Polls & Research

Economic Crisis Takes a Toll on Spain’s Zapatero

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Spanish president of the government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has grown highly unpopular, according to a poll by Público. 59.4 per cent of respondents disapprove of Zapatero’s performance, up 7.1 points since October.

Zapatero was sworn in as president of the government in April 2004, following the victory of the Socialist Worker’s Party (PSOE) in the legislative ballot. The conservative Popular Party (PP) had administered the government under José María Aznar since 1996. Mariano Rajoy took over as PP leader in August 2003. 65.9 per cent of respondents disapprove of Rajoy’s performance as opposition leader.

In March 2008, Spain held a general election. The PSOE secured a new term in office with 43.36 per cent of the vote and 169 seats in the lower house, followed by the PP with 39.85 per cent and 153 mandates. Zapatero retained his post as head of government.

Since late 2007, defaults on so-called subprime mortgages—credit given to high-risk borrowers—in the United States have caused volatility in domestic and global financial markets and pushed the U.S. economy into a recession. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The crisis has affected the global financial and credit systems.

Spain’s economy has been severely affected by the global financial downturn, as well as by its own setbacks in the domestic real estate market. The Spanish treasury has said that it could take "until 2011" for the national economy to recover from the crisis. The government has pledged a stimulus package worth close to $120 billion U.S. to help the slumping manufacturing and service sectors. The unemployment rate rose to 17.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2009.

Last June, the government created a fund worth about $148.2 billion U.S. destined for small banks to merge and reorganize, as part of a drive to reform the financial sector.

On Nov. 23, Zapatero declared: "The size of Spain’s financial sector will require adjustment in order for it to be compatible with the outlook for the business." The president added that his government will push ahead with more reform proposals in several sectors of the economy.

Polling Data

Do you approve or disapprove of the performance of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as president?

	Nov. 2009	Oct. 2009
Approve	30.9%	35.3%
Disapprove	59.4%	52.3%

Do you approve or disapprove of the performance of Mariano Rajoy as leader of the opposition?

	Nov. 2009	Oct. 2009
Approve	21.9%	15.0%
Disapprove	65.9%	60.6%

Source: Público
Methodology: Interviews with 3,200 Spanish adults, conducted from Oct. 13 to Nov. 4, 2009. No margin of error was provided.