The Conservative People’s Party of Spain defeated the ruling Socialists in a decisive regional vote on Sunday, aiming to win next year’s general election.
PP, Spain’s main opposition party, surpassed opinion polls to win an absolute majority in the southern region of Andalusia, achieving its ambition to be able to rule on its own without the support of the hard-line Vox party.
With more than 99 percent of the vote counted, the PP won 58 seats, which is comfortable over the 55 seats needed to secure an absolute majority in the 109-member regional assembly. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists won 30 seats, their worst result in Andalusia. Vox was the third largest party with 14 seats.
The victory of the Andalusian National Park, Spain’s most populous region and former socialist stronghold, marked decisive progress for the party ahead of municipal and regional elections, which culminated in general elections scheduled for the end of next year.
“All of Spain is looking at Andalusia tonight,” said Cuca Gamara, secretary general of the PP. “Our country needs a government that believes in stability.
Alberto Nunez Feyo, who took over as PP’s national leader in April, sought to differentiate his party from anti-immigration Vox and establish himself as a moderate opposition leader ready to replace Sanchez as prime minister.
Antonio Barroso, Teneo’s deputy director of research, said: “PP seems to be gaining momentum and voters’ concerns about inflation may make it more challenging for Sanchez to sell his government’s achievements in the next legislative election.
Inflation in Spain reached 8.7 percent in May, and rising fuel prices sparked protests as the Socialist-led coalition government of Sanchez struggled with the economic impact of the war in Ukraine.
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PP is running a “hands-free” regional administration campaign, which means it is not dependent on Vox. However, Macarena Olona, Vox’s leading candidate, insisted that her party would seek senior positions in exchange for support if the PP did not reach an absolute majority.
In February, Vox won 18 percent of the vote in the elections in Castile-Leon in northwestern Spain, entering the regional government for the first time by becoming a junior partner in a coalition with the PP.
The Socialists held office in Andalusia for 36 years, until they were defeated by a center-right coalition in the previous elections in 2018. Vox, formed by PP dissidents in 2013, failed to win a seat when it ran for office for the first time. region in 2015
The center-right Ciudadanos party, which won 21 seats in 2018, confirmed its continued collapse as a significant political force, failing to win a seat in the regional assembly.
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