Hung parliament predicted ahead of Spanish general election: polls

MADRID - Spain's ruling People's Party(PP) is predicted to win the majority of the votes in the general election slated for December 20, but it needs the support of another party to remain in power, according to the final round of opinion polls conducted by Spanish newspapers.

Polls in newspapers such as 'La Razon' ABC and El Pais all point to the PP polling somewhere between 25 to 28 percent of the votes, well below the 44 percent they won four years ago.

Meanwhile, the other three main parties in Spain appear to be locked together as left wing Podemos steadily gaining more votes at the expense of the Socialists (PSOE) and the center-right Citizens.

Pablo Iglesias's performance in the four-way leaders debate last week has seen Podemos rise to 19.1 percent, according to El Pais.

The right wing 'La Razon' newspaper says a PP-Citizens coalition is the most favored alternative if there is no majority government. However, the attacks against Citizens for its policies such as their stance on violence against women have stopped the momentum of their election campaign.

PSOE leader Pedro Sanchez has failed to have the impact his party desires. Although his party remains slightly ahead of Podemos in the polls and can expect to win around 21-23 percent of the votes, it is well below 29 percent of the votes they garnered in 2011.

Sanchez and Rajoy have a last chance to convince voters on Monday night when they have a two-way debate without the presence of Iglesias and Rivera.

The debate has been strongly criticized by Podemos and Citizens, both believe it gives the two traditional parties an advantage in the election campaign. However, poor debate could also end up favoring the new parties if it makes undecided voters believe that Spain's traditional formations no longer offer anything other than the same stale rhetoric.

It will be Rajoy's only appearance in a debate as he sent Deputy PM Soraya Saenz de Santamaria to the four-way debate, while Sanchez will possibly see his party overtaken by Podemos if he failed to gain the upper hand in the debate.