The majority of Spaniards prefer a coalition government formed by the Socialist and Ciudadanos parties, according to a poll out Sunday.
Just over half (51 percent) prefer a government bloc led by Socialist (PSOE) leader Pedro Sánchez along with Ciudadanos’ (Citizens) Albert Rivera, according to a survey conducted by Metroscopia and published by newspaper El País.
The poll, conducted after King Felipe VI asked Sánchez to form a coalition government, outlined five possible government scenarios led by the PSOE leader.
A PSOE government on its own gathered 43 percent support.
A coalition between PSOE, Ciudadanos and acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Popular party (PP) received 42 percent.
The least popular option was a government formed by PSOE, Pablo Iglesias’ anti-austerity party Podemos (We can) and Unidad Popular (Popular Unity) with 37 percent.
The survey also asked why incumbent Prime Minister Rajoy declined the King’s proposal to form a government: 71 percent answered that the PP leader was most concerned about his own political situation.
On Friday, Sánchez rejected Iglesias’ proposal to exclude Ciudadanos from a possible coalition, insisting it will maintain a “broad” dialogue with all Spanish parties.
If no government is formed by the end of March, there could be another election before the summer.
The poll surveyed 1,000 people between February 3-4. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.