Labour leads the Nationalist Party by just under 16,000 votes, according to a new poll out on Saturday by Vincent Marmarà.
The survey found that Labour would scrape an absolute majority of 50.1% if a general election were to be held tomorrow, with the PN obtaining 44.2% of the vote, ADPD 3% and other parties getting 2.7%.
But almost one in every four respondents – 22% – told pollsters they are still not sure whether they will cast a vote in the next general election.
The findings are consistent with Marmarà's previous poll, held in October, with changes falling within the methodology’s margin of error.
Marmarà said there appears to be a “strong and consolidated” part of the voter base that remains undecided or unwilling to vote.
“As last year’s State of the Nation survey indicated, many people have lost interest in politics or do not feel inspired by it,” he said.
Marmarà’s survey suggests that many of those reluctant voters are traditionally Labour voters who are unhappy with the current state of affairs but unwilling to vote for other parties.
Their primary concerns are immigration, overpopulation, construction, traffic and the environment, the survey found.
There was relatively little indication of voters switching allegiances, he noted.
A total of 72.2% of those who voted Labour in the 2022 election said they will once again support the party in government, while just 1.5% said they will vote for the PN.
A further 12.1% said they are undecided and 12.9% declared they will not be voting.
Just 1.3% said they will vote ADPD or some other party.
The PN showed a stronger retention rate, as 80.5% of its supporters in 2022 said they would once again vote for the same party.
A further 11.9% said they are undecided, 6.2% will not be voting, 1% will vote for ADPD and just 0.4% for Labour.
Labour leader Robert Abela continues to hold a strong lead over Bernard Grech when it comes to voter confidence, with 37.8% citing him as their preferred leader to Grech’s 24.6%.
The remainder either said they trust neither (17.6%), cited another leader (12.4%) or said they were undecided (7.6%).