Gozo, with a trust rating of 34.3%. Gozo is Delia's brightest star. After first registering a resurgence last March, the Nationalist Party leader has continued to strengthen his rating in Gozo, gaining more than 10 points. Delia's trust rating on the island region runs at 43.8%. This suggests that the rift between Delia and rival leadership candidate Chris Said, a Gozitan, has continued to heal after the rap- prochement at the start of the year. Significantly, Delia registers a trust rating of 31.5% in the Northern Harbour region, climbing almost 11 points since March. Al- though he still trails Muscat in what is pre- dominantly traditional blue territory, Delia's comeback suggests that more Nationalists are warming up to him. The Northern and Northern Harbour re- gions have the highest concentrations of people who trust none of the two leaders – almost a quarter in each. Muscat down among young, up among elderly Delia enjoys the trust of 61.8% of PN voters in 2017, a significant improvement over March when only 48.3% trusted him. But de- spite the improvement, just over a quarter of PN 2017 voters still say they trust none of the leaders. On the flipside, Muscat's trust rating among PL vot- ers of 2017, reaches adula- tory proportions with 92% saying they trust the Prime Minister. Muscat is the most trusted across all age groups, al- though Delia has seen his trust levels increase across the board. Just over a quarter of those aged between 18-35 and 36-50 trust none of the leaders. The Prime Minister's highest trust rating is among those aged 51 to 65 at 56.3%, and the lowest among the young (18-35), at 40.7%. Compared to the March results, Muscat has lost 14 points among the young and al- most three points among the middle-aged (36-50). The Prime Minister has retained the same level of trust among those aged 51 to 65 but increased his rating among the elderly by seven points. Delia's highest score is among the elderly (65+) at 36.4% and the lowest among the middle-aged at 21.3%. The PN leader's trust rating among the young stands at 25.4%. When compared to the March results, De- lia has gained 13 points among the young, almost 12 points among those aged between 51 and 65 and four points among the elderly. However, the Opposition leader has failed to make inroads among the crucial middle- aged segment. Muscat outstrips Delia across all educa- tional levels, with the highest trust rating recorded among those with a secondary edu- cation at 59.3%. Among those with a tertiary education, Muscat's trust rating falls to 34%. But the figures show that those with a ter- tiary level tend to be the most distrustful of politicians, with a third saying they trust no one. Delia's highest trust rating is among those with a primary education at 34% and lowest among those with a secondary education at 24.6%. Adrian Delia's trust rating up but still trails Muscat by 21 points KURT SANSONE Joseph Muscat registers dip but emerges relatively unscathed by international press's revelations in Daphne Project Joseph Muscat Adrian Delia Don't know Neither 48.6% -4.1pp 27.2% +7pp 5.4% +0.3pp 18.8% -3.3pp ALL PL 2017 PN 2017 Didn't vote 48.6% 27.2% 18.8% 5.4% 92% 61.8% 26.7% 9.3% 12.6% 18.6% 60.8% 8% Trust barometer according to voting patterns in 2017 Muscat Delia Neither Don't know Delia enjoys the trust of 61.8% of PN voters in 2017, a significant improvement over March when only 48.3% trusted him Voters asked who they trusted the most, with pp change over survey in March 2018 Keep smiling: Adrian Delia may be starting to see some green shoots of renewed support