Despite being embroiled in the Panamagate scandal, Energy and Health Minister Konrad Mizzi is still ranked as the best-performing minister according to the April 2016 edition of the Malta Independent iSurvey.

This does not, however, mean that Dr Mizzi is entirely off the hook – he retained the top position he had in the April 2015 iSurvey, but he has dropped a massive 17.6 percentage points – having fallen from 37.1 per cent to 19.5 per cent.

The results of the latest iSurvey, the fifth, carried out this month have shown a considerable reshuffle in terms of how the public perceives the performance of their government ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

Respondents were asked to name who they believe is the best-performing minister or parliamentary secretary without being prompted.

Dr Mizzi topped the list on three occasions: this month, in April 2015 and in May 2014. In the other two surveys, the embattled minister had ranked second.

The position of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who faces a motion of no confidence in his government tomorrow, has dropped considerably; he was ranked second in April 2015 but has dropped to number five this month.

He was mentioned as the top performing minister by 9.6 per cent of respondents this month, as opposed to 17.6 per cent in 2015. Dr Muscat has also been facing a steady decline over the past two years; in the December 2014 iSurvey he had been mentioned by 29 per cent of respondents.

Public perception can change quickly; however when looking at the list of the highest ranked ‘best-performing’ ministers between the April 2015 survey and this month’s, two new names appear.

Education and Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo, Dr Mizzi and Dr Muscat all retained their top five spots, except for some small changes, but this month Finance Minister Edward Scicluna and Parliamentary Secretary for Health Chris Fearne have made it to the top five.

Mr Bartolo ranked second this month, at the expense of Prime Minister Muscat, who had been ranked second last year. He was mentioned by 16.6 per cent of respondents, 7.2 per cent more when compared to the previous year, where he was ranked third.

In the wake of the scandal surrounding Dr Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Mr Bartolo posted a number of cryptic – and not so cryptic – messages on Facebook. He also said that if he were in Dr Mizzi’s position, he would take the advice of former Prime Minister and current MEP Alfred Sant, and resign.

Professor Scicluna moved up four spaces, being mentioned 15.1 per cent this month, compared with 9.4 per cent from the previous iSurvey. This is a jump of 12.2 percentage points, the largest registered increase in mentions by respondents.

Prof. Scicluna recently come under heavy criticism for not condemning the actions of Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri – and since the scandal surrounds financial secrecy and allegations of financial corruption, many had expected harsher words from Prof. Scicluna. These expectations have been amplified in the light of Malta ongoing battle in the EU to retain its ability to offer preferential tax agreements to multinational companies.

Mr Fearne, who is the first parliamentary secretary to reach the top five, was mentioned by 12.1 per cent of respondents, an increase of 9.7 percentage points. He was ranked number eight in April 2015, going up four spots in this month’s survey. The reduction of waiting lists for a number of important procedures, eradication of out-of-stock medicine and fast momentum in the health sector are a number of reasons why Mr Fearne has been viewed so favourably.

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici experienced a 5.7 per cent drop in preferential mentions by respondents. He was ranked fourth in the April 2015 survey, but has dropped to eighth place. Controversy surrounded the minister when he proposed two questionable magisterial appointments in February of this year. His work on justice reform such as speeding up the judicial process and revamping the online justice services earned him a high ranking in the previous survey.

In line with the April 2015 trends, the public’s ministerial and parliamentary secretary preferences continued to be spread unevenly, especially when compared with December 2014. A total of 79.1 per cent of mentions by respondents pertain to the top six ministers and parliamentary secretaries, with the remaining 17 receiving just 20.9 per cent of mentions.

The only official to not receive a mention by any of the respondents was newly-appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Planning Deborah Schembri, who took her oath of office in January of this year.

Her predecessor, Michael Falzon, had to resign after a damning report penned by the National Audit Office found that he, among others, failed to safeguard the government’s interest in the controversial Old Mint Street-Gaffarena scandal.

Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech received a mention of 0.7 per cent by respondents. He was not mentioned in the previous survey and has consistently been upstaged by his Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg. Dr Borg, although bettering his direct superior, was only mentioned by 1.4 per cent of respondents. At one stage of a previous iSurvey, Dr Grech and Dr Borg had the same percentage of mentions.

Dr Borg had experienced a decrease of 0.4 percentage points, which could be down to a report issued by the Office of the Ombudsman last December, which said that a permit issued on a site owned by Dr Borg is surrounded by a “series of omissions”, and that he employed “devious” methods in order to secure the permit.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities Justyne Caruana, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela and Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Youth and Sport Chris Agius all received a mention in this month’s survey, as opposed to the April 2015 survey. They were mentioned by 1.8 per cent, 1.4 per cent and 1.4 per cent of respondents respectively.

Dr Caruana, who has revealed plans to build a state-of-the-art hub for people with disabilities and their families in October 2015, could have registered more mentions as a result of the increased momentum of work being carried out in her sector.

Highlighted in the previous article which analysed the results for best-performing ministers or parliamentary secretaries, public perception as to which officials are performing best does not necessarily indicate what public perception is on the worst performing members of Cabinet.

In previous surveys, respondents were asked to state who they believe should be removed from Cabinet. Upon receiving the results, it became apparent that there were a number of ministers who ranked highly on both lists. This can be said for Minister Konrad Mizzi – although he has consistently done well in the best-performing category, he was also ranked the second most likely to be nominated for removal by respondents (May 2014 survey).

Certain portfolios, because of their very nature, are expected to be ranked highly on any list which assesses the performance of Cabinet members. The prime minister’s role, energy, health, transport, education and justice are all important portfolios which are typically given importance by the public.