And this was BEFORE Franco Mercieca’s private-ops debacle, the appointment of John Dalli and Lou Bondi, and the ‘blacklisted’ Chinese bridge fiasco

From Malta Today, last Sunday:

MUSCAT’S PERFORMANCE DROPS BY 13 POINTS

– Joseph Muscat leads Busuttil by 17 points on trust barometer

The latest Malta Today survey reveals that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s performance rating has dropped by 13 points. However, he still has a 17-point lead over Opposition leader Simon Busuttil.

The reputable Malta Today survey was carried out before revelations that Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca had lied about his private work, and it coincides with Muscat’s first 100 days as Prime Minister.

The survey registers a 12-point drop in the percentage of respondents who believe that the Labour government is honouring its meritocracy pledge.

Only one-third of respondents now believe that the government is honouring the ‘Malta taghna lkoll’ election rallying call.

Significantly, only 34% of switchers (respondents who voted PN in 2008 and PL in 2013) gave Muscat a positive rating, and only 24% of this strategic category of voters believe that he is honouring his pledge of meritocracy in public appointments.

How do you assess Joseph Muscat’s performance as prime minister?
POSITIVELY: 46.4% (down by 12.6)

NEGATIVELY : 9.5% (up by 3.8)

NOT SO GOOD : 28.7% (up by 15.2)

DON’T KNOW: 15.5% (down by 6.4)

Between Joseph Muscat and Simon Busuttil, whom do you trust most? (Daphne’s note: What lousy grammar – that should be, ‘OF Joseph Muscat and Simon Busuttil, WHO do you trust most?)

JOSEPH MUSCAT: PN/4.4%; PL/87.3%; Switchers/ 60%, All/43.3%

SIMON BUSUTTIL: PN/72.6%; PL/3.5%; Switchers/8%; All/25.9%

NEITHER: PN/8.7%; PL/4.9%; Switchers/20%; All/9.2%

DON’T KNOW: PN/14.3%; PL/4.3%; Switchers/12%; All/21.6%

SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Muscat’s approval rating dips by 13 points in two months
• Muscat still enjoys higher approval rate than Gonzi in June 2008
• Only 31% of university-educated respondents judge Muscat’s performance positively
• Approval rating among Labour voters has fallen by 14 points since April
• 16% of PN voters judge Muscat’s performance positively
• Only 34% believe Muscat is keeping his meritocracy pledge
• Muscat leads Busuttil by 17 points on trust barometer
• Muscat beats Busuttil among respondents from all educational groups
• 27% of PN voters in 2008 do not prefer Busuttil to Muscat
• 12-point drop in number of respondents who think Labour is honouring meritocracy pledge

WHAT THE SWITCHERS THINK*

• 34% judge Muscat’s performance positively, a drop of 52 points from April
• 32% deem Muscat’s performance to be ‘not so good’, an increase of 28 points from April
• 24% believe that Labour is honouring Malta taghna lkoll pledge, a 15-point drop since May
• 60% prefer Joseph Muscat to Simon Busuttil
• 8% prefer Simon Busuttil to Joseph Muscat
*sample size was limited to 25 respondents who voted PN in 2008 and PL in 2013-06-16