€145,300, 12 direct orders for Marmara despite repeated polling misses

Vince Marmara and his company Sagalytics feature in 12 government direct orders worth €145,300 published in the Government Gazette during the first ten months of 2026, documenting the Labour-linked pollster’s continuing commercial relationship with public entities and the Labour administration.

The professor’s assignments range across the board – from research on euthanasia and gaming employment to transport incentives, residential care standards and perceptions of the Mediterranean Conference Centre.

The disclosures come amid scrutiny of Marmara’s polling record following successive electoral misses.

In the final week of this year’s general election campaign, Marmara projected a Labour victory of around 30,000 votes. The eventual margin was approximately 22,000 – some 8,000 votes narrower than his survey suggested.

The discrepancy followed criticism of his polling during the 2024 European Parliament and local council elections. Successive misses have sharpened questions about the reliability of surveys presented to the public as a measure of political support to the Labour administration.

Data compiled by The Shift shows that eleven of the 12 procurement entries carry values below €10,000, excluding VAT. Several sit close to that figure, including three assignments worth €9,750, one worth €9,800, another worth €9,850 and a €9,900 survey. This is normally done to avoid a competitive public tender.

The largest assignment was a €46,500 feasibility study awarded to Sagalytics by the Malta Gaming Authority. Its published description provides no further detail about the study’s subject.

The authority also awarded Marmara personally €7,000 for statistical analysis related to employment in gaming, bringing the two listed assignments to €53,500.

Project Green, headed by former Malta Financial Services Authority chief executive Joseph Cuschieri, accounted for two further entries, each worth €9,750: one described simply as a survey, and another as quantitative research connected to the Green Summit 2026.

Sagalytics received another €9,750 for research on euthanasia commissioned for the Parliamentary Secretariat for Equality and Reforms.

Other assignments included €9,850 for research into motor-related incentives, €9,800 for a Public Works survey and €8,900 for research ahead of consultation on residential-home standards.

A Court Services Agency employee wellness survey was listed at €9,600, while research into perceptions of the Mediterranean Conference Centre carried a €9,900 value.

The remaining entries concerned €6,000 in small-business consultancy for Malta Enterprise and €8,500 for collecting data on psychosocial risk factors for the Occupational Health and Safety Authority.

Alongside these public assignments, The Shift is informed that Marmara conducted private polling for several government ministers in the run-up to the election. It is not known how much the Labour candidates were charged for those services.

The latest disclosures add to a longstanding flow of public business to Marmara.

The Shift has previously reported that Marmara’s commercial interests have secured government-funded work worth millions of euros since Labour returned to power in 2013.

His business interests have also included Powered Knowledge, a company co-owned with Frank Bezzina. Previous reporting documented substantial government mystery-shopping assignments involving the company.

Bezzina, a former dean of the University of Malta’s Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy, assumed office as rector on 1 July 2026.