Third election would extend Spain’s political vacuum - poll

A third general election would do nothing to unlock the political stalemate that has left Spain without a new government for over seven months, according to a survey by the influential Centro de Investigaciones Sociologicas [CIS] published yesterday.

The findings add to the pressure on Spain’s political leaders to avoid going to the polls again and find a way out of the deadlock.

It comes as a growing number of Spaniards told state pollster CIS that they would not even bother to vote.

The CIS survey found that the Partido Popular would maintain its leading position in another election, dropping 0.5 percent from its result in the June 26 election to win 32.5 percent of the vote, far from a parliamentary majority needed to govern alone.

The PSOE would be the only party to improve on its June results, according to the CIS survey, securing 23.1 percent of the vote versus 22.7 percent at the last election.

An alliance of far-left parties, Unidos Podemos, would come third with 19.6 percent of the vote, down from 21.1 percent in the last ballot, while centre-right Ciudadanos would come fourth with 12 percent, down from 13 percent.

FULL STORY IN TODAY'S PRINT AND E-EDITIONS