The Sumar platform, from the Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and holder of the Labor portfolio, Yolanda Díaz, debuts on the barometer of the Sociological Research Center (CIS) ahead of Unidas Podemos, by the Minister of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, Ione Belarra . But despite the division and uncertainty about a possible joint candidacy of both projects in the general election later this year, the left, led by the socialists, is ahead of the right.
According to CIS APR calculations, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s PSOE comes in with 30.4% of the vote, down 2.3 percentage points in a month. The People’s Party (PP), led by Alberto Núnez Feijóo, has 26.1%, 1.9 points less than in March. After the calculations, the difference between the two decreases by four tenths, to 4.3 percentage points. In third place is VOX, from Santiago Abascal, which rises one point to 11.1%, days after it rejected a censure motion against the government.
Just below that, at 10.6%, is Yolanda Díaz’s new left-wing platform, which officially launched on April 2. Unidas Podemos (UP, alliance of Esquerda Unida and Podemos) fell from 10% in March to 6.7% in April. Sumar and UP are in shock over a possible electoral alliance, with no agreement on how primaries should be held to determine the lists. But there is also a dispute over the control of the alliance and the survival and independence of both political formations.
Sumar (to add, in Portuguese) wants to bring together everything that is left of the socialists. It debuts in fourth place on the barometer at the expense of the UP – 36% of the alliance’s electorate now say they would vote for the new platform – and the Socialists. But it will also seek votes from other areas, such as the Galician Nationalist Bloc or even Ciudadanos, which continue to win among new voters.
The CIS is headed by socialist sociologist José Félix Tezanos, who has been criticized for “boiling” the barometric numbers – one his declared voting intentions, the other his estimates. To calculate Sumar’s numbers, the CIS pools the votes for Esquerda Unida, Compromís, En Comú, Más País and Equo and leaves everything else with UP, “according to the direct responses of respondents and the collection of parties and organizations already their public intent to integrate or support some option”.
Díaz, from the Communist Party and coordinator of the United Left, is the second most popular minister – right behind Socialist Margarita Robles, of Defense. Among the leaders, it is the highest rated, but still has a negative score – 4.87, ahead of Sánchez (4.43) and Feijóo (4.03). In terms of respondents’ preference as head of government, the current prime minister (21.3%) wins, followed by Feijóo (14.7%) and finally Díaz (13.5%).
Source: DN
