Local
Strong showing for new political party, survey says
By MaltaMedia News
Jul 1, 2007 - 10:34:55 AM

New political party Azzjoni Nazzjonali (AN) made a strong initial showing, securing six per cent of the voting intentions of the Maltese, double that of Alternattiva Demokratika (AD), according to the latest survey conducted by sociologist Mario Vassallo on behalf of The Sunday Times of Malta.

The two main parties will secure 34.3% (Malta Labour Party) and 25.7% (Nationalist Party), with a significant 23% undecided and the balance intending to abstain. This compares with a similar study conducted last March in which the voting intentions (before AN was announced) of 35.7% for the MLP, 22.3% for the PN and two per cent for AD, with 10.7% intending to abstain.

The launch of AN by Dr Josie Muscat did not come as a surprise to 58.3% of the Maltese electorate; 36.7% were surprised; and 5% would not comment. More males were not surprised (60.3%) than females (56.5%). The least surprised were those aged 36-40 (61.4%) and members of the DE socio-economic group (70.1%).

Four of the five cardinal principles enunciated by AN obtained the support of the Maltese electorate according to the survey final conclusions.

Less than 10% of the population (9.7%) believe that the economy is expanding and moving out of a period of relative stagnation, as Government is claiming. Another 37% agree but pointed out that this is not true for all economic sectors. As many as 46% said they did not think this was true; 1.3% said they did not know and 6% refused to answer.

In terms of how persuasive the political parties are at the moment, it is the MLP that tops the heap with a national average of 55.3%, appealing almost equally to both males (56.2%) and females (54.5%). The PN is perceived as the most persuasive by just under 40% (39.3% - with a 38.4%:40:3% male-female split).

When asked which of the two main political parties attracted them most at present, the Maltese said that the MLP attracts 56%, as opposed to 40% for the PN with 4% refusing to answer. More males are attracted to the MLP than females, with the situation in reverse for the PN. The MLP is attracting more persons aged 16-25 than the PN (MLP 63.8%; PN 34%) and those aged 65+ (MLP 68.9%; PN 31.1%).

According to the electorate, the government is currently taking more heed of its wishes, with only 36.7% saying this was not true. While 6% said this was true without qualification, 57% acknowledged the shift but commented that this was not taking place in all sectors. Those in the C1 and C2 socio-economic groups are feeling this shift most.

There were significant changes in the issues which the electorate believe will dominate the coming general election campaign. The most important issue, with no prompting allowed, was that of the water and electricity bills, which was mentioned by 52.7%, when a third of the electorate (33.7% + 19%) raised the issue in March.

The next three issues raised were the economy/national debt, 52.3% (37.3%); increase in the cost of living because of the euro, 45% (33.7%); and the environment, 30.7% (27.7%). One issue that has dropped off the national radar is work and employment opportunities, which was mentioned by 18.3% last March.

The two main political parties are perceived to disagree on most of these issues, although there were some important shifts since last March and the parties being perceived as being closer on a good number of these issues. On the issue of divorce, the two parties are now seen to disagree much more.

The issues the parties appear to disagree most are the economy/public debt, the euro-related cost of living increase, and the water and electricity bills, although the difference between the two parties on these three issues is perceived to have narrowed since last March.

Finally, apart from asking the electorate which party they intended to vote for, they were also asked which parties they voted for last time. The amount of voters who wished to be reticent on their preferred party is still high at 15.3%, even if less than the 30.3% registered last March.

With 36.7% saying they would vote MLP (34.7% last March), 33.7% voting PN (30.7%) and 5% AD (1.7%) with 9.3% abstaining (2.7%), the figures do not represent the end result of the last general elections.

Source: The Sunday Times of Malta