Euroscepticism in Spain: A phenomenon of extremes?

Abstract

Spanish citizens have traditionally supported the European Union (EU) in times of economic growth. However, this support declined since the imposition of the austerity measures intended to address the 2008 economic crisis. In their investigation on the nature of Euroscepticism, Hooghe, Marks and Wilson demonstrated that far-left and far-right political forces tended to be more Eurosceptic, while moderate parties were generally much more supportive of European integration. Does this model apply to Spain? To answer this question, this chapter analyses the opinions of a representative sample of members of parliament and citizens through a similar survey conducted between November 2018 and January 2019. This study demonstrates that Spain aligns with the Hooghe–Marks–Wilson model only in the case of parliamentarians. Citizens’ Euroscepticism responds to different factors.