iSurvey: Prof Edward Scicluna takes top spot for favourite Minister, PM does not make top 5
Who is the bestperforming minister or parliamentary secretary?
Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has overtaken his colleagues as being the top performing minister in this seventh edition of The Malta
Independent’s iSurvey. Health Minister Chris Fearne retained his position at number two, followed by Education Minister Evarist Bartolo who has been knocked off his top position, down to third.
Respondents were asked to name who they believe is the bestperforming Minister of Parliamentary Secretary without being prompted in any way. Respondents were contacted for their replies between 25 April and 3 May, with the date of the snap election announced on 1 May.
In view of government activities being suspended pending the outcome of the election on 3 June, the results of this particular question could therefore be viewed as a rough snapshot of how favourably respondents view the members of Cabinet.
Professor Scicluna’s climb from third in November 2016 (11.5% of mentions) to first (16.9% of mentions) could be attributed to the announcement that Malta’s public finances registered a surplus for the first time in 35 years.
In addition, Malta has received several commendations by international ratings agencies for its healthy economy and the state of public finances.
Some have criticised the Finance Minister for failing to comment on the serious allegations that Malta’s financial institutions failed to take action over a number of Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit reports on possible money laundering being allowed to take place in Malta. Pilatus Bank is at the heart of allegations surrounding the Prime Minister’s wife, a US$1.017 million bank transfer and Egrant Inc, the third company named in the Panama Papers scandal. This has not made a dent in the Minister’s approval ratings, it would appear, though the Prime Minister did take a dip in this particular rating.
Health Minister Fearne has enjoyed a steady climb from fourth position in April 2016 to second in November 2016 and April/May 2017. Education and Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo has lost his top position in November 2016 to third place now. Last year, many had praised Mr Bartolo for his vocal opposition through notso-cryptic social media posts to the Panama Papers scandal when it was found that minister without portfolio Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri had a secret company in Panama.
Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis has also made some gains from sixth position in November 2016 to the fourth spot now. He replaced minister without portfolio Konrad Mizzi who has now dropped to fifth position. Dr Mizzi topped the list in the iSurveys of April 2016, April 2015 and May 2014. Readers commenting in the comments board of The Malta Independent online were shocked to learn that people still rated him as the top performing minister in April 2016 when the Panama Papers scandal broke. This resistance did not last however as in November 2016 he dropped to the fourth spot. Despite unveiling the gas powered power station and marking the end of Heavy Fuel Oil in Malta, he slipped a further spot to fifth. As to Minister Zammit Lewis, one would have thought that the Air Malta fiasco should have kept him below his colleagues in the performance ratings however the growing tourist industry year after year and the income it is generating must be the main influencing factor on respondents.
Dr Muscat has, for the first time, dropped out of the top five, coming in at sixth with just 6.6% of mentions. He has consistently enjoyed higher trust and approval ratings than the Opposition Leader, but has seem to be outshone by his fellow colleagues amidst serious allegations about his family’s links to a Panama company.
Amongst the largest shifts, Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella shot up from 11th in November 2016 to 7th now. Minister Vella has announced that he will not be contesting the upcoming general election.
Of note is that Justice Minister Owen Bonnici has dropped from seventh in November to 10th with 4.1% of the mentions. Permanent Secretary for EU funds and the EU Presidency has made the largest jump from 16th (1.7%) in November to 11th now (3.4%). This could be attributed to Malta’s EU Presidency taking place between January and June, which has given Dr Borg far more exposure.
Despite Economy Minister Chris Cardona being the subject of controversial allegations about being in a brothel in Germany when he was supposed to be on a state visit, he has retained his position as 9th favourite. An ongoing court case which should provide some closure into the matter may have abetted people’s opinion on the matter. This, together with Malta’s booming economy could have been his saving grace.
The April 2017 iSurvey - the seventh of its kind - was commissioned to Business Leaders Malta on behalf of The Malta Independent. Respondents were contacted between 25 April and 3 May, while a snap election was announced on 1 May. More info on the iSurvey will be disclosed throughout the week.
Overall, the highest proportion of mentions by female respondents were split between the top two spots at 6.6% each, Professor Edward Scicluna and Health Minister Fearne. Males on the other hand gave the overall highest proportion of mentions to Professor Scicluna at 11.6%. Interestingly, among the largest discrepancies registered between males and female responses was that of Minister Konrad Mizzi, with men awarding him 5.1% of mentions and females just 2.9%.
It can also be said that men view Professor Scicluna far more favourably than women do, with mentions of 11.6% and 6.6% of mentions respectively.
It would appear that those who voted PL in the 2013 election view Ministers Fearne and Scicluna much more favourably than PN voters. PL voters gave them 12.8% and 11% of mentions respectively, while PN only awarded them 4.1% and 3.5% respectively.
Minister Konrad Mizzi received literally zero mentions from 2013 PN voters, while PL voters awarded him with 7.2% of mentions.