Eduardo González
Spaniards are, in general, “very worried or quite worried” about the two main world conflicts at present, the war between Israel and Hamas and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, although, at the moment, the Middle East crisis is clearly more worrying. to our compatriots than the so-called “Putin war”.
According to the November 2023 Barometer of the Center for Sociological Research (CIS), the war in the Middle East worries 78.5% of Spaniards “a lot or quite a lot”, something more than the Russian invasion of Ukraine worries them. (71.8%).
Specifically, the Middle East conflict worries 41.2 percent of those surveyed “a lot.” The percentage is slightly higher among PP voters (43.3%) and considerably higher among PSOE voters (47.9%) and Sumar (49.6%), the two parties that dominate the current coalition government in functions. On the other hand, it drops a lot among voters of the far-right Vox party (25.3%).
On the other hand, the same conflict worries 37.3% “quite a bit” (37.8% among PP supporters, 38.1% of PSOE, 38.6% of Vox and 36.2% of Sumar). At the other extreme, the war between Israel and Hamas worries 9.3% “little or not at all” (7.1% in the case of the PP, 4.4% among PSOE voters, 4.5% for Sumar and, well above the rest, 21.1%, among Vox supporters).
Regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 25% of those surveyed expressed themselves as “very concerned” (29% in the case of the PP, 30.5% for the PSOE, only 12.7% among Vox and 22.5% in Sumar) and 46.4% were “quite worried” (46.4% in the PP, 51.5% among those of the PSOE, 38.9% corresponding to Vox and 48.7% in the case of Sumar). 14.5% said they were “little or not at all concerned” about this conflict, especially (once again) in the case of Vox voters (29.8%). The rest is distributed between 10.9% for the PP, nine percent for the PSOE and 13.9% among those of Sumar.
The same monthly Barometer reveals that, if a general election were held at this time, the PP would receive 33.9% of the votes and the PSOE would obtain 2.6 points less (31.3%). This increase is basically due to the transfer of votes from Vox to the Popular Party. Vox drops to 10%, 2.4 points less than in the July general elections. Sumar would achieve 11.8% of the votes, as the third force.
Regarding preferences for President of the Government, the current acting head of the Executive and leader of the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, continues to be the favorite for 40.3% of those surveyed, with 9.7 points ahead of the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, whom 30.6% prefer. Yolanda Díaz, leader of Sumar and acting second vice president of the Government, is in third position, with 9.6%; Santiago Abascal, leader of Vox, is fourth, with 8.1%, and Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid, of the PP, receives the support of 6% of those surveyed.
