Immigration remains the number one national problem in Spain according to the Barometer of the Sociological Research Centre (CIS) for the month of October, with 28.1%, followed by the economic crisis (23.8%) and housing, which scored 22.7%, seven points more than the previous month and its highest in recent years. While the CIS was conducting its surveys, the political confrontation between the PP and PSOE continued over the migration crisis and the distribution of unaccompanied migrant minors.
Against this backdrop, immigration once again appears as the country’s main problem, although its polling was down 2.3 points compared to September, when it topped the list with 30.4%, a figure not seen since 2007, after the so-called ‘cayuco crisis’. Those that did rise were the economic crisis, which went from 19.8% to 23.8% and climbed from fourth to second place. And there are also changes in third place, where housing appears, which for the second time this year returns to the ‘top ten’ of problems, where it was already in June when it climbed to second place.
Between September and October, mentions of housing rose 7.3 points, reaching 22.7% and surpassing June’s 21.2%. This is its highest figure in recent years, but not its record which was recorded in September 2007, with 37.3% of mentions that placed it as Spain’s number one problem.
And all this despite the fact that the polls for the survey were closed before the demonstration to demand a reduction in the price of rents that took place in Madrid on the 13th and in which the resignation of the minister for the sector, Isabel Rodríguez, was demanded.
These changes at the top of the list of national concerns have pushed unemployment into fourth place, with 22%, almost one point more than in September. This is followed by political problems (18.6%) with 18.6%, two points less than in the previous survey. The sixth position is occupied by problems related to the quality of employment (13.9%), followed by the ‘bad behaviour of politicians’, which, with 1.5 points more than in September, reaches 13.7%. Mentions of the government and political parties (11.7%) also increased by more than one point to ninth place, with their highest figure since last March, and the category ‘what the parties do’ rose from 4.8% to 5.2%.
Corruption and fraud remain at the same 5.9% as in September, and move up one step to fourteenth place in the list of the country’s problems. The list of personal concerns is once again headed by the economic crisis, now with 33.8%, and in second place comes health care with 20.9%. But in third place is now housing with 17.7%, gaining one place with respect to the previous survey. The fourth subjective concern is the quality of employment (17.1%), sixth is unemployment (11.8%) and seventh is immigration (10.8%).
With regard to the economic situation in Spain, 58.9% consider it ‘bad or very bad’ (5.7 points more than in September), while 31.4% consider it ‘good or very good’. At the same time, those who confess that they personally are not having a good time financially are up more than three points to 26.5% and those who say that their financial situation is ‘good or very good’ are down from 65.5% to 61.5%.