Majority of Spaniards unhappy with government's handling of Ceuta crisis, poll shows


FILE PHOTO: Migrants are escorted from a makeshift beach camp to official shelters across the city after authorities cleared the site, following a mass crossing from Morocco, in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, August 20, 2026. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura/File Photo

MADRID, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Nearly nine ⁠in 10 Spaniards blame Morocco for the mass migrant crossings ⁠into Ceuta in late July, while a majority rate Prime Minister ‌Pedro Sanchez's handling of the crisis as "bad" or "very bad", according to an opinion poll released on Monday that also showed a drop in support for Sanchez's party.

The 40dB poll of ​2,000 people for El Pais newspaper and ⁠radio station SER also recorded an ⁠increase in voting intentions for the conservatives and the anti-immigration,far-right Vox party, ⁠in ‌line with several other polls conducted after the deadly border surge into Spain's North African enclave.

• For 89% of respondents, Morocco ⁠bore the most responsibility for the crisis, followed by ​human-trafficking groups(75%), the spread ‌of disinformation on social media (74%), the migrants who decided to cross (73%) ⁠and the ​Spanish government (72%), the 40dB poll found.

• Only 14.2% rated Sanchez's handling of the crisis positively, with two-thirds of those surveyed saying his response was too slow.

• The ⁠combined voting intentions for the conservative People's Party ​and Vox hit 50.2%, leading their potential right-wing alliance to breach the 50% mark for the first time in an opinion poll during this legislature. ⁠The centre-left bloc fell to 36.1%.

• The PP rose to 32.4%, from 32% in the previous 40dB poll in July, and Vox to 17.8% from 17.2%, while Sanchez's Socialist Party dipped to 27.6% from 28%.

• About 27% ​of respondents named Vox as the most capable ⁠party on the issue of immigration, ahead of the Socialists at 18.4% and ​the PP at 13.9%.

• Seven out of 10 ‌chose tighter border controls over protecting vulnerable ​migrants and 82% backed increasing fences and surveillance at Spain's borders.

(Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alex Richardson)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Others Also Read