Nfter the local and regional elections, there are signs of a shift to the right in large parts of Spain. In Madrid, the conservative regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP) won the absolute majority according to the first figures. With an aggressive political style reminiscent of Donald Trump, she accused the ruling Socialists of electoral fraud. The PP is also expected to govern with an absolute majority in the capital’s city hall.
In Spain, all of the almost 8,100 cities and municipalities as well as the parliaments in 12 of the 17 autonomous regions were elected on Sunday. Compared to Germany, it’s like more than three quarters of all state parliaments are elected at once. The weight of the right-wing populist Vox party, which has so far only been a junior partner in the PP government in Castile-Leon, will increase in the future. In many local and several regional parliaments, the conservative PP will likely need the support of right-wing populists. Vox has demanded as a price that it will have a say in government in the future and not just help as a political stirrup holder.
In the end, the PP could also need Vox after the general elections later this year to replace the ruling left-wing coalition. The Socialists of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE) declared the vote on Sunday, like the PP, to be the primary for the parliamentary elections. For the minority government of Sánchez and coalition partner Unidas Podemos (UP), Super Sunday means a setback in the fight for re-election. The good performance strengthens the position of the PP chairman Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who was elected a year ago – but also of his inner-party rival from Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. There was practically nothing left of the right-wing liberal Ciudadanos party.
Head-to-head race in Barcelona
It’s getting tight, especially in Valencia. In the region and in the town hall, the PP was ahead on election night and, together with Vox, had chances of replacing the respective left-wing coalitions. The PP also took the lead in the Aragón region, and also won in Rioja and the Balearic Islands. In Andalusia, where the PP has governed with an absolute majority since the regional elections a year ago, the Conservatives gained ground in all major cities. Until a few years ago, Andalusia was the stronghold of the socialists. Now the PP has even become the strongest party in the port city of Cádiz, which previously had an alternative left-wing mayor. This was also the case in Seville, where the Socialists have so far been the mayor.
In Barcelona, where the Socialists had hoped their candidate Jaume Collboni would win, three candidates initially went head-to-head. In addition to Collboni, the incumbent Ada Colau and the surprising Xavier Trias from the separatist Junts party, who narrowly won in the end.
