Between Pluralism and Populism: Democracy, Migration and the Welfare State through the eyes of the Portuguese

The study “Entre Pluralismo e Populismo: Democracia, Migração e Estado Social aos olhos dos portugueses” [Between Pluralism and Populism: Democracy, Migration and the Welfare State through the eyes of the Portuguese], carried out by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in collaboration with Iscte and with the participation of researcher Tiago Fernandes (CEI-Iscte), was presented on 25 March 2024 at the Mário Soares and Maria Barroso Foundation in Lisbon.

The study is based on a telephone survey with 1,017 validated interviews, conducted in October 2023, before the fall of the government and the calling of snap legislative elections.

The results show that the Portuguese see themselves as progressive: most support tackling climate change (82%), the right to Portuguese citizenship for children of immigrants born in Portugal (74%) and equal adoption rights for same-sex couples (61%), while 72% say they feel strongly attached to Europe. At the same time, 57% want priority over immigrants in access to housing and 44% in access to employment.

Most respondents see democracy as a compromise between different interests and opinions (81%), but also believe that politicians are dishonest (66%) and that the country needs a strong leader who can make decisions quickly (62%). Dissatisfaction with how democracy works is highest among right-wing voters, who, according to the authors, are more at risk of being drawn to populist discourses that reject pluralism, science and representative democracy.

See the presentation record here.

Source: Friedrich Ebert Foundation Portugal / Tiago Fernandes (CEI-Iscte).