A new survey by the Balearic Institute of Social Studies on behalf of Ultima Hora finds, hardly for the first time, that political parties receive the lowest approval rating among a total of fourteen institutions. The rating given to the parties by the Balearic public is 1.5 out ten, which is down from 1.8 when the survey was last conducted in 2015.
At the other end of the scale, the National Police and Guardia Civil, which are taken together, maintain their top rating. The approval has in fact increased to 7.9 from 7.7 two years ago. In second spot is the army with 6.3, which moves up two places. The University of the Balearic Islands was second with 6.8 in 2015, while local police forces were rated third with 6.4. The university slips to third with 6.2, while the local police share fourth with the "press in general" on 5.9.
Back at the bottom end, unions are above political parties with 2.9; they have improved their valuation from 2.6. The Balearic parliament is third bottom and the church is fourth lowest, its valuation having gone down from 3.7 to 3.2.
The survey distinguishes between respondents' political inclinations. Those on the right/centre-right are more in favour of the National Police and Guardia Civil than those on the left/centre-left, but the rating among both groups is nevertheless very high. Those on the right are fractionally more approving of political parties than those on the left. The greatest differentials - right v. left - are for the local police and the church, with the right more approving of both institutions.
There are also distinctions between respondents in Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza. In ten out of fourteen cases, Ibiza gives higher valuations than the other two islands. The greatest difference between the islands is reserved for the church. In Majorca, the valuation is only 3.1, whereas in Minorca it is 5.0 and in Ibiza it is 5.7.