A presentation at the Mário Soares and Maria Barroso Foundation, the study 'Between Pluralism and Populism: Democracy, Migration and the Social State in the eyes of the Portuguese', carried out by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in collaboration with ISCTE, is based on telephone interviews, with 1,017 validated surveys, and took place in October 2023, even before the fall of the Government and the scheduling of early legislative elections.

"We expressly emphasise that all conclusions presented are based exclusively on the results of the study. Current political developments must be interpreted separately. In this sense, the study only serves as a basis for future discussions. It should under no circumstances be used as a source for future electoral campaigns", concludes the press release accompanying the release of the results.

Telephone interviews revealed that the Portuguese see themselves as progressive, defenders of the fight against climate change (82%), the rights of children of immigrants, namely the right to Portuguese nationality if born in Portugal (74%), and the rights of homosexual couple, namely in the equalisation of rights with heterosexual couples in adoption (61%), with a majority of respondents who say they feel very connected to Europe (72%).

However, "57% of Portuguese people want to have priority over immigrants in access to housing and 44% in access to employment", says the summary of the study, which adds that there are 26% of respondents who think that immigrants should not have the same rights as the Portuguese and 23% who understand that immigrants impoverish Portuguese cultural life.

It is among voters on the parliamentary left that you find most people who declare themselves progressive, while among those on the right it is where you find the most critics of politicians and the functioning of democracy in Portugal, with 61.25% of voters from this political spectrum declaring "not at all satisfied".

According to the results, the majority believes that "democracy is a compromise between different interests and opinions" (81%) and that a person who has a different political opinion is "not bad" (72%), but there is also a majority who "thinks that politicians are dishonest" (66%) and that "the country needs a strong leader who can quickly decide on everything" (62%).

Salazarism

"Only 44% reject Salazarism", the study's conclusions also state.

The results also show, according to the authors, that "especially right-wing supporters, who seem to be the most dissatisfied with the functioning of democracy in Portugal, are at risk of being seduced by populists who reject pluralism, science and representative democracy ".

Regarding the risks of giving in to populism, the study presents two apparently conflicting conclusions.

On the one hand, it is concluded that the Portuguese are "cosmopolitan, love Europe and accept migration as part of their nature", but "if the State does not show itself present in public policies to improve public infrastructure, populists can easily attract voters.”

On the other hand, it is concluded that "the Portuguese value science as a basis for difficult decisions, democratic pluralism of opinions and fair debates", so "therefore, it does not pay to be a populist politician in Portugal".

"People on the left trust the State, parties and their politicians more than people on the right. The moderate right risks losing votes because its supporters have less confidence in democracy", the conclusions also read.

The Portuguese also revealed a high level of appreciation for the role of unions, with 69% arguing that "strong unions are needed to protect working conditions", but 75% revealing that they had never belonged to one.

Political party participation is also low, with 80% saying they have never been active in a party.