Just ten percent of the population thinks that Britain should contribute to a European bailout of Eurozone countries such as Spain and Portugal, should they need one as a result of the economic downturn. This is far less than those who thought Britain should help Ireland when the IMF announced that country’s £7 billion bailout in November 2010.
- 36% of Brits thought Britain should lend money to help Ireland
- 48% did not
- But just 10% think that Britain should contribute to any bailout of other countries in the Eurozone, including Spain and Portugal
- 74% disagree, saying that Britain should not lend money to any other Eurozone country
- 60% said that Britain has its own economic problems and can’t afford to help Eurozone nations
- While 22% said that Britain should help in order to avoid a potential financial collapse which could in turn worsen Britain’s situation.
Commentators have suggested that Portugal may soon join Greece and Ireland in requiring a bailout from the International Monetary Fund as the cost of borrowing soars amid a worsening financial situation. Portugal maintains that its levels of debt are lower than those which prompted bailouts in the other countries, and that its banks and property prices are no cause for concern.
However, Portuguese finance minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos admitted to the Financial Times, ‘The risk [of the Eurozone crisis spreading] is high because we are not facing only a national or country problem. This has to do with the Eurozone,’ he added.
