Spain's Sánchez opens campaign as polls split on November 29 vote
The state pollster CIS puts the Socialists on 33.3% of the vote, while Anadolu reports a projection giving conservatives and the far right a majority.
Spain's campaign for a snap general election opened ahead of the November 29 vote, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez seeking re-election and, according to Reuters, struggling to rally a disillusioned left.
The state polling agency CIS put Sánchez's Socialists on 33.3% of the vote and between 134 and 143 seats as the campaign began, The Rio Times reported. The outlet said the survey placed the party 7.8 points ahead, and that financial markets favoured the conservative PP and the far-right Vox.
Anadolu Agency reported that a poll projected a majority for conservatives and the far right. It said Sánchez has urged voters to defend the social gains made under his government, and that the campaign is being fought amid a housing crisis and corruption allegations.
Reuters led its coverage on the prime minister's difficulty in motivating left-wing voters. The Hindu carried the same assessment of the campaign's opening.
The polling accounts pointed in different directions as the campaign got under way. The CIS survey reported by The Rio Times put the governing Socialists in front, while the projection reported by Anadolu Agency gave conservatives and the far right a majority. The Rio Times said market sentiment favoured the PP and Vox even as the state pollster's numbers favoured Sánchez.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will travel to Madrid on Monday, November 16, to meet Sánchez, MercoPress reported, less than two weeks before Spaniards vote. The visit will be Lula's first to Spain since he won Brazil's election on October 25.
How the reports differ
Reuters and The Hindu both led with Sánchez's difficulty in rallying a disillusioned left, a framing neither Anadolu Agency nor The Rio Times used. Anadolu Agency led with the opening of the campaign and a projection of a majority for conservatives and the far right, naming a housing crisis and corruption allegations as the backdrop and Sánchez's defence of social gains as his pitch. The Rio Times led with the CIS state pollster's figures, 33.3% of the vote, 134 to 143 seats and a 7.8-point lead, while noting that markets favoured the PP and Vox. MercoPress alone reported Lula's visit to Madrid on November 16.
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