Facing a hypothetical war scenario, the onset of a pandemic, or a natural disaster - and even though there are barely any signs to suspect that the first two scenarios may occur in the near future - the European Union provided a list on March 26th in Brussels with items for survival. Bottled water, flashlights, matches, cash, canned food, first aid supplies... are some of the specified items from Brussels to put together the so-called "survival kit" that allows European households to be self-sufficient for a minimum of 72 hours. A package that 59.4% of Spaniards consider unnecessary, as revealed by data from El Panel by Sigma Dos for EL MUNDO. In contrast, 27.9% see it as appropriate, and a significant 12.7% either do not know or prefer not to answer.
However, despite the lukewarm response from the population regarding this measure, it shows a paradoxical attitude. When asked if they will prepare their own supply kit, three out of 10 Spaniards (33.2%) admit they will do so.
Skepticism towards the EU's warning varies among the different surveyed generations. Those over 65 years old - with more experience in times of scarcity - are the most reluctant to this kit. 65.7% do not consider it necessary to have a backpack with these recommendations, a rate that drops to 45.9% when asking young people aged 18 to 29. On the other hand, the older individuals in favor of this measure represent 22%, while among the younger ones, they are almost double (39.8%).
There is also a significant gender gap, specifically 9.2 points, separating men and women who are against the kit (64.2% and 55%, respectively).
Although politics seem not to divide on this issue, survey data show that among those who decide to err on the side of caution regarding the instructions, Socialist voters (35.6%) and Sumar voters (21.7%) are leading.
In the event of a disaster, most Spanish pantries will not have supplies purchased for this purpose. Nor will there be a survival backpack in the closet. More than half of the national population (54.6%) confesses that they will not prepare a special survival kit. This sentiment is shared by the majority of individuals in each of the age groups studied. In this indifference - so human and so shared - the extremes are separated by at least two points: Sumar voters (61.4%) and Vox voters (59.4%). The radical left and the hard right, ideological opposites, united in the same refusal.
The European announcement in March about the kit is part of its Alert and Preparedness Strategy for citizens, an action plan with 30 keys of what they call "preparedness culture" related to armed conflicts. With this, they aim to "motivate the population to take practical measures." Linked to this, the European Commission is working on a manual inspired by those already in place in some countries - such as Sweden and Finland - in case of war.