Support for democracy is declining among the youngest. One in four men (25.9%) aged between 18 and 26, known as Generation Z, considers that “in some circumstances” authoritarianism may be preferable to the democratic system, while 18.3% of them, almost eight points less, would choose a dictatorship. The gap between the sexes is even greater in the next generation up, the millennials, between 27 and 42 years old: 22.9% of men consider an authoritarian regime acceptable compared to only 12.7% of women. This is revealed by the latest survey by 40dB. for EL PAÍS and SER, The “democratic disorder” in Spain, which offers an extensive x-ray of the public perception of the current political situation and in which the pessimistic view prevails. The majority of Spaniards believe that democracy does not work well, that it is deteriorating and only half feel represented by a party. In addition, society is predominantly against greater participation of immigrants in politics. You can consult all the internal data of the survey at ELPAÍS.com.
Among the general population, only one in eight (12.6%) would opt for an authoritarian regime over a democratic one, and the percentage is higher among voters of far-right parties: 24% among Vox voters and 21.3% among Se acaba la Fiesta, Alvise Pérez’s party, which stormed into the European elections in June, winning three seats.
When it comes to evaluating the functioning of Spanish democracy, 33.3% of voters give it a negative opinion, compared to 25.7% who rate it positively, although more, 38.6%, rate it as “average”. The most critical are the voters of Se Acabó la Fiesta (70.5%) and the most optimistic are those of the PSOE, a segment of the electorate in which only 7.3% believe that it is going badly or very badly.
What matters most is what happens closer to home. To make sure you don’t miss anything, subscribe.
KEEP READING
The barometer shows that 68.5% of the population considers that democracy in Spain is deteriorating, and that it is doing so to a greater extent than in Europe (57.8%) and the rest of the world (65.9%). In 51.8% of cases, Spaniards point to corruption as the main problem of democracy, followed by the failure of politicians to keep their promises (35.1%) and the lack of equality before the law (29.6%). Nationalist and pro-independence movements are in fifth place (22.4%) of concerns and in ninth place is political activism by judges (16.9%). The lack of independence of the media and the publication of false information about politics are not among the top ten. These last issues have taken up a large part of the package of measures on democratic regeneration presented by Pedro Sánchez in Congress, which will be negotiated with the groups in the coming months.
The survey asks precisely about this plan, which is widely unknown in society: 30% of the population has not heard of it (18.8%) or has no opinion (11.2%) on it. Of those who have heard of it, there is little difference between those who rate it negatively and those who rate it positively (28.3% versus 24.1%). The most critical are Vox voters (58.4%) and the most favorable are PSOE voters (56.7%).
In another section of the study, the majority of respondents (56.2%) say they come across fake news at least once a week, with social media being the channel where they see it most at 56.9%, followed by television (34.3%), influencers either youtubers (25.2%), digital-only newspapers (18.4%) and newspapers with both a web and paper edition (16.8%). Only 6.8% say they encounter hoaxes on the radio, 3.8% in podcasts and 2.9% in magazines.
In a particularly tense summer regarding the migration debate, with a strong polarisation in the public discourse of the parties, the study also reflects a rejection of the participation of immigrants in politics. 36.2% believe that it would get worse if a greater number of people from another country took an active part in it and only the voters of Sumar and Podemos believe that it would improve. In general, the left-wing electorate considers a greater political participation of all groups with little institutional presence to be positive. Those on the right, however, only see the inclusion of more women, young people and private sector workers as beneficial and are more opposed to the inclusion of immigrants.
At a time of disaffection with politics, only 51.2% of citizens surveyed feel that there is at least one party that represents them and only 14.1% say that most politicians care about what ordinary people think, with PSOE voters being those who most believe that politicians take their opinions into account.
Political tension
Almost nine out of 10 citizens (86.6%) consider that the political debate is very or quite tense. The older generations, from 59 years old, are those who perceive this situation to a greater degree. National political leaders appear to be those who contribute most to the deterioration of the debate. Those surveyed think this way in 41.3% of the cases, in 30% they share the blame between politicians, citizens and the media. In 10.8% of the responses, the latter are held responsible for the tension. Only Podemos voters blame the media more than politicians. If four years ago, Spaniards mainly blamed Vox and Unidas Podemos for the deterioration of the political debate, now it is Vox and PSOE that polarize opinions on the matter. 26.2% blame Santiago Abascal’s party and 24.8% the socialists.
#young #men #prefer #authoritarianism #democracy #circumstances
