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Fearne Vs Abela: Which Prime Minister Candidate Rules The Social Media Domain?

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The race is on to find the next Prime Minister of Malta following Joseph Muscat’s upcoming resignation in light of recent political events. Since announcing that there will be a search for the next Labour leader, two main candidates have emerged thus far, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne and MP Robert Abela.

Though Chris Fearne may be the favourite to become the next Prime Minister of Malta, it is in fact Robert Abela who has the upper hand when it comes to online presence. 

Robert Abela gets more likes, comments and shares than rival Chris Fearne, despite Fearne having 10k more likes on Facebook.

When both candidates announced that they will run for Labour leader, it was MP Robert Abela who received the most support – getting 10k reacts, 2.3k comments and 380 shares on Facebook alone.

Chris Fearne, on the other hand, received a less impressive 3.8k likes, 1.1k comments and 393 shares.

This may come as a surprise to some as Chris Fearne currently has 38,041 people following his page compared to Abela’s 29,509.

In addition, several MPs and Ministers have also endorsed Chris Fearne in his campaign to become the next Prime Minister while no one has officially come out in support of Robert Abela. Yet, it appears that Robert has the upper hand in the social media game, racking up more engagement on posts and photos since Saturday and possibly making him a strong contender for the PM seat.

A simple post by Robert gets more engagement than a photo posted by Chris Fearne…

When both Fearne and Abela posted photos from the start of Joseph Muscat’s farewell tour last Sunday, Abela also received way more support online…

A recent survey published by MaltaToday indicates that Chis Fearne enjoys a record trust rating of 60.6% among the Maltese people, with even 17.8% of PN voters stating they trust him more than Opposition leader Adrian Delia.

While Abela only enjoys a trust rating of 49.3%, his ability to mobilise his supporters, as evidence by his social media engagement, will come as a concern for Fearne.

Indeed, Lovin Malta revealed today that people close to Fearne are concerned at Abela’s popularity among party members and are planning to stop the two squaring off against each other in a popular vote.

This would involve a third candidate throwing his name in the hat before tomorrow’s deadline, a move that would see the three candidates go for a vote among the 750 PL delegates, with the two frontrunners then facing of against each other among the party members.

Labour sources said that people close to Fearne think that this move could see Abela eliminated from the race before members get to vote, which would make life easier for Fearne when he faces off against the third candidate. 

Who do you think should be the next Prime Minister? Let us know in the comments below

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When JP's not too busy working on polyrhythmic beats, you'll probably find him out and about walking his dog.

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