Rate the Minister | Chris Fearne leads among women, Evarist Bartolo among men

Civil liberties minister Helena Dalli is more appreciated by men than women while Carmelo Abela, Michael Farrugia, Konrad Mizzi, Joe Mizzi and Chris Cardona fare better among women

Health Minister Chris Fearne is most popular among women with 54% of female respondents judging his performance positively
Health Minister Chris Fearne is most popular among women with 54% of female respondents judging his performance positively

MaltaToday’s latest rate the minister survey, in which respondents were asked to rate each individual minister, shows Health Minister Chris Fearne leading among women and Education Minister Evarist Bartolo among men.

While 54% of women judged Fearne’s performance positively, his approval rate among males falls to 49.5%.  

On the other hand 51.7% of males and 50.3% of females judge Bartolo’s performance positively.

Surprisingly the only woman in the cabinet; civil rights minister Helena Dalli enjoys a higher approval rate among men (42.1%) than among women (38.6%).

But the sharpest differences between the sexes were seen in the assessment of the individual performance of Minister without a portfolio Konrad Mizzi, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela and Social Solidarity Minister Michael Farrugia.

Konrad Mizzi’s performance, whose overall approval fell by 18 points after Panamagate, is judged positively by 31% of females compared to just 24.2% of males.

Social solidarity minister Michael Farrugia also enjoys a higher rating of 40.7% of females and just 33.7% of males while Carmelo Abela is positively judged by 36.6% of females compared to just 30.5% of males. The least popular member of the cabinet, Joe Mizzi, also gets a better approval (26%) among women than among men (21%).

Another minister who fares slightly better among females than among males is Economy Minister Chris Cardona. 

The ministers who fare better among males than among females are Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech, Foreign Minister George Vella, and Finance Minister Edward Scicluna.  

The difference between the sexes is negligible with regard to Competitiveness Minister Manwel Mallia, Gozo Minister Anton Refalo, Environment Minister Jose Herrera, Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and Justice Minister Owen Bonnici.

Differences between surveys

The results of a survey published last Sunday in the Malta Independent showed Education Minister Evarist Bartolo and Health Minister Chris Fearne as the government’s most popular ministers and Konrad Mizzi falling to fourth place after Edward Sciciluna.

While all Ministers included in the top five in the Independent survey occupy the top spots in the MaltaToday survey and both surveys showed Konrad Mizzi losing ground, the surveys assessed the performance of ministers in a different way.

While in the MaltaToday survey respondents were asked to rate each minister individually, in the Independent survey they were asked to name one cabinet member whom they believe is the best-performing minister.  Therefore while the MaltaToday survey gives a clearer indication on which minister is perceived to be achieving the best individual results, the Independent survey gives a clearer indication on which minister is most popular.