“The increase in xenophobia and rejection of immigrants” was considered by about a third of citizens to be one of the three most worrying factors threatening international solidarity, according to the poll, which Lusa had access to today, conducted by Pitagórica and promoted by Clube de Lisboa.

This is a sign that “the existence of xenophobic policies and practices is classified as a threat and not immigration itself”, since “migration management” is not among the areas most frequently mentioned as priorities for stronger policies, according to the conclusions.

This result “may highlight a dissonance in the degree of concern between the perceptions of respondents and the political positions and media space dedicated to the issue,” the authors say.

Speaking to Lusa, the executive director of Clube de Lisboa, Fernando Jorge Cardoso, considered that “nationalist and xenophobic political discourse, which is not typical of Portugal,” but “a sequel to several European countries and also the US”, to which are added “a lot of published opinion” and “many of the opinions of activists on social media, which do not correspond to the perceptions of the Portuguese population”.

In the survey “What do citizens in Portugal think about global challenges and international solidarity?”, the 700 respondents show a less pessimistic view of immigration or international solidarity, contrary to “the reality that was thought and is being distorted by public discourse and published perceptions”, explained Fernando Jorge Cardoso.

Patrícia Magalhães Ferreira, one of the authors of the survey, pointed out that there are differences between people’s real feelings and public opinion, which echoes the growth of extremism and populism.

“People really believe that international solidarity is important,” the researcher explained, considering that there is “a small difference in relation to young people,” who are more sceptical about some issues.

“Women are more in favour in their responses regarding human rights” and “young people show greater scepticism even on issues such as climate change” or the local impact of global issues, explained Patrícia Magalhães Ferreira.

With regard to immigration, from a list of seven threats that respondents were asked to rank, immigration appears only in fifth place and there is more concern about “the discourse of rejection and xenophobia against immigrants” and “integration difficulties,” said Patrícia Magalhães Ferreira.

The issue of war is transversal throughout the survey, and many admit that “Ukraine has changed the perception of the Portuguese in favour of more international cooperation” and more spending, as long as this does not harm “budgets in social areas,” said Patrícia Magalhães Ferreira.

The aim of the study is “to assess how citizens in Portugal perceive and position themselves in relation to global challenges and international solidarity, in a world that wants to be safer, fairer and more sustainable”.

Around 80% “recognise solidarity between peoples as an effective way to tackle major global challenges and implement concrete solutions” and 58% consider that the “main threats to international solidarity are, first and foremost, wars, armed conflicts and violence”, according to the document.

As for their personal situation, 42% believe that in 10 years' time they will be living in a similar way to today, but more people expect a deterioration in their quality of life rather than improvements.

“More than two-thirds of the population believe that climate change is a real phenomenon caused by human action” and the “overwhelming majority are in favour of the green transition and decarbonisation of economies, as expressed in internationally agreed goals and objectives”, but about two-thirds only support this process “provided that human and social impacts are taken into account”.

“The vast majority of citizens consider that a multiplicity of factors constitute major threats to global peace and security,” such as “terrorism, increasing human rights violations, and the rise of cybercrime and disinformation campaigns.”

A large majority (85%) agree with increasing investment and resource allocation to defence in the context of the European Union, although around a third make their agreement conditional on there being no impact on the budget and resources for social areas.

As for Portugal’s participation in international peace, security and defence missions, the majority (55%) consider it adequate, but a third believe that this participation should be increased.

Respondents believe that reducing poverty and hunger in the world should be one of the main global priorities (89%) and that without a reduction in global asymmetries and inequalities there will be no peace or development (80%). They advocate accountability mechanisms and sanctions for non-compliance with signed global agreements (87%).