The balance that Spaniards strike between institutional quality and the fight against corruption is broadly negative. 62.9% consider the situation has worsened since the start of the legislature, according to a Cluster17 survey for Agenda Pública, conducted between August 22 and 25 on a sample of 1,637 people.
The result places the functioning of institutions among the worst-rated areas of the nine public policy domains analyzed. Only housing (88.7%), purchasing power and the cost of living (77.2%), and the quality of public services (66.8%) register a higher share of negative responses. Behind them come equality of opportunity and social cohesion (51.3%), territorial coexistence (49.5%), or Spain’s international influence (49%).
The gap with the economy is especially wide. While half of Spaniards respond that the Spanish economy has improved over these years, a larger share —six in ten— believes that the quality of institutions and the fight against corruption has deteriorated. The data thus show very different evaluations depending on the area analyzed: the perception of economic evolution is considerably more favorable than the one that exists about institutional quality.
Men are more critical of institutional deterioration
One of the biggest gaps in evaluating the fight against corruption lies between men and women, though in both cases deterioration is noted. 69.7% of men consider that institutional quality and the fight against corruption have worsened, compared with 56.6% of women. The gap exceeds thirteen points.
The data show very different assessments depending on the area analyzed: the perception of economic evolution is considerably more favorable than the one that exists about institutional quality
Another relevant detail is that the intensity of the response changes. Among men, 58.2% believe the situation has worsened “a lot” and another 11.5% that it has worsened “somewhat.” Among women, the percentages are 48% and 8.7%, respectively. They are more often inclined toward a continuity assessment: 27.6% consider the situation remains roughly the same, compared with 20.5% of men.
Income does not divide Spaniards in the most evident way
At the income level, the highest percentages of perceived deterioration appear precisely in the upper brackets: 72.6% of those earning more than €5,000 per month consider that institutional quality has worsened, and the percentage reaches 69.2% among those earning €3,000 to €5,000.
However, discontent is again high at the opposite extreme. Among those earning less than €1,000 a month, 64.7% perceive deterioration. In the next two brackets —from €1,000 to €1,500 and from €1,500 to €2,000— the percentage falls to 54.8% and 54.5%, respectively, before rising again to 59.8% in the €2,000 to €3,000 range.
There is no simple relationship whereby the perception of institutions worsens as income rises or falls. Something similar occurs when occupation is taken into account. Workers (68%) and executives and high-level intellectual professionals (67.3%) offer almost identical diagnoses, even though their voting intentions point to very different options. Workers and executives are followed by employees, with 66.2%. Among middle-level professions and retirees, the percentage is around 58% in contrast.
“Workers (68%) and executives and high-level intellectual professionals (67.3%) offer nearly identical diagnoses”
The perception of institutional deterioration thus cuts across very different socioeconomic positions. However, it is not out of the question that these groups sharing the diagnosis may hold different positions when it comes to translating that discontent into specific policy areas.
The vote creates the widest gap
94.8% of those who voted for Vox in the 2023 general elections consider that institutional quality and the fight against corruption have worsened. Among PP voters, the figure is 93.6%.
It is not merely a majority of negative judgments. Nine out of ten PP voters and 89.7% of Vox voters directly select the response “has worsened a lot.” In both electorates there is little room for a favorable reading or even a continuation of what happened during the legislature.
“In both electorates there is little room for a favorable reading or even a continuation of what happened during the legislature”
On the left, the picture is quite different. 34.9% of Socialist voters see institutional deterioration, versus 25.7% who believe the situation has improved and 38.2% who think it remains roughly the same. Among those who voted for Sumar, 25.3% indicate a worsening, 21.6% an improvement, and a little over half —53.1%— do not perceive major changes.
Junts, once again, remains much closer to the overall result: 63.7% of its voters think the situation has worsened, while 31.4% believe it remains roughly the same.
The gap between Vox and Sumar exceeds seventy points. It is considerably larger than the gaps by gender, income, or age and confirms how much the assessment of institutional quality is crossed by the respondent’s political position. That does not turn the 62.9% overall into a simple partisan reflection: one in three Socialist voters also sees deterioration. But it does require careful reading of what that aggregate discontent means.
Younger generations again show discontent
The age factor adds a final nuance. Spaniards aged 25 to 34 are again the most critical group, with 70.1% considering the situation has worsened. They are followed by those aged 50 to 64, at 65.9%.
Beyond that, differences are smaller: the percentage stands at 62.6% for both 18–24 and 35–49, and drops to 58.8% among 65–74, and to 58.2% among those 75 and older.
“The Spaniards aged 25 to 34 are again the most critical group, with 70.1% considering the situation has worsened”
The data once again point to discontent among young adults, which already appeared strongly in housing and purchasing power, but it does not allow speaking of a linear relationship between youth and distrust of institutions. Those under 25 are practically at the national average, and the second most critical group is 50 to 64.
The overall result thus becomes clearer. The perception of institutional deterioration is by a majority, but it does not have a single social base. It is more intense among men, appears in both high and low incomes, and reaches its peak among right-wing voters. What unites that 62.9% is the diagnosis that something has worsened, and that something constitutes one of the most important challenges for the rest of the term. And it will also be a hot topic in the upcoming elections.
The pan-European polling firm Cluster17 has established itself as one of the most accurate in Spain. Its 2023 general election poll was the second most accurate in votes and the third in seats, according to Electomanía. In 2024, with the poll published in Agenda Pública, it achieved the most precise estimate of the Catalan elections and, also with this outlet, the third most accurate in the global ranking of seats and votes in the European elections.
For a sample of this size, the conventional precision reference at 95% places the margin of error at ±2.4 percentage points.
