The increase in defence spending divides Spaniards

BarcelonaSpain has aligned itself with its European partners in the arms crusade that is to increase the defence budget to 2% of GDP. The war in Ukraine has led to calls to invest more in the military, and Spanish president Pedro Sánchez has already explained that he will do so gradually. The State currently allocates €10.2bn (1.2% of its GDP) to the Ministry of Defence, but there are other related items that are not part of this tally. Be that as it may, it is a controversial issue that divides Spaniards. It has become clear that Sanchez's investiture partners do not agree, but support is not much greater among citizens. The Center for Sociological Research (CIS) publishes a specific survey on the war this Friday in which positions in favour and against the increase in military spending are tied with 47%.

To be more specific, to the question "Do you believe that Spain should increase its defence spending in order to be prepared for future threats?", 47.3% say yes, 34.4% believe that it should not be increased (34.4%) and 12.2% would prefer military spending to be reduced. This is not the only question on this issue: 61% of respondents agree with the idea of a European army financed with public money (32.1% are against); 84% are in favour of Russian President Vladimir Putin being held accountable for war crimes before the International Criminal Court, and 50% fear that the war provoked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine will lead to a nuclear war.

As for the economic consequences of the conflict, a large proportion of Spanish citizens advocate that the State should intervene in the economy to alleviate difficulties, for example in the event of a possible shortage of basic necessities (40%); to guarantee the supply of fuel (51%) and, above all, to set a ceiling on fuel prices (86%).