Aquí Europa
52 percent of Spaniards are dissatisfied with the functioning of democracy in their country, according to the latest Eurobarometer from the European Commission on the perception of democracy in the 27 EU States.
In her 2022 State of the Union address, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a package of “Defending Democracy” measures, the aim of which, among others, would be to review the implementation of the Action Plan European Union for Democracy, launched in December 2020 by Brussels to empower citizens and build more resilient democracies across the EU, promoting free and fair elections, strengthening media freedom and pluralism and countering disinformation.
In this context, the General Secretariat of the European Commission commissioned a flash Eurobarometer survey from Ipsos to assess EU citizens’ opinions on the state of democracy in their country and in the Union, as well as citizens’ perceptions of the possible threats that democratic institutions in the EU may face.
The Eurobarometer, prepared in March 2023 and made public this December, reveals that, in general terms, when the European population is asked about their degree of satisfaction with the functioning of democracy in their country, approximately half express a positive perception, with 10% declaring they are “very satisfied” and 37% expressing being “somewhat satisfied.” In contrast, 31% admit to being “little satisfied” and 20% “little satisfied.”
This division of opinions is faithfully reflected in Spain, where satisfaction percentages practically coincide with EU data: 47% say they are satisfied, of which 13% declare themselves “very satisfied” and 34 “somewhat satisfied.” ; and 52% say they are dissatisfied, of which 21% declare themselves “not at all satisfied.” These data place Spain in twelfth position out of a total of 27 Member States in terms of the level of satisfaction with the state of democracy in their country.
Although in eleven Member States more than half of people respond that they are satisfied with the functioning of democracy in their country, the proportions of those who declare themselves “very satisfied” remain low in most countries (from 3% in Bulgaria and Cyprus up to 27% in Denmark). By contrast, in eleven other Member States, more than a quarter of respondents respond that they are “very dissatisfied” with the functioning of democracy in their country, with those surveyed in Hungary being the most dissatisfied (49% stating that they are “not at all satisfied”
How do we see democracy in Spain?
To evaluate the level of knowledge that the population of each European nation has about the situation of its democracy, various questions have been asked to the citizens of these countries. 76% of the Spanish population believes that it has good access to accurate information in the different media on current affairs, four percentage points above the European figure, positioning itself as the seventh European country where the largest population shares this opinion.
Regarding political life, almost seven out of ten Spaniards (69%) trust in the freedom of expression of their political ideals without fear of consequences, one point above the European figure. On the contrary, and well below the average for the group of nations (58%), in Spain, only 45% of society declares that they have the possibility of interacting directly in a debate with the candidates of political parties, thus placing it among the three European countries, along with Hungary and Croatia, where the least population shares this idea.
Threats to democracy
Threats to democracy know no borders and represent a common concern for democratic social well-being. Confronted with a list of eleven possible threats, in 22 of the 27 countries they indicated false and/or misleading information, which circulates online and offline, as the main threat, with 38%; followed by growing distrust and skepticism towards democratic institutions with 32%. Thirdly, the lack of commitment and interest in politics and elections among citizens is indicated by 26% of the European population.
In Spain, perceptions are similar, 40% identify disinformation and false information as the most serious risk to democracy, and 38% point out skepticism and growing distrust of democratic institutions as the second most significant concern, six points above the EU figure. The third threat for the Spanish population differs from the European population, pointing out the lack of freedom of the press and diversity of the media, with 26%, while the lack of commitment and interest in politics and elections is the fourth threat. for 23%.
True information for a real democracy
The veracity and contrast of information are essential for decision-making in a democratic context. However, with technological advances and the change in mass information sources, ensuring the authenticity of information has become a challenge. In this sense, social networks are, by far, the most cited media in which Europeans expect to find disinformation or fake news, with 64% sharing this opinion, 57% in the case of Spaniards. In this sense, it is normal that 58% of the Spanish population thinks that online platforms should intensify their efforts to prevent the spread of false information, thus exceeding the European percentage (52%) by six points.
Regarding the role of users of online platforms in the fight against misinformation, 42% think that users should be urged to verify information before sharing it with others. An idea shared by 51% of the Spanish population, thus placing it among the five countries in Europe where this opinion is most supported. Furthermore, users should improve their ability to distinguish false and misleading information from reliable information, this is what almost 4 out of 10 European citizens think, a figure nine points lower in the case of Spain (30%).
A free and fair life
A strong and healthy democracy requires ensuring free and fair elections for all its citizens. In this context, in 21 of the 27 Member States, 52% of the population selected “voters having access to accurate information to make an informed decision” as a fundamental factor to be able to have a free and fair political life, something shared by 53% of the Spanish population.
The second fundamental aspect for Europeans is the independence and impartiality of the electoral administration (47%), an opinion shared by 48% of Spaniards. Furthermore, the protection of electoral infrastructure against threats, such as cyber attacks, is another important factor for 36% of Europeans, also supported by 34% of citizens in Spain.
In addition, the most important factors to ensure free and fair electoral campaigns were also asked. Firstly, 46% of the population of the Member States indicated that it is essential that debates and campaigns avoid hate speech, manipulation and lies, followed by candidates and political parties having equal opportunities to access to the media (41%). Thirdly, the factor most pointed out by Europeans to guarantee a free and fair electoral campaign is that voters know who finances the candidates and political parties (35%).
In the case of Spain, the three chosen factors have similarities, but also differences with respect to the European ones. While firstly 55% also consider that a debate free of hate, manipulation and deception is the most important aspect, surpassing the European figure by nine points, secondly we find that the Spanish population gives more importance to parties are transparent in their selection techniques of the people to whom they send their political propaganda, indicated by 4 out of every 10 people, thirteen points more than the EU figure, being the country that gives the most importance to this factor for guarantee a free and fair electoral campaign. This opinion is considerably above the 27% European figure, placing Spain at the head of the EU in this criterion.
Thirdly, 39% of Spaniards believe that it is essential to know the sources of financing of political parties, underlining the importance of financial transparency to preserve the integrity of the democratic system.
