Survey results confirm people are responding to our message - Bernard Grech

Opposition leader Bernard Grech welcomed the results of a survey published by Times of Malta on Sunday, which indicated that the PN continued to make inroads with voters, saying the results showed tangibly that “people are hearing our message”. 

Grech was being interviewed on PN radio station NET FM on Sunday morning.

He said the results indicated that people are growing tired of the government’s missteps. 

“I’ve always looked at surveys as a snapshot of a given moment, so I'm never too preoccupied nor do I make a fuss when a survey is positive,” he said. 

“That being said, when people communicated to the party that we needed to change, we listened, and likewise what I am hearing from these results is that people are sending a message that they do not like that their government built close relationships with criminals, that they wake up to a new scandal every day, that their government has caused the country to be greylisted and has yet to indicate that they are working on a way out.”

The survey data indicated that the PN had gained three percentage points, with analysts predicting 44.91% of respondents would vote PN if an election were to be held now, versus 53.81% for Labour. In July, that split stood at 41.8% (PN) to 56.9% (PL).

Conversely, Grech personal trust rating dropped by 1.1 percentage points, while Prime Minister Robert Abela gained 4.1 percentage points over the previous month.

“We are going to keep working to show people that we can continue to become the party that can enact the change they want to see,” Grech said. 

Joseph Muscat

Asked to comment on a wide-ranging interview, former prime minister Joseph Muscat gave Times of Malta last week, Grech said he would not keep commenting on the former PM as he had “lost all credibility”. 

“This man has inflicted untold damage to our country and I firmly believe he should be part of our past and not of our present.”

“Unfortunately Robert Abela, the continuity candidate is not capable of breaking away from him because he depends on and is controlled by Muscat. People need new hope and neither Joseph Muscat nor Robert Abela can give it to them.”

Marsascala yacht marina

On the proposed Marsascala yacht marina, Grech said that sustainable development does not come by running roughshod over residents and encroaching on spaces used for public enjoyment. 

“You absolutely cannot have a massive development without wide consultation on the project,” he said.

“But the government has already decided that it wants to do this and is not backing down because the decision has already been taken in some backroom, so those with something to gain can turn a profit.”

“We cannot keep allowing a few privileged individuals to keep snatching up our environment and determining the shape of our villages,” Grech said.

In a post on Facebook later, Grech also promised that, as Prime Minister, he will withdraw the Marsaskala marina plans immediately.