Over Half of Spanish Public Expect Energy Crisis This Winter: Poll

Over half of the Spanish public believes that the country will face an energy crisis this winter as a result of shortages of energy due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The survey, carried out by the marketing research firm Sigma Dos, claims that 52.5 per cent of Spaniards believe the country will be facing energy supply issues this winter, with just around a third saying the country will not face any energy issues over the winter months.

Across the political spectrum, people who support right-wing parties like the conservative People’s Party (PP) or the populist party VOX, are more likely to believe there will be an energy crisis but even among supporters of the socialists, around four in ten believe the country faces problems with energy supplies, the newspaper El Mundo reports.

Other countries in Europe, such as Germany, which is facing a major energy crisis after the Russians shut off the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, have enacted strict energy-saving measures to attempt to reduce the use of natural gas.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has also warned of the possibility that her country may be forced to start rationing energy over the winter. However, just 38.1 per cent of Spaniards support “mandatory rationing measures” to deal with a possible crisis, according to the Sigma Dos survey.

Instead, a majority of Spaniards would like to see energy-saving measures but would like them to be done through the voluntary behaviour of the Spanish population, rather than from the government.

The left-wing government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has already enacted some energy-saving measures which will demand that in the summer months no air conditioning units will be allowed to go below  27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit)and in the winter heating will not be allowed to be over 19 degrees Celcius (66 degrees Fahrenheit).

Populist party VOX has vowed to fight the measures and to take the matter to the Spanish constitutional court after arguing the energy decree violates fundamental rights and freedoms.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.