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Spaniards Turn to Opposition Popular Party
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Spain’s Popular Party (PP) is retaining its position as the leading political organization in the country, according to a poll by TNS Demoscopia released by Antena 3 and Onda Cero. 41.2 per cent of respondents would vote for the conservative party in the next legislative election, down one point since November.
The ruling Socialist Worker’s Party (PSOE) is behind with 35 per cent. 23.8 per cent of respondents would back different parties.
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 19.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2009.
Each European Union (EU) member state presides over the Council of the EU for a period of six months, in accordance with a pre-established rotation. In January, Spain took over these responsibilities from Sweden.
On Jan. 28, Zapatero reiterated that Spain will fulfill its budget commitments with the EU by 2013 as planned, saying that his is a "serious and reliable" country with an "impeccable" record of meeting obligations with its partners.
Polling Data
Which party would you vote for in the next general election?
|
|
Jan. 2010 |
Nov. 2009 |
|
Popular Party (PP) |
41.2% |
42.2% |
|
Socialist Worker’s Party (PSOE) |
35.0% |
36.0% |
|
Other parties |
23.8% |
21.8% |
Source: TNS Demoscopia / Antena 3 / Onda Cero
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Spanish adults, conducted in January 2010. Margin of error is 3 per cent.