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GENERAL ELECTION

POLITICS

Spanish politics now a four horse race:poll

A new poll shows that bipartisan politics is firmly a thing of the past, as Spain’s two new political parties viewed as real contenders.

Published: 9 March 2015 12:09 CET
Spanish politics now a four horse race:poll
Pablo Iglesias, leader of Podemos, who top Spanish voter intentions according to a new poll. Photo: Javier Soriano/AFP.

The poll, carried out by Metroscopia for Spanish daily El País, revealed that Spain’s newer political parties, Podemos and Ciudadanos, are now practically neck and neck with Spain’s traditional big two parties, the ruling Popular Party (PP) and the Socialist party (PSOE).

If a general election were to take place tomorrow, Podemos, the left-wing anti-austerity party that is barely a year old, would come out on top, with 22.5 percent of the vote. It would be followed by the PSOE, with 20.2 percent, the PP with 18.6 percent and Ciudadanos with 18.4 percent.

Voters, fed up of Spain’s traditional two party system are increasingly lending their support to Podemos (We Can) and Ciudadanos (Citizens), who now pose a real threat to the PP and PSOE in the run up to Spain’s general elections.

While Podemos still come top of voter intentions, they have lost five points since last month’s poll, while Ciudadanos, founded in 2006 by Albert Rivera, are experiencing a meteoric rise leaping 8.1 percent in January to 18.4 percent now.

And Cs leader Albert Rivera has the best approval rating of the four party leaders, with 56 percent. Pedro Sánchez, leader of the PSOE, has 36 percent approval.

Pablo Iglesias, Podemos’ leader, has 32 percent while current Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy trails with 24 percent approval rating.

Spaniards are tired of the two party system; 77 percent said that the 'best thing for our country' would be for the PP and PSOE to stop being the two dominant parties on the political scene.

"Spain finds itself facing a completely unprecedented scenario," said an El País editorial on the poll.

If no party obtains an absolute majority in the general election, to take place in December, 56 percent of Spaniards support a coalition between 'the centre-left and the left' while 50 percent support a coalition between the PSOE and Ciudadanos.

When it comes to a potential coalition, Spaniards seem to support the joining together of a new and old party. Only 32 percent support a partnership between the traditional two main parties, while the same percentage of Spaniards, 32 percent, support a coalition between the two new parties, Podemos and Ciudadanos. 

PROPERTY

Spain’s plan to limit temporary accommodation rejected

Spain's left-wing government had planned to tighten its grip on temporary accommodation rentals as a potential means of making more long-term rentals available, but the country's right-wing parties on Tuesday rejected the proposal in parliament.

Published: 18 September 2024 11:53 CEST
Spain's plan to limit temporary accommodation rejected

If passed, the new law would have meant that anyone who wanted to temporarily rent a property would have to explain why and provide a valid reason.

For example, students or researchers would have to show the research contract or course booking to show it would only last a few months.

It would have also meant that if more than six months passed or more than two consecutive contracts issued, it will have automatically become a long-term habitual residence instead.

On Tuesday September 17th, the proposal was ultimately rejected in the Spanish Congress, voted against by Spain’s three main right-wing parties – Catalan nationalists Junts, Spain’s main opposition party the PP and far-right Vox.

The aim in part was to try and rectify the controversial Housing Law, which came into effect in 2023.

In most people’s eyes, the legislation has failed as landlords have found several loopholes to get around the restrictions, prices have continued to increase and the stock of rental properties is even more diminished.

READ ALSO: Has Spain’s Housing Law completely failed to control rents?

As a result of the fear of heightened regulation for landlords, many have left the traditional market and turned to tourist rentals or temporary accommodation instead, which are far more lucrative. 

This has had the opposite effect, increasing rental prices instead of stabilising or decreasing them.

READ MORE: Why landlords in Spain leave their flats empty rather than rent long-term

Seasonal contracts and room rentals allow landlords to raise prices every six or nine months and they not subject to the price limitations of the housing law.

The idea of this new law was to try and set the maximum duration of a temporary rental contracts at six months in order to avoid this, but it could have potentially also caused problems for many who need this type accommodation such as students, digital nomads, those living here on a short term basis etc. 

During the debate, Sumar’s spokesperson, Íñigo Errejón, defended the law saying that it is a “solvent”, “fair” and “precise” proposal, which will help “correct an abuse” and “close the gap through which “Landlords can use to avoid the LAU (Urban Leasing Law) and rent regulation”.  

Far-left party Podemos blamed the ruling PSOE for having left this “hole” in the housing law, but also agreed that the restrictions on temporary accommodation were needed to try and rectify this.

READ ALSO: Has Spain’s Housing Law completely failed to control rents?

Junts (Catalonia’s main pro-independence party) and the PNV, the Basque nationalist party, were firmly against it. They agreed that the problem must be solved and that “accessible decent housing was needed”, but raised the situation of students, interns, residents or workers who need housing for flexible periods.

Junts party member Marta Madrenas warned of the harmful effects that this limitation on temporary rentals can have for university cities such as Girona.

Vox and the PP meanwhile argued that they don’t want to help cover up the mistakes made by the left with regards to the Housing Law.

Vox deputy Ignacio Hoces stated that the increase in seasonal rentals has occurred due to the “failure” of the Housing Law, since this has caused rental prices to “skyrocketed” by 13 percent and the supply to be reduced by 15 percent.

Temporary accommodation, referred to as alquiler temporal or alquiler de temporada in Spanish, is considered to be anything that’s longer than a month but shorter than a year, middle ground between short-term and long-term rentals. It is also referred to as monthly accommodation or seasonal accommodation.

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