Spain has highest anti-war vote in Europe

27 November 2003

MADRID – Eight-five percent of the Spanish population believe that the war against Iraq under the leadership of the United States is a bad idea, according to an opinion poll on Thursday.

This percentage is the highest in Europe, acccording to the pollsters.

Only France came close to this level of anti-war feeling with 84 percent of its population against the conflict.

However, the poll by the Royal Spanish Institute Elcano found opinion divided on whether Spanish troops should stay in Iraq.

Thirty-eight percent agreed with this, but 37 percent said they should be withdrawn.

Pollsters put the division down to different political persuasions.

Sixty-seven per cent of those questioned said they voted for the ruling right-wing Partido Popular, which backed the war.

But 24 per cent admitted voting for the opposition social democratic PSOE party, and 15 percent said they supported the left wing Izquierda Unida party.

Forty-four per cent said Spanish troops should stay but only if they were under the leadership of a multinational United Nations coalition, instead of the present United States forces.

A majority of those questioned – 57 per cent – said the US position on Iraq was an “extremely important” danger to Spanih interests, greater than Islamic fundamentalism but smaller than international terrorism.

Asked about a separate issue, the Middle East, almost 80 per cent said that Israel should retreat from the Occupied Territories.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news