Popular Party on brink of absolute majority in Andalusia, says poll

The Popular Party (PP) will overwhelmingly win the March 25 elections in Andalusia, possibly breaking the Socialists’ 30-year control of the region’s government, a new poll released on Thursday shows.

The same Center for Sociological Research (CIS) survey also predicts that current Asturian premier Francisco Álvarez Cascos, a former PP regional leader who abandoned the party to form his own Asturias Citizens Forum (FAC) coalition, may lose his reelection bid. The Socialists and PP are in a tight race in Asturias with either party capable of forming a new government with the support of another minority group including FAC, which is expected to get 23 percent of the vote.

The CIS poll shows that the Socialists will win with 28 percent of the vote compared to the PP’s 24 percent.

Nevertheless, Andalusia is the biggest card of two regional races to be held later this month. According to the CIS, the PP will get about 45 percent of the vote, which would give it 54 to 55 seats in the 109-strong regional parliament, with the Socialists down on 38 percent, or 44 to 46 seats.

The Socialist government of José Antonio Griñán has been battered by high unemployment in the region and a layoff scandal in which some people allegedly collected jobless benefits from a public fund even though they were not qualified. The PP has been campaigning hard for its candidate Javier Arenas by taking advantage of the layoff scandal, which is being investigated by a judge.

Andalusia also has the country’s highest unemployment rate, topping close to 31 percent.