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Key poll shows three-way split in Spain three weeks ahead of general election

Xinhua, November 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Metroscope opinion poll published in the 'El Pais newspaper in Spain shows a virtual tie between three of the country's main political parties just three weeks ahead of the December 20 general election and a week before the first major electoral debate.

The poll shows a decline in support for the ruling People's Party (PP) of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy from 23.5 percent last month, down to 22.7 percent, just over half of the 44.6 percent they won in the 2011 general election.

Worryingly for Rajoy, the PP are also the party which provokes the most hostility, with 55 percent of those polled saying they would never vote for his party under any circumstances.

The center-right Citizens (Ciudadanos) are in second place in voting intentions after seeing a minor increase in their vote share from 22.5 to 22.6 percent, with their leader Albert Rivera the most popular of the four main candidates.

Meanwhile the Socialist Party (PSOE) of Pedro Sanchez enjoyed a moderately positive month as the poll shows their support climbed from 21 to 22.5 percent.

Left wing formation Podemos also saw an upturn in fortunes after several months of declining support, with Pablo Iglesias' party rising from 17 to 17.1 percent in voting intentions, a sharp improvement on the 14 percent support they had in October.

The opinions reflected are recent, given that the poll was carried out between November 24 and 25, taking into account recent events such as the Paris massacre on November 13.

This poll was published a week before the official general election campaign begins and it will be interesting to see what effect Rajoy's decision to not attend the live TV debate between the party leaders will have.

December 7 sees Sanchez, Rivera and Iglesias debate on national TV with Rajoy's place being taken by Deputy Prime Minister, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria. Endit