Llorénz Garmes, leader of the Majorcan People’s Party and Concer candidate, during election day surveillance at the PP headquarters in Palma de Mallorca, May 28, 2023.
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Spain’s ruling Socialist Party showed its electoral fragility ahead of year-end general elections with a crushing defeat to opposition conservatives in Sunday’s local elections, when about 95% of the votes were counted.
Only three of the 12 election regions hold a narrow Socialist lead, while the conservative People’s Party wins in the rest despite coalitions and informal endorsements with the far-right Boxes. Probability is high.
“The map has completely changed and will be a tailwind for the party’s new leader, Alberto Nunez Feijo, heading into year-end elections,” said Ignacio Jurado, professor of political science at Carlos III University.
The rise of the People’s Party (PP) shows that a similar performance by conservatives in the national elections by December could overtake the current left-wing coalition led by the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE). ing.
The figures showed little clear majority, except in the Madrid region, where PP’s Regional President Isabel Diaz Ayuso is likely to win re-election with an absolute majority.
“Votes expand the right-wing bloc, but not dramatically, but the shift is enough to shift the center of gravity from left to right,” said Jurado.
The main setbacks for the Socialist Party were losses in Valencia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands region, and one of the most important socialist territories in southwestern Spain, the Extremadura region.
Outgoing Socialist Party President Javier Lambin admitted defeat at a press conference, saying, “The tsunami that hit all of Spain today hit us too.”
The Canary Islands’ leadership will be determined by agreement, but the PSOE is unlikely to remain in power.
PSOE spokesman Pilar Alegría said at a press conference that the result was not “what we expected”.
Mayors are also elected in large cities such as Valencia and Seville, but the voting results favor PP, and PP won an absolute majority in the city of Madrid.
Barcelona is an anomaly among big cities, with pro-independence parties winning the most votes by a narrow margin, meaning a deal with the Socialist Party would be required to replace the incumbent mayor, far-left Ada Kolau.
The campaign has sparked several controversies, from allegations of voter fraud in a small town to unprecedented kidnappings.
After a decade of involvement by smaller parties such as the leftist Podemos and the centrist Ciudadanos, the election results appeared to have largely lost seats to the PP, but a two-party system dominated by the PSOE and PP showed a return to
