UNDER REGISTRATION

Updated Monday, February 19, 2024-00:43

Yesterday Galicia had in its hands the possibility of surrendering to the nationalist conflict proposed by the "plurinational bloc" of Pedro Sánchez under the leadership of the BNG, or betting on the stability and constitutional consensus that the PP already maintains alone in the region.

The comfortable absolute majority achieved by Alfonso Rueda therefore has historical significance

. At an extremely critical moment for the whole of Spain, dominated by the submission of the PSOE to the demands

of the independence movement, starting with the amnesty of

processes

, and with the certain possibility that the strength of the BNG candidate, Ana Pontón, could cause a reversal, Galicia has put the brakes on the president's confederal bet and has opted for understanding and equality. The results unequivocally reinforce not only Rueda but also Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and without nuance weaken Sánchez in his rupture bid: Galicia has said no.

The

popular

They obtained 40 seats, two more than they need to govern alone. This is an extraordinary result for Alfonso Rueda, a candidate with a classic profile who

In this way, he leads the fifth consecutive absolute majority of the PP in Galicia and has obtained even more ballots - some 60,000 - than Feijóo four years ago.

. She exceeds 47% of the vote, a very high percentage, even a little higher than that of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the regional leader who until now enjoyed greater electoral support.

Is

an incontestable achievement that, without a doubt, gives him weight as a popular baron and that, at the same time, implies a notable boost for Feijóo from the point of view of internal leadership

, but also as a leader of the opposition. The president of the PP had a lot at stake in these early elections in his fiefdom and it is evident that he has overcome them. For this reason, Feijóo now has a very important political wealth that he is obliged to take advantage of without fear in the face of a Government that has irrevocably sacrificed coexistence between Spaniards to remain in power. Rueda got it right yesterday in his election night speech: "Galicia has sent a message to Spain: we do not want blackmail here."

The failure of the "plurinational bloc", which has acted as a true front in this campaign, is not the responsibility of the BNG, which, presenting itself with an independence program and equality with the Basque Country and Catalonia, has grown unquestionably - six seats -, although not as much as expected.

The cause is the collapse of the PSdeG: a collapse that not even La Moncloa will be able to make up for

. The candidate José Ramón Gómez Besteiro was Sánchez's personal bet. And his campaign has been decided by Ferraz, with an unprecedented movement in the history of the PSOE:

Its strategists have openly worked in favor of the BNG

. The result is that the socialists have lost five seats and do not even represent 15% of the voters. The collapse of the PSdeG - now an irrelevant party and subordinate to the BNG - summarizes the model imposed by Pedro Sánchez: a conscious operation based on subjecting the entire party to its own interests and subordinating it to the radical minorities with which it is ensured to block the alternation in La Moncloa.

Galicia thus confirms that the PSOE, whose territorial structure is suffering a growing weakening, is disappearing as a party of large majorities

, if he has not already done so, and leaves the president even weaker before Junts, on whom the continuity of the legislature depends. Equally broken is a key argument of the socialist narrative: one of the "historical nationalities" recognized in the Constitution has slammed the door on the idea that the PP does not understand the diversity of Spain.

In the disaster of the "plurinational bloc" it is in any case worth highlighting the fiasco of Marta Lois, chosen by Yolanda Díaz. With the exclusion of Sumar from Parliament, the vice president is personally identified.

The absolute irrelevance of Vox is also an important blow for Santiago Abascal

: His party has not only been a resounding failure but, in its attempt to steal the electorate from Rueda, it has put the absolute majority of the PP at risk, ultimately without success. Despite the difficulties of an unusual campaign, 18-F closed with an exciting message:

There are Spaniards who persist in saying no to the "wall"

with which they want to confront them.

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