For the second consecutive month, the Center for Sociological Research (CIS) places the PP ahead of the PSOE in hypothetical general elections. However, the advantage of the Popular Party has shortened since March, according to the April barometer of the institute led by Jose Felix Tezanos. Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s party would now surpass the Socialists by just one point, a slightly lower distance than the almost one and a half points it achieved in the last general elections. According to the new wave of the CIS, released on Thursday, the PP would now receive 33.5% of the votes compared to the 32.5% of the PSOE. In this way, the Popular Party would have lost half a point compared to the previous month, while the Socialists would experience a significant increase of 1.2 points in the same period. The March barometer had placed the PP 2.7 points ahead of the Socialists. Regarding the general elections of June 23, the two main parties would have small gains: half a point for the PP and eight tenths for the PSOE. The latest Tezanos barometer keeps Vox in third place, with 10% of the votes, practically the same (only one tenth more) as in the previous wave. The most affected in the CIS estimates is Sumar, which loses one point in the last month and remains at 8.2%, four points less than on June 23. Its former colleagues from Podemos experience the opposite trend and advance from 2.2% in March to 3.1% now.
These data correspond to a wear and tear of the image of the leader of Sumar and Second Vice President of the Government, Yolanda Díaz. The former political leader and best-rated minister has now fallen to 12th place among the members of the Executive and is surpassed by Pedro Sánchez among the top party leaders. The President of the Government leads the list of leaders with a score of 4.22, ahead of Feijóo, with 4.14, Díaz, with 4.07, and the President of Vox, Santiago Abascal, with 2.81. The list of ministers is headed by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, the only one to pass with 5.06 points. Interestingly, the second position is held by the most recent addition, the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, who is awarded a 4.73 by respondents. Despite only 13% stating they know him. He still surpasses the Minister of Inclusion, Elma Saiz, who is recognized by only 9%. The ministers with the lowest score are the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, with 3.64, and the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, with 3.89.
This week, the CIS predicted a possible victory for EH Bildu over the PNV in the upcoming Basque regional elections on May 21. However, in the case of general elections, the Basque Nationalists would maintain a slight advantage of one-tenth. Regarding Catalonia, which also holds regional elections on May 12, the public polling institute indicates that there has been a setback for ERC and an improvement for Junts in the last month, with both parties now tied in vote expectations for hypothetical general elections. The concerns of the citizens, according to the Tezanos barometer, reflect a strange phenomenon. In March, the third concern expressed by respondents was “the bad behavior of politicians,” a issue mentioned by 16.8%. In just four weeks, the issue drops to 15th place, with only 4.2%. The list is led by “economic problems” (36.7%), followed by healthcare (18.4%), job quality (16.6%), unemployment (13.2%), and housing (11.4%).
