What should governments do to deal with the economic crisis? Exploring Portuguese laypeople’s support for government strategies

ABSTRACT

The economic crisis that hit European countries has been the object of various studies, aiming to understand how laypeople construct their opinions and guide their actions to deal with the difficulties stemming from the implementation of austerity measures. The present study analyses the responses given to an online survey by 630 Portuguese adults. Focusing on their support for possible government strategies to manage the crisis, it examines the changes which have occurred over time in their opinions, and compares them with opinions expressed in other European countries hit by the crisis. The main results suggest that support for strategies differs according to the attribution of responsibility for the crisis either to the people or to supranational institutions. In line with the findings from other countries, conformity to European Union demands is supported by higher class right-wingers, rationalization of the public sector by somewhat insecure centrists, and exit from the European Union by more vulnerable left- and right-wingers. Results also show a global decrease in support for the European project, which questions the way the EU deals with the problems of its member states as well as the ideals it pursues.

KEYWORDS:

• Social representations
• economic crisis
• Portugal
• European Union
• government strategies