Momentum Publishes Survey Questions and Inquiry Findings on Yorgen Fenech Poll

· Updated

In brief

  • Partit Momentum released 22 questions from an anonymous pre-trial survey conducted among 500 respondents concerning Yorgen Fenech.
  • The poll addressed public views on murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Fenech, and the Maltese court system.
  • The party also disclosed the outcome of a University of Malta inquiry that cleared pollster Vincent Marmara over the survey.

Political party Partit Momentum has published documents detailing an anonymous opinion survey carried out ahead of the trial of Yorgen Fenech, who stands accused of complicity in the 2017 assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The published material includes a draft containing 22 questions presented to a sample of 500 people. The questions reportedly gauged public perceptions of Caruana Galizia, Fenech himself, and the Maltese judicial system just weeks before the trial was scheduled to commence.

According to the disclosures, the research was commissioned on behalf of Fenech's defence team by his uncle, accompanied by specific conditions governing how the polling was to be carried out.

In addition to the survey questions, the political party submitted to the media the conclusions of an internal review conducted by the University of Malta concerning statistician Vincent Marmara's role in the polling exercise.

The university's inquiry was commissioned by the institution's Rector, who appointed a judge to examine Marmara's involvement in the commissioned research. The resulting findings reportedly cleared the academic of wrongdoing.

The release of the documents has renewed attention on the controversial survey and the ethical standards surrounding academic involvement in pre-trial opinion research for criminal defence teams.

The Spin Room

Medium media divide. Coverage differed in focus, with Lovin Malta highlighting the specific survey questions published by Partit Momentum while The Maltese Herald led with the University of Malta inquiry into the pollster.

  • Lovin Malta: Focused on the publication of the 22 survey questions regarding Daphne Caruana Galizia and the courts ahead of the trial.
  • The Maltese Herald: Led with the University of Malta inquiry into Vincent Marmara and its conclusion clearing him.

Updates

  • : Updated with reporting from MaltaToday and The Malta Independent: details on the 22 questions examining public attitudes towards ongoing national events, controversies, and key public figures.

Sources (4)