Robert Abela has pledged to "work harder" to "win the trust" of the public after a Times of Malta poll showed Labour's popularity has plummeted to its lowest in years.

According to the survey published on Sunday, Abela’s own trust rating among the public has also taken a severe hit a year on from his party's resounding victory in the general election. 

However, the PN has failed to make any ground, with Labour's lost votes going towards third parties or abstentions, according to the survey. 

While Abela said the "real" surveys are results of the general and European Parliament elections, he said he still believes he must work harder to gain the trust of the people.

“I believe I need to work harder, and I need to work harder to win the trust of the Maltese and Gozitans,” Robert Abela told Times of Malta.

He recalled how a year ago, the people voted for him to run the country, during a time when Malta was recovering from the pandemic and the beginning of a war in Europe. 

"You can say we experienced something extraordinary, dealing with a rise of inflation, while we were recovering from the pandemic," he said.

Abela said the country is currently experiencing a phase of economic growth but his party must continue to listen to the realities and concerns of the general public. 

“We need to understand what is worrying our public, one being the phenomenon of inflation,” he said. 

He said while the government has kept fuel and energy prices stable, the country has experienced an increase in food prices, which, he said, is a concern to the population. 

“We need to be closer to the people, understand what has hurt them, and I believe we can continue to move forward and win more of the public’s trust.”

His comments were echoed by Bernard Grech, whose party has failed to make inroads. 

“I work every day, and I continue to work every day to make sure the Nationalist party can offer to the people who said they will not vote for us so that they can come forward to the party,” he said.

The survey also showed that people would prefer European Parliament president Roberta Metsola to lead his party.

Reacting to this, Grech said Metsola is determined and focused on her work at the European Parliament. 

"I look forward to working together, myself as leader and her as an MEP for the Nationalist Party."

In recent weeks, Grech repeatedly refused to state if he will stay on as PN leader after next year's European Parliament elections.

"Today I concentrate so I can work on what our paid members (tesserati) voted for me to do, and to do what the councillors confirmed last year for me to continue."

Sources told Times of Malta that Grech has told fellow MPs that he is prepared to do whatever is "best for the party and the country", as PN strategists pin their hopes on Metsola eventually taking over the leadership of the struggling party.