New poll shows Podemos retreating in voter intention

A new voter poll shows that Podemos and its regional allies in Catalonia, Valencia and Galicia are losing support with a view to the new general election of June 26.

But figures suggest a similar overall outcome as the December 20 vote, when the conservative Popular Party (PP) came in first, followed by the Socialist Party (PSOE), Podemos, Ciudadanos and United Left (IU).

According to the April poll released on Friday by the Center for Sociology Studies (CIS), the PP would still come in first with 27.4% of the vote, down from the 28.7% it secured at the December election and from the 28.8% that a January poll suggested.

The PSOE would rank second with 21.6%, slightly down from the 22% it obtained at the last election but up more than a point since the last poll in January. Podemos and its allies would secure 17.7%, of the vote, a drop of three percentage points from its December results and down from the 21.9% voters gave the group in the January poll.

Ciudadanos would improve its congressional presence with 15.6% of the vote, a significant rise from the 13.9% it achieved at the December election and up from the 13.3% suggested in the January poll.

United Left, which earned 3.7% of votes in December, would rise to 5.4%, up from its 3.67% voting intention in January.

The poll was conducted between April 1 and 10, before parliament was officially dissolved and a new election called. At that point, IU had yet to approve a decision to run in tandem with Podemos, and the survey did not contemplate what effect that alliance might have on voter intention.

The poll was conducted between April 1 and 10, before parliament was officially dissolved and a new election called

A combination of Podemos, the Catalan En Comú Podem, the Valencian Compromís, the Galician En Marea and IU would reach an estimated vote of 23.1%, according to the poll.

The timing of the poll coincided with the Panama Papers scandal and the definitive breakdown of political negotiations to form a government.

English version by Susana Urra.