Political disaffection

Abstract

This chapter analyzes political representatives’ perceptions of the causes of political indifference and mistrust in parties. The causes of mistrust have been divided into internal and external factors and it has been found that MPs tend to reveal that mistrust in parties is due particularly to internal factors in the parties themselves, particularly in cases of corruption. Despite this, MPs, especially representatives of the PP (People’s Party) and the PSOE (Spanish Workers’ Socialist Party), tend to minimize the scope of corruption in Spain compared to the perception of citizens. Furthermore, those MPs with more experience and leadership attribute the least importance to internal and external factors.