Spanish opinion polling suggests that the centre-right People’s Party (PP) and the populist VOX party could form an absolute majority in the Spanish parliament as the ruling Social Democratic Workers Party (PSOE) falters.
Polling data from an IMOP-Insights survey suggested that the ruling PSOE of current Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez could lose as many as eleven seats in the parliament if an election were called, while VOX could significantly increase its current seat count of 52 to 80 and form a 177-seat majority with the PP in the 350-seat chamber.
The PP has also seen gains in recent polls over the last two weeks, polling from 22.2 to 23.6 per cent, which would earn them 97 seats in the parliament, radio broadcaster Onda Cero reports.
While the PSOE remains the largest party overall in polling, the left-wing block of parties, which includes the far-left Podemos and others, has fallen relative to the right-wing block of VOX, the PP and the centre-right Citizens party.
Some polls have even suggested that VOX may overtake the PP, with a poll released by the firm Electomania that puts VOX in second place at 24.5 per cent, just a single percentage point behind the PSOE at 25.4 per cent.
In the Electonmania poll, VOX would win 97 seats, nearly double their current number in parliament and just two seats behind the socialists.
Behind the rise in the polls for VOX comes protests against the rising prices of fuel and other everyday items due to inflation and the war in Ukraine that have seen tens of thousands of people participate against the left-wing Spanish government.
The protests have been backed by VOX, which has helped organise protests in several cities across the country.
A possible coalition between the PP and VOX would not be without precedent as the two parties managed to negotiate a governing deal in the region of Castile and León following the election in the region in late February, which will mark the first time VOX has entered government.