Fiona Govan
SPAIN’S main opposition right-wing Popular Party (PP) is poised to win the snap election in the Madrid region on May 4, returning Isabel Diaz Ayuso to power and doubling their number of seats in the regional parliament.
The latest survey by Metroscopia pollsters showed Ayuso’s PP winning 59 seats in the 136-seat regional assembly, up from 30 in the 2019 election.
But this still leaves the PP short of an absolute majority meaning they will likely seek the support of far-right party Vox to gain power.
Vox is predicted to secure 13 seats in the assembly, a small gain on the 12 seats it won in 2019.
The big losers are the centre-right Ciudadanos party which looks set to be wiped out completely.
The party which held 26 seats in the last election had ruled in coalition, but tensions between them and the PP sparked Ayuso to dissolve the partnership last month and call snap elections.
The poll suggests that the socialist PSOE Party of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will see its seats halved, while the two parties on the far-left Mas Madrid and Unidas Podemos, will secure 25 and 11 seats respectively.
“Voters who are angry at the left-wing government understand the election as an opportunity to punish Pedro Sanchez through Ayuso,” Metroscopia Director Andres Medina said in a report released on Tuesday.
The handling of the coronavirus crisis has seen Ayuso clash repeatedly with the government, with Madrid region steadfastly sticking to a policy to keep bars and restaurants open despite rising infections.
Ayuso is running with the slogan “Communism or Freedom”, while Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias has adopted the slogan “Democracy or Fascism”.
Campaigning has been marked by vitriolic discourse, with Vox sparking outrage over a poster demonising unaccompanied migrant minors and several political figures on the left receiving death threats.
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