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Conservatives Inch Ahead of PSOE in Spain
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) is barely leading the governing Socialist Worker’s Party (PSOE) in Spain, according to a poll by Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS). 40.2 per cent of respondents would vote for the PP in the next general election, while 39 per cent would support the PSOE.
Support is much lower for the coalition of United Left (IU) and Initiative for Catalonia-Greens (IC-V), Catalonia’s Convergence and Union (CiU), the Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD), the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), and the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG).
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was sworn in as president of the government in April 2004, following his party’s victory in the legislative ballot. The conservative PP had administered the government under José María Aznar since 1996. Mariano Rajoy took over as PP leader in August 2003.
In March 2008, Spain held a general election. The PSOE secured a new term in office with 43.36 per cent of the vote and 169 seats in the lower house, followed by the PP with 39.85 per cent and 153 mandates. Zapatero retained his post as head of government.
Since late 2007, defaults on so-called subprime mortgages—credit given to high-risk borrowers—in the United States have caused volatility in domestic and global financial markets and pushed the U.S. economy into a recession. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The crisis has affected the global financial and credit systems.
Spain’s economy has been severely affected by the global financial downturn, as well as by its own setbacks in the domestic real estate market. The Spanish treasury has said that it could take "until 2011" for the national economy to recover from the crisis. The government has pledged a stimulus package worth close to $120 billion U.S. to help the slumping manufacturing and service sectors. The unemployment rate rose to 17.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2009.
Yesterday, Rajoy criticized Zapatero for his handling of the economy, saying, "After more than a year of meetings sponsored by the government, the president has patently and notoriously failed. (...) The blame should be placed on the one who governs."
Polling Data
What party would you support in the next general election?
|
Jul. 2009 |
Apr. 2009 |
|
|
Popular Party (PP) |
40.2% |
40.0% |
|
Socialist Worker’s Party (PSOE) |
39.0% |
40.8% |
|
United Left (IU) / Initiative for Catalonia-Greens (IC-V) |
4.6% |
4.5% |
|
Convergence and Union (CiU) |
3.4% |
3.4% |
|
Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) |
3.2% |
2.9% |
|
Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) |
1.6% |
1.5% |
|
Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) |
1.2% |
1.0% |
|
Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) |
0.8% |
0.6% |
Source: Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS)
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 2,481 Spanish adults, conducted from Jul. 7 to Jul. 13, 2009. Margin of error is 2 per cent.