Busuttil supporters behind unsourced survey

MaltaToday is informed that persons close to MEP Simon Busuttil, supporting his bid to win the PN deputy leader election, commissioned a survey published by The Malta Independent on Sunday.

Speaking to MaltaToday, the MEP said: "I do not know who commissioned the Malta Independent survey. It could have been commissioned by people who are close to me but I would need to check things out."

He added that in the past days, many surveys had been commissioned by people close to him and others who are not close to him.

Busuttil stressed that at the moment he is busy meeting PN councillors personally and has no time to commission surveys himself, however he pointed out that "the survey's results are in line with other surveys carried out in recent weeks."

The survey was carried out by Informa Consultants, however the agency's director Clive Falzon would not confirm who commissioned the survey. Falzon told MaltaToday that he cannot reveal who commissioned the survey as he is bound by confidentiality.

The Malta Independent on Sunday did not reveal who carried out the survey, or the methodology used, however, the Public Broadcasting Services' newsroom departed from its declared policy not to publicise newspaper surveys, when TVM news ran an item on the unsourced survey.

An interview with the Independent's managing editor Stephen Calleja on the unsourced survey claiming higher public support for Nationalist  MEP Simon Busuttil for the deputy leadership of the PN, was given prominence on Sunday's TVM 8pm bulletin.

Reportedly, PBS directors washed their hands of all responsibility and said they do not have any control on the broadcaster's editorial policy and the news items run by the editorial board, led by Natalino Fenech.

Traditionally, PBS refuses to publicise or refer to surveys in newspapers such as those of MaltaToday, which correctly predicted the outcome of the 2008 general election.

In recent weeks, MaltaToday had already reported that the Simon Busuttil camp was encouraging media houses to organise and publish surveys to prove that Busuttil had greater public support than finance minister Tonio Fenech.

The two men are facing each other off in a contest for the deputy leadership of the PN, whose election will be decided by the PN's 900 councillors. The election will be held on Friday, with a second round planned for Sunday if neither candidate achieves two-thirds of the votes.

Fenech enjoys wide support from chief cabinet ministers and veteran councillors.

Campaigners close to Tonio Fenech who spoke to this newspaper yesterday questioned the authenticity of the survey. "Our perception is obviously that PBS has taken an obvious leaning towards Simon Busuttil's candidature."

The same source said that on two occasions, PBS journalist Reno Bugeja and TVAM presenter Pierre Portelli referred to MaltaToday's revelations of 2010 that led to the resignation of Fenech's private secretary Nicholas Borg Hedley, who was later charged with taking bribes from the JPM Brothers construction firm in return for administrative favours. The Montebello brothers were embroiled in a controversial renovation of Fenech's residence, ostensibly as a favour to broker the sale of a Marsaskala hotel, which never took place.

"We didn't expect PBS to use the Borg Hedley incident in the interviews. It was slightly under-handed," the source said.