More than half of Spanish citizens are in favour of a national referendum to decide the future of the monarchy. 

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54% of the population support the idea of the people’s right to choose between a parliamentary monarchy, the current system in both Spain and the UK, or a republic.  The poll looked closely at factors such as age, education and social status in relation to views on the monarchy in Spain.



The poll also gauged opinion on the king’s recent outing to Africa, where he was widely condemned for going hunting after pictures were released of Juan Carlos posing with a dead elephant that he had himself shot, albeit two years earlier.  The king had to spend a week in hospital on his return to the country after hurting his leg during the incident, and upon leaving the hospital he apologised and said that it ‘would not happen again’.



The whole situation has led to the royal family being seen as out of touch with the Spanish people.  Almost half of those asked said that his apology was ‘insufficient’.
 
The data showed that support for the monarchy increases with age, but there was not a absolute majority until the age of 55 and above.

There was also a clear correlation between the respondent’s level of education and their opinions, with the number in favour of a state referendum rising to two thirds for those educated to university level.



The poll also classified respondents according to socio-economic status, with the majority of the working class content to continue with the present system while the middle classes were clearly in favour of holding the national vote.



As would be expected, support for the referendum grew proportionately with how leftist respondents regarded their political beliefs, with United Left party supporters a resounding 85% in favour of holding a referendum.

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The survey went on to ask if Spaniards would be in favour of the current king Juan Carlos abdicating to allow his son Felipe, the Prince of Asturias, to reign.  Just under half said they had no opinion on the matter, while those who supported the proposal (30%) almost doubled those who affirmed they would prefer the king to continue his reign (18%).

These figures may be worrying for the current king, suggesting that he has even lost the faith of sectors of society that have traditionally been sympathetic towards the royal family.