Poll: 82% of Spaniards expect another financial crisis before 2023

A majority of Spaniards believes that there will be a new economic crisis before 2023, according to a survey commissioned by EL PAÍS.

A poll by the consulting firm 40dB found that 81.7% of respondents think Spain will experience a new slump within the next five years.

Spaniards want to reduce the inequality gap and improve the pensions system, even if it means higher taxes

Nearly a fourth of those polled, 23.2%, are certain of it, while 58.5% view it as probable. Broken down by political affinities, Socialist Party (PSOE) voters are somewhat less pessimistic, with 15% expressing certainty that a new crisis is approaching.

There is, however, a nearly unanimous opinion that the political and economic elites have failed to introduce sufficient regulations and mechanisms to prevent such a crisis from taking place. Fully 91.8% of those surveyed defend greater controls on the financial sector and on large companies.

Causes

Asked who they believe was chiefly responsible for the crisis, banks and the political class came out on top, followed by the housing bubble, the government, the Bank of Spain, the global financial situation, the so-called Troika (the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission), big business, household debt, the European Union, globalization, and immigration, which came in last: 28.6% of respondents blamed migrants to some degree.

Fully 91.8% defend greater controls on the financial sector and on large companies

Many respondents were critical of the way the international community dealt with the situation: 43.5% believe the austerity measures were counterproductive and only prolonged the crisis. And fully 67.2% think that the Troika issued guidelines that only deepened the slump.

Pensions

Spaniards also want to see policies enacted to reduce the inequality gap, which was aggravated by the crisis: 65.3% believe there should be less inequality between the social classes, even if that means higher taxes.

And 71.4% also said Spain should have a “decent pension system, even if it means paying more taxes.” However, younger respondents are less favorable to this view, with the figure falling to 59%.

Recovery

The survey was conducted between October 30 and November 7, and asked 2,000 respondents 21 questions about the impact of the economic crisis that began in 2008 and officially ended in 2014.

Asked if they thought Spain has emerged from the crisis, only 0.8% said that there has been a full recovery, while 13.5% said “yes, although not all indicators have improved.” A majority, 53.4%, view it the other way: Spain is still in a crisis, even though some indicators have improved. And 31% said Spain has not emerged in any way.

English version by Susana Urra.