Lovin Malta carried out its first online political survey this week. The online survey is not intended to show a nationwide trend, but to paint a picture of how Lovin Malta’s readers are analysing the political scene. 

Here’s a roundup of the results. 

1. First, let’s look at the people who responded

54.8% of the respondents were between the ages of 16* and 29, while 22.1% were between 30 and 39. The gender split was almost even, with a slight bias towards men. 

*Keep in mind that 16-year-olds may have the right to vote at the next election in March 2018 although this has not yet been decided.

2. Most of the respondents (57.1%) come from a Nationalist family background

As predicted by Labour blogger Glenn Bedingfield, it seems Lovin Malta’s readers do have a Nationalist bias: 57.1% of respondents say they come from a family traditionally associated with the Nationalist Party. Only 24.5% said they came from the opposing side.

3. But only 38.9% voted PN at the last election

A large portion (23.1%) was too young to vote, meaning they hadn’t turned 18 by 2013. 

4. 25% of respondents don’t trust any political leaders

While the trust rating of Joseph Muscat remains close to the percentage of Labour-leaning voters, the trust rating of Simon Busuttil is nowhere near where it could be if Nationalist-leaning voters had faith in him. 

5. But if an election was held tomorrow, this is how Lovin Malta survey respondents would vote

This indicates that the Nationalist Party stands to gain votes from people who do not trust either political leader as well as those who were too young to vote at the last election.

Only 7.2% of respondents are undecided. Another 9.2% are planning not to vote, while 9.7% are planning to vote for none of the two big parties.

6. Corruption is our biggest concern

We asked respondents to choose the issues that are most likely to influence their vote. Respondents were told to pick three. The top three concerns were: corruption, the environment and cost of living (e.g. rent prices, taxes).

7. And most of us seem to want an earlier election

We asked respondents whether they thought the election should be held before 2018 so as to keep Valletta 2018 Capital of Culture politics-free. The most chosen response (49.6%) was yes.

8. We also asked respondents to name one local politician they admired

101 mentioned former PN leader Eddie Fenech Adami

96 mentioned Prime Minister Joseph Muscat

88 couldn’t mention any and just wrote “none” instead 

68 mentioned chairman of Alternattiva Demokratika Arnold Cassola

60 mentioned Nationalist Party deputy leader Mario De Marco

49 mentioned Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil

9. And to name one international politician they admired

224 mentioned former US President Barack Obama

123 mentioned German chancellor Angela Merkel

78 mentioned Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

72 mentioned former Democrat presidential nominee Bernie Sanders

20 mentioned US President Donald Trump

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Chris Peregin

Christian is an award-winning journalist and entrepreneur who founded Lovin Malta, a new media company dedicated to creating positive impact in society. He is passionate about justice, public finances and finding ways to build a better future.