Poll: New Spanish leftist party 3rd most popular

MADRID (AP) — A poll shows the new Spanish leftist party Podemos has quickly become the third most popular choice among Spanish voters.

Government pollster CIS said Monday that Podemos (We Can) would garner 15.3 percent of the vote if parliamentary elections were held today, against 21.2 percent for the leading opposition Socialist party and 30 percent for the ruling conservative Popular Party.

Podemos, led by pony-tailed professor Pablo Iglesias, grew out of grass-roots protests in 2011 demanding a better democracy and a more equitable system.

It won five seats on 8 percent of the vote in the European Parliament elections in May, despite being formed only four months earlier.

The poll queried 2,471 people and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

The general elections will be held in 2015.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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