18.5% of Spaniards do not support democracy, according to the CIS
The armed forces are the institution in which citizens trust the most, and, lastly, the political parties.
MadridThere is a significant minority within the Spanish state that opposes democracy as a system of government. According to a CIS barometer published this Thursday, 18.5% of Spaniards do not believe that this regime is preferable. For 8.6%, an authoritarian regime is preferable "in some circumstances," and for 9.9%, it is indifferent between the two. Vox voters in particular are those who deviate from the consensus regarding a democratic regime: only 59.7% prefer democracy, while 30.3% defend authoritarianism.
It is also the far right that makes the armed forces, by far, the most highly valued institution in Spain. Overall, it receives a score of 6.8 on a scale of 0 to 10, above the courts of justice (4.8), regional governments (4.7), the Constitutional Court (4.3), business organizations (4.2), the media (4.1), Congress (4.1), the Spanish government (3.7), and trade unions. In this sense, 34.6% of Vox voters give the armed forces a score of 10, and 33.7% a score of 7, 8, or 9.
The judicial sector fails despite being the second-highest-rated institution, and Spaniards express many suspicions about it. For example, 78% believe that the justice system is not always impartial when judging political parties, 78.5% maintain that justice is not equal for the rich as for the poor, and 90% that justice is not equal for politicians as for citizens. On this last point, it is true that politicians often enjoy immunity from prosecution in the highest courts.
On the other hand, political parties are the least highly valued, although Spaniards are clear (76.1%) that "without political parties there can be no democracy." Furthermore, 69.3% believe there are enough parties to vote for. However, 87.6% would like to see greater citizen participation in political decisions because 54.9% are little or not at all satisfied with the functioning of current democracy. In fact, only 4.6% are very satisfied, and 16% are quite satisfied.
PP-PSOE Relations
This barometer also asks whether Spain's two largest parties, the People's Party (PP) and the Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), should reach an agreement on matters of state. One of the issues most at the top of the agenda is defense policy, although as a priority for citizens it ranks behind other issues. 74.6% consider defense a high or fairly high priority, but other areas of work are higher, such as the fight against gender-based violence, foreign policy, the reform of the Workers' Statute, regional financing, fair taxation, and the management of European funds.