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A survey commissioned by the Nationalist Party in January and seen by MaltaToday shows that while 54 per cent are satisfied with Lawrence Gonzi’s performance as Prime Minister, 72 per cent have not seen any material improvements over the previous year.
The survey’s indication that a majority of respondents prefer Lawrence Gonzi over Alfred Sant as PM throws a new light on the state of denial among top PN officials after the party’s downfall in last March’s local elections.
Despite showing approval for the Prime Minister’s performance, the survey exposed the PN’s failure at addressing inflation and housing – two major issues on which according to the same survey, Labour are more in synch with the electorate.
Significantly the survey shows that despite the tax cuts announced in the budget, most respondents have not seen any improvement in their family’s economic situation during the previous 12 months.
This shows that the economic turnaround has yet to translate itself into concrete improvements in living conditions.
Respondents in the PN’s survey were asked to state which political party has the best policy on a number of issues. Although the PN scored higher than the MLP on most economic and social issues, the MLP is more in synch with respondents on two important personal concerns, price control and housing.
But despite these worrying indications for the MLP, the survey shows a relative majority of respondents expressing a preference for Lawrence Gonzi to Alfred Sant as Malta’s next Prime Minister.
In other surveys, including that conducted both by MaltaToday and the Sunday Times, Sant always trailed Gonzi as the favourite Prime Minister.
But in most surveys the MLP manages to beat the PN by a wide margin when respondents are asked for which party they are going to vote for. These surveys show that admiration for Lawrence Gonzi does not necessarily translate in electoral support for the PN.
The PN’s January survey did not include a direct question on voting intentions.
The survey has revealed a margin between Sant and Gonzi of less than 4 per cent. A decisive 20.8 per cent prefers neither of the two political leaders.
Sant only manages to surpass Gonzi among the 44-54 age group. In this age group Gonzi is favoured by 35 per cent while Sant is favoured by 39 per cent.
Sant and Gonzi are also very close among those aged between 18-24 where Sant trails Gonzi by less than 2 per cent. Gonzi’s popularity peaks amongst those aged above 55 and those aged between 25 and 34.
26 per cent of those preferring Sant cited the need for change as the reason for preferring him to Gonzi. On the other hand 25 per cent of those preferring Gonzi cited his capabilities as leader as the main reason for preferring him over Sant.
Significantly 54 per cent of respondents in the leaked PN survey also expressed satisfaction in the way Gonzi is running the country.
The survey shows those aged between 45-54 emerge as the most dissatisfied group in the country. The most dissatisfied social economic group is the DE group which is mainly composed of unskilled workers.
Majority not better off
The survey shows that only 28 per cent have seen an improvement in their lives in the previous year.
The higher income brackets have seen a more substantial improvement in their family’s financial situation than skilled and unskilled workers. While 32 per cent of the former have seen an improvement only 26 per cent of the latter have seen an improvement.
Among the C2 and DE socio economic groups-mainly composed of skilled and unskilled workers – 46 per cent are worse off than last year.
Although most respondents have not seen any improvement in their lives, the majority has seen an improvement in the country’s economic performance. 44 per cent think that the economy is in a better state than it was a year ago. Only 35 per cent think that the economy is in a worst state.
Best policies
The survey shows that the MLP is no match for the PN in most policy sectors – including vital issues like the deficit and the economy – but the MLP is in synch with the electorate on a number of issues which top the list of personal concerns of respondents.
Surprisingly the PN survey shows that the centre-right party is stronger than the MLP in the social field. The PN is strongest on education where 55 per cent think it has the best policy; roads where 54 per cent think it has the best policy; and health with 44 per cent thinking it has the best policy.
The PN also fares better than the MLP on the economy and deficit control.
The MLP is deemed strongest on inflation where 40 per cent think it has the best policy to control prices. Significantly the survey also shows that inflation is viewed as the top personal concern of respondents. On the other hand the deficit and the economy do not feature in the list of personal concerns.
The MLP is also given a better vote than the PN on housing. Property prices are also among the top personal concerns of respondents.
The only other two areas where the MLP’s policies are deemed stronger are the fight against corruption, and on tourism.
But the PN is deemed to have a stronger policy than the MLP in one of the major concerns of the Maltese public – job creation. While 39 per cent think the PN has the best employment policy, only 33 per cent think that the MLP has the best policy on jobs.
Yet despite the government’s pension reform and repeated criticism that Labour merely wants to postpone the problem rather than facing it, the MLP’s policy is judged to be better than the PN’s. 35 per cent think that the MLP has the best policy on pensions, while only 32 per cent favour the PN’s.
As regards the environment, the PN is just a percentage point above Alternattiva Demokratika. While 32 per cent view the PN’s environmental policy as the best, 31 per cent think that AD has the best environmental policy.
On green issues the MLP trails in third place behind AD at just 21 per cent. This confirms AD as the main opposition force to the government’s environmental policies.
Yet on all other issues AD policies are only appreciated by less than 3 per cent of respondents. This exposes AD’s weakness in promoting its message on social and economic issues.
Satisfaction with government
On the whole the government’s performance is judged positively by 42 per cent and negatively by 38 per cent. Gonzi gets a better score than the government as a whole with 54 per cent satisfied with the way he runs the country.
The government gets the highest vote on education. 72 per cent are satisfied by the government’s performance in this sector. The government also scores over 60 per cent on roads and the police, and surpasses the 50 per cent mark on its policies on the environment, health, drugs and the elderly.
The government gets it lowest marks on price controls. In this sector it only gets an approval of 27 per cent. It also gets a very low 34 per cent on its housing policies. |
