The image of the Spanish democratic system has deteriorated significantly over the past 17 years, although it has remained stable in the four that Pedro Sánchez has in La Moncloa, according to the Good Governance Index compiled by the Messiah Institutional Quality Observatory, an academic institute , is carried out Independent tank that monitors the state and evolution of the indicators that make Spain a democratic state and the rule of law, based on data from the World Bank.
The world ranking of good governance, which corresponds to the year 2021, places Spain 26th out of a total of 140 countries, practically all countries in the world without tax havens and countries with less than one million inhabitants. Finland tops the list, followed by European and Western countries (such as Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and New Zealand) occupying the top five spots. Spain gains a position compared to last year (it was 27) and ranks 16th out of the 27 EU countries, behind Portugal, although its Iberian neighbor falls five places behind, and ahead of Italy, which is 33rd on the list.
The Good Governance Index (IBG) is formed from the assessment of six variables: corruption control, government efficiency, political stability, regulatory quality, rule of law and accountability. In the bottom three, Spain have fallen behind since Pedro Sánchez reigned, falling five, three and four places respectively to remain 31st, 28th and 24th in the respective tables. There is a slight advance in Corruption Control from 28th to 27th; while government efficiency remains the same (27th place). The big jump, however, occurs in the variable of political stability, in which it moves up 12 places, from 42 to 30, since “the crisis of perception of instability caused by the Procés in Catalonia has been overcome”, according to the Responsible for the study, Professor José María Cubillo.
Taking a longer period, from 2005 (the first full year of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s government) to 2021 (which includes the almost seven years of Mariano Rajoy and three and a half years of Sánchez), the perception of the quality of the Spanish democratic system has deteriorated significantly: Spain has fallen from 20th to 26th place in the Good Governance Index. Of the five variables, the largest declines were in regulatory quality (down from 13 positions, from 17 to 30), followed by corruption control (nine positions, from 18 to 27), government efficiency (ten positions, from 17 to 27). 27) rule of law (eight, up from 20 to 28) and accountability (four, up from 20 to 24). Again, the big advance is in political stability (where it advances 17 positions, from 47 to 30).
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The worst position Spain has had in the Good Governance Index over the past 17 years was 27 (in 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2020) and the best was 20 in 2005, the first year of the series. When it came to fighting corruption, 2015 was the worst year (32nd place), in the midst of the Belt scandal; in Government Efficiency on the 27th (in 2018, 2020 and 2021); political stability in 1985 (2008, beginning of the economic crisis); Regulatory quality on the 32nd (in the year of the 2020 pandemic); Rule of Law on the 28th (2020 and 2021 with Pedro Sánchez) and Accountability on the 25th (2013 and 2014 with Rajoy).
According to its own sources, more than 200 researchers from 38 universities and business schools in Spain and abroad are collaborating with the Mesias organization. It is supported by almost 40 companies, but receives no financial support from any public administration.