If it is true that Christmas is a time of peace, love and reunions, one thing is clear: this year those feelings will be less present on Spanish tables. The holidays of 2025 will be those of polarization and harsh debate. Campofrío predicted it with your christmas adverta two and a half minute piece titled precisely ‘Polarized’, and this is confirmed by the organization More in Common with a study which puts (even more if possible) the finger on the sore spot.
Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve dinners promise to be mined territory this year.
Nougat, polka dots… and anger. The year doesn’t matter. Christmas has its essentials: lottery, nougatsan avalanche of perfume ads and Abel Caballero showing off in Galician/Spanish/English of the millions of LED lights in Vigo. Another ingredient will be added to that cocktail this year: polarization. Campofrío warned about this in his Christmas advertisement, in which he seeks to turn the tension around with a message that invites us to “enjoy life.” And confirms it a study from More in Common that puts the thermometer on political tension.
“Polarization has become the background noise of our public life and also an uncomfortable presence in our private lives. These days, when Christmas brings us together around a table, that tension is more noticeable,” reflect the organization in Substack before swiping a data interesting Worrying: last year one in five Spaniards (20%) already experienced a “strong argument” during the big events of these days, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
A percentage: 14%. The data comes from ‘Atlas of polarization in Spain’a document recently presented by More in Common and which has been prepared with the responses of more than 2,5000 interviewees. All Spanish and of legal age. The report should be taken for what it is: a study, with its strengths and weaknesses, but it helps to understand a phenomenon that will catch few by surprise.
And not only because “everyday polarization” be easily identifiable in the press, general television or social networks. In recent years, several researchers have addressed the topic in books such as ‘Polarized’ either ‘From voters to hooligans’ and even the CIS has also captured that division in his polls.
If we focus on the report From More in Common there is a specific indicator that helps to better understand the drift of Spanish society and the ghost that will rise this Christmas in many Spanish homes: in the last year 14% of those interviewed have broken family or friendship relationships for strictly ideological reasons. Not only that. 25% He claims to have felt “attacked” or “strongly criticized” for expressing his ideas.
A conscious problem. The most curious thing is that we Spaniards are aware of this handicap. To the question of “To what extent do you think Spain is united or divided?” 16% respond that they see the country as more or less cohesive, 19% show doubts and 65% He admits that he appreciates a fragmentation.
In fact, this last option has been gaining strength since October 2024, when DANA spread the feeling that we Spaniards faced the future more united. At that time, 39% claimed to see harmony in the country.
What divides us? There is also little doubt about what lies behind this social fragmentation. When More in Common asked its interviewees what elements are dividing the country, it found a resounding result. Networks are emerging as the most polarizing factor. 37% of those surveyed They point them out as the factor that most contributes to the climate of confrontation.
The media is next in terms of relevance, with 33%. If we talk about political actors, Vox, the Government, the PP and PSOE stand out (in this order), the ones most often pointed out as causing polarization. At the opposite pole are the judges, the Church, NGOs and the Royal Family, which closes the ranking.
More than Germany or France. As remember More in Commons The above refers to the perception that we Spaniards have of ourselves, which still raises a doubt… Do we really have a polarization problem? The answer seems to be yes. Yes, at least if we compare ourselves with other countries.
The report shows that in Spain ideological positions are more dispersed than in Germany, France or Italy. In fact, he assures that ours is “one of the most polarized countries in Western Europe.” In the background, two clearly defined ideological blocks: the voters of PSOE, Sumar or Podemos on the left and those of PP and VOX on the right.
The ‘bomb’ themes. The report also clarifies which issues make the atmosphere more tense when two people from different ideological blocks meet: one from the left and the other from the right. The most curious thing is that it is not taxes, nor health, nor education or the role of the State. Not even climate change. The issues “more divisive” They are immigration and the territorial model. Another issue on which Podemos or Sumar voters and Vox voters are considerably apart is that of gender equality.
A concept: “Affective polarization”. “There is a bloc of Vox and PP and another that is concentrated around PSOE and Sumar and other parties. Among voters in the same bloc, mutual feelings are relatively acceptable, but feelings towards the other bloc are becoming negative,” explains to The Country Tarek Jaziri Arjona, author of a study that delves into another relevant concept: “affective polarization.” That is, not only ideological divisions but how we feel when we meet people who think differently.
It is not a minor issue if we take into account that many Spaniards live in ideological ‘echo chambers’, environments in which those who think in a similar way predominate. 48% of those surveyed In fact, they recognize that almost all (14%) or most (34%) of their friends share their ideas.
Everything bad, then? No. The report also provides some positive readings. For example, it shows that it is not impossible to reduce the polarization of the country. It already happened at the end of 2024, when the Spaniards perceived themselves as much more united, although on that occasion this change responded to an episode as traumatic as DANA. Today society is more fragmented, but six out of ten people continue to believe that our differences can be bridged.
The study also reflects a certain level of self-criticism among the voters of each party and that there are issues in which it is not difficult to identify “meeting points.” “We know that support for legal and controlled immigration is very broad and that there is a majority that still sees immigration as more of an opportunity or necessity than a threat,” points out the organization. Other topics, such as taxation or public services, generate broader spaces of consensus. “Yes, there is a clear ideological separation. And yet daily coexistence resists.”
Thinking about Christmas. That the topic is arousing interest right now, in December, is no coincidence. In our daily lives we may surround ourselves with like-minded friends or follow people on networks who reinforce our own way of thinking, but on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve or at business dinners that changes: the range opens up, we sit with people who may be at another ideological pole.
All this in an informal atmosphere, at the table, between dishes and drinks, with people with whom we are a priori familiar. A ticking time bomb.
A pact of silence. The study also shows that six out of ten Interviewees prefer to avoid certain topics so as not to discuss, a kind of “self-censorship” for the sake of good coexistence at the table. After all 24% of respondents acknowledge having had “a strong argument” in the last year with someone close for ideological reasons, 20% suffered fights last Christmas and 15% have left WhatsApp groups for politics.
“I don’t understand him and he doesn’t understand me. I refuse to let a meeting get out of hand, especially with our children in front of me,” supports RTVE Javier, a man who confesses to being at the ideological opposite of one of his brothers. Result: a pact: politics is not discussed at the table.
Image | Taylor Heery (Unsplash)
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