Indifference to prospective creation of federal states. The numbers on “support” and “opposition” to federalism in the SWS report should likewise be interpreted as pertaining to that single basic feature.
The 37 percent support and 29 percent opposition, which imply a neutral +7 (correctly rounded) net agreement, pertain to the entire population, including the three-fourths that realized, only upon being interviewed, that federalism involves creating a new level of local government.
Public understanding enhances support. Looking more closely, we find that opinions toward federalism are quite different between the one-fourth previously aware and the three-fourths previously unaware of the implied creation of a new level of local government.
Those previously aware are 57 percent supportive and only 22 percent opposed to the feature of creating new local governments. Such people are both familiar and comfortable with federalism as a unification of certain levels of local governments.
Those previously unaware are 38 percent undecided, 32 percent opposed and 30 percent supportive. Opinions could not be any more divided. These numbers will be posted as a supplement to the original report.
Present public discourse about amending the Constitution, it seems to me, is mainly about term limits, the parliamentary system and the like. It is not really about federalism.
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