local elections
Election success for conservatives and right-wing populists in Spain
Jose Luis Sanz (l), new mayor of Seville for the People’s Party, celebrates his election victory together with Juanma Moreno (r), President of the PP in Andalusia. photo
© Eduardo Briones/EUROPA PRESS/dpa
With significant gains in votes, PP and Vox overtake Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s socialist PSOE at local level.
The conservative People’s Party (PP) and the right-wing populist Vox made strong gains in the local elections in Spain. Yesterday, after counting more than 98.5 percent of the votes nationwide, the PP came to a good 31.5 percent. That’s more than nine percentage points more than in the last election in 2019. It replaced Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s socialist PSOE as the strongest force at local level.
Vox only achieved a good seven percent in the municipalities nationwide – but that is an increase of more than four percentage points. The PP could depend on Vox in many municipalities and cities. The PSOE came to a good 28 percent and lost over one percentage point.
In four of the country’s five largest cities, the PP could in future appoint the mayor. In Madrid and Málaga with an absolute majority, and in Seville, a previous PSOE stronghold, and in Valencia with the help of Vox. In Barcelona, previously governed by left-wing alternative Ada Colau, former mayor and independent candidate Xavier Trias won. The PP has so far avoided clear statements as to whether it would enter into further alliances with Vox.
The PP and Vox also made significant gains in the regional elections in 12 of the 17 autonomous communities that correspond to German federal states. However, the counting of the ballot papers was slower here. Significant results were not expected until later.
In the Autonomous Community of Madrid, regional head of government Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP) could have just about achieved an absolute majority. After counting a good 68 percent of the votes, the PP won 69 seats in the regional parliament. The PP could also achieve a majority together with Vox on the Balearic Islands with the holiday island of Mallorca and oust the left-wing government.
Around 36.6 million people were asked to vote. In addition, the city councilors and mayors of the more than 8,000 municipalities in the country and the two autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa were newly elected.