The popularity of Spain's ruling Socialists slid four weeks before general elections, a poll showed on Sunday, after the conservative opposition jumped on immigration as its new policy battle ground.
A snap poll taken by Metroscopia showed the Socialists (PSOE) lost 0.3 percentage points since the last poll about 10 days ago while the centre-right Partido Popular (PP) gained 0.2 points.
While the changes is small, it is the first time the PP has narrowed the difference in polls running up to the March 9 vote and shows how tight the race is likely to be.
The PSOE now stands at 41.7 percent with the PP at 38.8. The poll was taken on Friday after the PP said it would introduce new controls on immigration, ask new arrivals to sign a contract promising to integrate and respect Spanish customs and limit the use of the Islamic veil.
Metroscopia's poll, published in left-leaning El Pais, showed 56 percent of those questioned approved of the policy. It is the first time immigration has figured as a major campaign policy in Spain, where foreigners have generally integrated well, helped by the fact that many arrive from Latin America and already speak the language.
However, many Spaniards are worried by a rise in immigration from Africa and Muslim countries, and with economic growth suddenly slowing, analysts say the PP is appealing to low-income Spaniards worried about losing their jobs.
Half of the people polled by Metroscopia said the economic situation was bad or very bad while the economy and unemployment rated as the two biggest concerns in another poll by Instituto DYM published in ABC newspaper on Sunday.
DYM's poll, taken from January 28-February 1 before the PP launched its immigration plans, showed the conservatives gaining 0.6 points to 39.2 percent while the PSOE stayed at 42.4. "There are various reasons behind it but it's clear the worsening economic data is key," ABC said in an editorial.
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