Italy was the only country of the Western European nations surveyed where a majority viewed the impact of immigrants negatively. Publics in Britain, France, Germany and Spain were divided, while the Swedes had an overwhelmingly positive view of the influence immigrants had on their country.
While the recent anti-immigrant violence has been directed at Africans, Italians expressed equally negative views of immigration from Eastern European countries as they do about immigration from the Middle East and Africa. Two-thirds said it was a bad thing that people from the Middle East and North Africa come to live and work in Italy; an equal number said the same about immigrants from Eastern Europe.
Only about one-in-five Italians saw immigration from the Middle East and Africa and Eastern Europe as a good thing for Italy (20% and 22%, respectively).
Germans were also largely unwelcoming of immigrants. Solid majorities in Germany said it was bad that people from the Middle East and North Africa (64%) and from Eastern Europe (58%) moved to their country.
Opinions were more mixed in Spain and France, while many more in Britain and Sweden said immigration from the Middle East and North African and from Eastern European countries was a good thing than said it was a bad thing.
[...]
A fall 2009 survey found that more than eight-in-ten Italians (83%) agreed that "we should restrict and control entry into our country more than we do now," including 40% who completely agreed with the statement.
Majorities in the other Western European countries included in the 2009 poll also expressed support for tougher restrictions on immigration. About eight-in-ten in Spain (80%) and Britain (78%) shared that view, as did 65% in Germany and 64% in France.
Juliana Menasce Horowitz. "Widespread Anti-Immigrant Sentiment in Italy". Pew Global Attitudes Project, 2010.
6 comments
Well, maybe there will still be an Italy in 50 years.
Sweden, not so much.
2007 and 2009 were a long time ago regarding a such sensitive matter...
For instance, I doubt the French results 52 good influence against 48 bad. No realist at all.
But this is true that the PC mind has spread since 20 years.
I don't see this submissive pattern in Italians and Spanish.
The other problem I see is that a significant part of "French" are in fact sons of African immigrants (north and sub-sahara) and therefore considered "French"... The statistics are forbidden, we don not really know how much they are. But they vote, and they answer to surveys...
I just wonder. Was it only real Europeans who were asked or other immigrants or their descendents? Also were the questions asked privately? Could there be a Bradley effect?
Italy was the only country of the Western European nations surveyed where a majority viewed the impact of immigrants negatively. Publics in Britain, France, Germany and Spain were divided, while the Swedes had an overwhelmingly positive view of the influence immigrants had on their country
So, in general, the farther away from Africa and Asia a European country is the more likely it is to have a positive view of immigrants. I would imagine that there are a lot more Third World immigrants in Italy than there are in Sweden.
>>> "I would imagine that there are a lot more Third World immigrants in Italy than there are in Sweden."
According to Eurostat figures, both countries have non-European populations of ~3%.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy#Migration
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden#Immigration
Dear, we are full of immigrants! Many of them are also without documents and the immigration policy is not fair. That's why people are fed up with them...
Rob
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