Most have no say in public affairs

PALMA
ALMOST 70 percent of the population believe the autonomous Government doesn't take sufficient notice of their opinion.
That's the main finding of a survey carried out on behalf of the Government as part of its plans to create greater participation in the process of decision-making.

The survey was carried out by the Balearic Institute for Advanced Social Studies using a base of 1'800 citizens over the age of 18 from all over the Islands and is the first step in the creation of a Plan of Citizen Participation, which will be presented by the Government next month.

According to the Government's Director of Institutional Relations, Santiago Florit, the plan's objective is “to involve every Balearic citizen in taking decisions”.

The study found that 55.3 percent of the Balearic population consider that they don't participate in the management of public affairs.
However, citizens are positive about Government attempts to create new ways for citizens to get involved in decision-making.
There already exist different methods for citizens to participate in the political process.
The electoral process is regarded by citizens as the most important, followed by petitions, opinion polls and demonstrations, according to this latest study.

On the other hand, very few citizens were aware of the existence of the Public Defender (16 percent) as an instrument for voicing their opinions.
Of the other channels of communication with the Government, 42.7 percent found the internet useful, 30.07 percent found the Government's telephone service useful, while citizens' information offices came in at 25.6 percent.

However, the most useful form of communication, according to the study, was the ballot box (85.6 percent), followed by citizens platforms (72.5 percent).

Government sources said that the study would help improve these information channels.