The elections of 23-J have drawn a scenario that requires a coalition of parties to be able to elect the future president of the Government. The puzzle is complex, it is the result that the ballot boxes have produced, and at the same time it transfers the favorable opinion of the citizens towards the multi-party system. A favorable opinion that is collected in the study of the BBVA Foundation in a survey carried out between April and July 21, thus prior to the general ones. It reflects the preference for political pluralism "versus the bipartisan option of a previous stage."
The study -with 3,123 cases- also indicates that citizens prefer the formation of coalition governments than single-color executives. And a relative majority would bet on an agreement between the two large formations (45%) although they see it as hardly possible. The drawing produced by this extensive survey expresses a look at politics more or less close to the scenario of recent years and to which the ballot boxes have once again been thrown. 57% of those surveyed prefer that there be multiple parties, a preference that occurs above all among the youngest, those with the greatest interest in politics and those who most identify with the left. 33% favor the existence of two parties.
The president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has asked this week for a pact with the PSOE to be able to govern. Also some politicians of the old socialist guard have pointed towards the agreement of both formations. In the BBVA study, the positive assessment of this entente between the two large formations coexists with a preference for coalitions of different types, among which the alliance between leftist formations stands out.
The study on the political culture of Spanish society reflects a citizenship that is located mainly on the left axis and center left (48%). 24% are located between the right and the center right, and 8% in the center. There is confidence in the constitutional framework and in the democratic system, but with a critical vision of the functioning of the parties.
When analyzing democratic functioning, the degree of freedom of expression, respect for the law and rights and freedoms are especially highlighted. The citizens also approve the unity and territorial integration of Spain. The worst note in this section of analysis is taken by the tone of the current debate between political leaders.
Although the majority considers that the rights of citizens are guaranteed -from education to health-, the critical focus is placed with a suspense on the right to have a job and housing.
The validity of the Constitution, which will soon be 45 years old, is also analyzed. Despite the difficulties of always modifying the constitutional text, which requires a qualified majority, the majority considers that it needs reforms. 38% believe that these changes must be partial, compared to 31% who believe that the changes must be more profound. At the extremes, the same percentage (10%) indicates both that modifications are not needed and that they must be radical. In a context of long debate on what sectors of the left and the independence movement have described as the "regime of 78", the Spanish give a good note to how the Transition was carried out.
In the review of political culture, citizens express a shared double identity between their attachment to Spain and the autonomous community to which they belong. 57% feel as Spanish as their autonomy, and 20% identify more or only with their territory. On the opposite side, only 8% of those surveyed declared themselves “only Spanish”. Among the reasons for general identification with Spain, its geography and landscape, gastronomy, language, history and the way of being of the people stand out.
And in this multiple portrait it should be noted that the most valued institutions are the universities, and the least valued are the banks.
