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Podemos chief top pick for Spanish PM: poll

Jessica Jones
Jessica Jones - [email protected]
Podemos chief top pick for Spanish PM: poll
Pablo Iglesias, leader of Podemos, at a party meeting on December 21st in Barcelona. Photo Josep Lago/AFP

Nearly half of all Spaniards think Pablo Iglesias, the leader of Spain’s popular anti-austerity party, Podemos, would make the best prime minister for the country, according to a new poll.

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The poll, conducted by Spanish radio channel Cadena Ser revealed that 32 percent of Spaniards think Pedro Sánchez, leader of Spain’s Socialists (PSOE) would make the best prime minister while the current president, the Popular Party’s (PP) Mariano Rajoy received only 23 percent support.

However, Pablo Iglesias of Podemos was miles ahead, with 44 percent of people polled saying he was their top choice for PM.  

Podemos (‘We can’), which has experienced an unprecedented ascent in Spanish politics since winning five seats in 2014’s European elections, was also the undisputed favourite party in the poll.

It revealed that 28 percent of Spaniards would vote for the left-wing party in the upcoming general elections, which are most likely to take place at the end of 2015 or beginning of 2016.

Around a quarter of Spaniards would vote for the conservative PP, currently in power, and the socialist PSOE party would receive around 19 percent support, according to Cadena SER.

SEE ALSO: The Dummies' Guide to Podemos

The latest results could fuel talk of a German-style ‘grand coalition’ between the PP and PSOE.

In a televised interview in December 2014, PP secretary general, María Delores de Cospedal, said, “We would contemplate a grand coalition in the German style if we did not reach an absolute majority.”

This idea, however, has been repeatedly rejected by the opposition PSOE who have said they would not enter a coalition with the ruling PP.

Since a wave of corruption scandals has hit both of Spain’s main parties, many Spaniards have turned to Podemos as a viable alternative to the traditional two-party system.

The party’s charismatic leader, university politics lecturer Pablo Iglesias, gained a cult following on a number of Spanish debate programmes and could now strike fear into the voters of Spain’s main parties.

The poll revealed that of people who were planning to vote for the ruling PP, 67 percent would be "scared at the change this implied" if Podemos were to win the upcoming elections.

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