Will 'Brexit' influence how Spaniards vote today? Statistics show seven in 10 support being in the EU
Sunday, June 26, 2016 @ 9:38 PM
ANALYSTS have been speculating on how far the UK's vote to leave the European Union might impact Spaniards' choices today as they go to the polls for the second time since December to choose their new leader.
A recent survey has shown that 70% of Spanish nationals of all ages feel they have either benefited from being in the EU, or would not fare any better outside it, and would vote to remain if their country held a referendum.
And having seen the early repercussions of the 'Brexit' vote, this may condition how they cast their ballots today.
Professor of Political Science at Madrid's Autonomous University, Ignacio Molina – also part of the Royal Elcano Institute – believes the 'Brexit' may cause voters in Spain to lean further left and could benefit Unidos Podemos; but former Secretary of State for European Affairs under ex-PSOE president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Diego López Garrido, is convinced of the opposite.
Caution and status quo may dominate, and as Unidos Podemos is seen as 'anti-system' and has never yet ruled the country, voters may be wary of taking risks in the same way as those who voted 'Brexit' did.
López Garrido says Unidos Podemos 'wants to leave the EU, the euro and NATO', but in practice, the party has been the only one to campaign actively on the ground in the UK against a Brexit and is as keen as all the others for the remaining 27 member States to become closer than ever.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com