More than half of Spaniards want early national elections, a poll showed today, as support for the minority government, which has been embroiled in the country's worst political crisis in decades, is waning.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy imposed the rule of the region of Catalonia directly from Madrid after the region held a referendum on its independence on October 1, which was declared illegal by the Spanish courts.
The term of the minority government led by the center-right People's Party (PP) of Rahoi expires in 2020, but 55% of those polled in today's poll said they want elections before then.
That percentage in a similar poll in October was 49%. The poll was conducted by Metroscopia for El Pais newspaper from November 6 to 8 as former Catalan President Carles Puigdemon - whose government was ousted by Rajoy - continued his campaign for the region's independence from self-exile. in Belgium.
Madrid authorities have called regional elections in Catalonia for December 21. A second term was given to Rahoi in October 2016, when the PP won the most votes in the election, but not the parliamentary majority. Support for the PP, if elections were held today, fell to 26,1% in November from 26,9% in July.
Support for the Ciudadanos, a party that supports the unity of Spain and was originally created in Catalonia, has risen to 22,7% from 18,5% and is now in second place alongside the Socialists.
The left-wing Podemos, which supports a referendum on Catalan independence after negotiations, saw their voting intentions fall to 14,7% from 18,7% previously, the Metroscopia poll showed.