Parties react to Spanish government-funded CIS poll favoring Socialists with skepticism

The latest Catalan election poll, funded by the Spanish government and released on Thursday, predicts Salvador Illa's Socialists are set to win the February 14 vote.

While the most recent Catalan government-funded poll also suggests a Socialist surge—albeit one trailing the pro-independence forces—Thursday's CIS results were questioned by both parties for and against a Catalan republic.

Politicians used it as an opportunity to lash out at Illa for what they described as his mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis during his time as Spain's health minister and for making campaign pledges that some believe will vanish the day after the election.

Other unionist forces question results

Center-right Ciudadanos, the center-right party that currently has the greatest number of seats in the Catalan parliament, cast doubt on CIS' findings.

"Never before has a Spanish government released polls of this nature during a campaign period, interfering with the formation of the popular will," charged Carlos Carrizosa at a political event in Barcelona.

"We feel that people are excited to vote for Vox and we are certain we will win seats on February 14," said far-right candidate Ignacio Garriga on Tuesday from an event in Barcelona he was greeted to, once again, with a pots and pans protest. "We don't trust this skewed survey."

Pro-independence infighting

Recognizing the threat posed by the Socialists, however, Esquerra Republicana's Gabriel Rufián, an MP in Spain's Congress, reminded the pro-independence bloc that Illa was their common rival. According to him, infighting will only benefit the former Spanish health minister, who has pledged "to revert this lost decade and turn the page" if he wins.

ERC, who appears to be the Socialists' strongest rival in the election, also called on undecided pro-independence electors on Thursday to vote for them "tactically" to prevent Illa's party from forming a government with Vox's support.

The far-left CUP party, which is in favor of independence but often at odds with the two other forces in favor of a Catalan republic, said on Tuesday that they would condition the dialogue that Esquerra seeks with the Spanish government on Spain's acceptance of an amnesty and the right to self-determination.

As for whether they would support a possible JxCat presidency under Laura Borràs, who is currently being investigated for allegedly awarding illegal contracts, CUP said they would need "absolute and verifiable proof" of her innocence.

Mismanagement of the health crisis

Meanwhile, Esquerra's current coalition partners, former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont's Junts per Catalunya, took a swing at Illa for his handling of the Covid-19 crisis while he was at the head of Spain's health ministry. "In front of us we have a dramatic example of incompetent management of health policies: Salvador Illa," said MEP Toni Comín.

PDeCAT obtains a seat

Àngels Chacón, PDeCAT's presidential candidate, on the other hand, celebrated Thursday's results as her party is now projected to win a seat, despite having called the CIS poll into question less than a month ago when they were not awarded any at all.

En Comú Podem raps for support

The left-wing anti-austerity party released a song on Thursday, 'Let's make possible that which is impossible'. In it, the group's most prominent politicians, from presidential candidate Jéssica Albiach to Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, called on people to "recover hope."

People's Party dismisses former treasurer's confession

The People's Party's former treasurer, Luis Bárcenas, admitted on Wednesday to illegal party funding for nearly 30 years, and accused Spain's former president, Mariano Rajoy, of destroying the evidence.

A day later, the party's candidate in Catalonia, Alejandro Fernández, brushed away the jailed accountant's allegations: "It is too much of a coincidence that they would surface during a campaign period."