The Spanish are too grumpy about their politics

see their own countries in a better light than foreigners do. Not so Spaniards: in a study in 2021 for the Elcano Real Institute, a think-tank in Madrid, Spanish respondents were among those of just five countries (out of a total of 24) to have a lower opinion of their country than those outside it do. Fine weather, liveable cities and strong bonds among friends and family make for a happy day-to-day life. On one score, though, Spain is one of the worst performers in Europe: trust in political parties is just 8%, and in governments 22%, against averages of 18% and 37% respectively. As Spaniards look back over 44 years of democracy, they wonder what went wrong, even as average incomes doubled, social freedoms blossomed and the country joined the European mainstream.