ISurvey: Trust ratings in both PN and PL leaders drops

Helena Grech Trust ratings for both Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil have dipped in the space of one week, according to the ninth edition of the iSurvey.

Respondents were asked which leader they trusted most, with possible answers being Dr Muscat, Dr Busuttil or neither. Overall, the prime minister received a trust score of 48.9 per cent, Dr Busuttil received 37.8 per cent of mentions while 13.3 per cent chose neither.

Compared with last week’s iSurvey, Dr Muscat’s score dipped by 2.5 percentage points, Dr Busuttil dropped by one percentage point and ‘neither’ shot up by 3.5 percentage points.

This would indicate growing frustration with both leaders. Respondents were contacted for their replies between Monday 15 and Thursday 18 May, and a sample size of 500 was used.

This is the third survey in a series of election iSurveys, and while Dr Busuttil has been experiencing a marginal decline in his trust ratings since the start of the election surveys, this is the first time that Dr Muscat has taken a hit.

Taking a look at how respondents said they will be voting in the upcoming election, both the PN and the PL have also taken a hit. This, together with a dip in trust ratings, could indicate growing frustration at the mounting allegations being made against both parties, and the outright denials and unsatisfactory explanations accompanied by those allegations.

Regardless of whether voters believe the allegations being made about the prime minister, his chief of staff or the government in general, they could be annoyed by the government’s responses, or lack thereof. If voters do not believe the allegations that are currently surfacing, they are likely to feel annoyed at the fact that claims are being made without any accompanying evidence.

With allegations being made, and any available evidence being passed over to the courts for judgment, as should be the case, the public is still being left in the dark without any satisfactory explanations that can provide some closure or insight.

Trust in PM dips slightly among PL voters, Busuttil gains among PN voters

Respondents were also asked to rate the respective leaders separately on a scale of one to 10, with 10 indicating the highest level of trust. Prime Minister Muscat received an overall trust score of 5.9, one decimal point lower than last week’s survey. Opposition Leader Busuttil maintained his trust score of 4.8.

Those who voted PL in the 2013 general election gave a trust score of 8.1, compared with 8.2 from the week before. In 2013, PN voters gave Dr Muscat a trust score of 3.2, compared with the 3.1 that was awarded to him the week before.

Looking at the 2013 voters and how much they trust Dr Busuttil, PN voters awarded him a trust score of just 7.4 – compared with 7.1 from the week before, while PL voters gave him a 2.8 – compared with the 2.6 trust score from last week. Compared with last week, PN voters have placed higher trust in Dr Muscat, while PL voters have placed higher trust in Dr Busuttil.

The May 2017 iSurvey – the ninth of its kind – was commissioned to Business Leaders Malta on behalf of The Malta Independent. Five hundred respondents were used representative of age, gender and spread of localities.