Prime Minister Robert Abela leads PN leader Bernard Grech by almost 20 percentage points, according to a survey published on Sunday.

The survey, carried out by statistician Vincent Marmara for General Workers’ Union newspaper it-Torċa, indicates that the gap between the governing Labour Party and Nationalist Party opposition remains similar to what it was during the 2017 general election.

It found that Labour would win 55.5 per cent of the vote if an election were to be held tomorrow, versus 42 per cent for the PN. The 2017 general election had ended with Labour winning just over 55 per cent of the vote and the PN at around 43.7 per cent. 

The gap between the two sides was larger when survey respondents were asked who they believed was the best leader for the county.

52.7 per cent of respondents named Abela as their favoured leader, compared to 33.2 per cent who chose Grech  – a different of 19.5 percentage points.

Grech narrows gap by 9 percentage points

Despite that gap, the survey suggests Grech has managed to shore up support and is consolidating his base, with his 33.2 per cent rating comparing favourably to the 24.1 per cent he polled when it-Torċa ran a similar survey in October 2020.

The survey of 600 respondents was carried out between January 25 and 28 and carries a confidence interval of 95 per cent with a margin of error of +/-4 per cent, statistician Marmara said.

MPs from both sides of the House shared excerpts of the survey on their social media feeds on Sunday, with Labour politicians highlighting the gap between the two parties and Nationalist ones instead focusing on Grech’s improved showing.

A separate survey published by Malta Today earlier this month had reported a narrower gap between Abela and Grech, with the PL leader polling 42.1 per cent and Grech registering a trust rating of 34.7 per cent.