Spanish Socialists are in trouble. (Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)

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Spanish Socialists suffer sharpest poll collapse of the year amid corruption scandals

3 minutes read

Some 5.3 per cent of 2023 PSOE voters have switched directly to the PP, with the bulk of losses going to abstention.

Spain’s ruling Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) has recorded its largest monthly drop in support this year, dragged down by a string of corruption scandals enveloping the party and its allies, according to the latest national polling.

A Target Point survey for the newspaper El Debate, conducted on May 27-28, 2026, shows the PSOE falling 2.2 points in two months to 25.4 per cent of voting intention, its worst figure of the parliamentary term. The poll was the first major national survey to capture the slump after the corruption case broke open.

This equates to a loss of around 554,000 votes, assuming a 66 per cent turnout similar to 2023, projecting the party to between 103 and 105 seats in Congress, the 350-seat lower house of parliament.

A separate GAD3 poll for the newspaper ABC, published on May 31, 2026, paints a similar picture for the PSOE, recording 26.8 per cent and 107 seats, confirming the party’s vulnerability amid multiple corruption investigations.

Both surveys project a clear right-wing majority consisting of the conservative Partido Popular (PP) and Vox, without the need for regional nationalist partners. In the GAD3 poll the PP took 141 seats and Vox 60, a combined 201 — well above the 176 needed for an absolute majority in the 350-seat chamber.

This marks Vox’s recovery after a period of stagnation and would deliver Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s PP its strongest position since the July 2023 general election.

The PSOE’s decline is compounded by the continued collapse of its junior partners.

El Debate shows the left-wing Sumar down 1.6 points to 5.3 per cent (5-6 seats), a loss of some 378,000 votes, and Podemos marginalised at 2-3 seats. The GAD3 poll similarly records Sumar at around 5.9 per cent (7 seats).

Some 5.3 per cent of 2023 PSOE voters have switched directly to the PP, with the bulk of losses going to abstention or undecided voters (over 20 per cent of former socialist supporters).

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s personal approval rating stands at 3.49 out of 10 in the El Debate poll, still the highest among party leaders, but reflecting broad discontent.

The polling comes after a torrid period for the PSOE. On May 27 the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Guardia Civil — Spain’s gendarmerie — spent 12 hours searching the party’s Madrid headquarters on Calle Ferraz, alongside fresh investigations linked to former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the so-called “Leire Díez” case.

Some 77 per cent of Spaniards describe the current political situation as “bad” or “very bad”, according to GAD3.

The slump also follows the May 17, 2026 regional election in Andalusia, southern Spain, where the PP’s Juanma Moreno retained power and the PSOE recorded one of its worst-ever results, reinforcing the picture of a Socialist party in retreat in its traditional strongholds.

Despite the pressure, Sánchez has so far ruled out calling early elections before the natural end of the parliamentary term in 2027. Responding to the Ferraz search, he said the party had “nothing to hide” and would act “when there is something irregular”.

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