The Spanish right and its rising figure, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, triumphed on Tuesday, May 4 in the regional elections in Madrid.

"A new chapter in the history of Spain begins today," said Isabel Díaz Ayuso, 42, in front of a compact crowd gathered in front of the headquarters of her formation, the Popular Party (PP), in the center of the Spanish capital.

"Because today, starting from Madrid, from kilometer zero, we will find the pride (...) the unity and freedom that Spain needs", "the days are numbered" for the left government of Pedro Sánchez, she added, affirming to address all Spaniards.

"We will rule for everyone"

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Stinging setback for the left of Pedro Sánchez, who had personally invested in the campaign, this election made a direct victim: the leader of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, who announced his withdrawal from political life.

"When you stop being useful, you have to know how to withdraw," said Pablo Iglesias, who had left his post as vice-president of the Sánchez government to lead his party to battle in these regions.

This decision marks the end of a chapter for Spanish politics, of which the former professor of political science was one of the main faces since the creation of his radical left formation in 2014 in a Spain steeped in austerity.

With the far right

According to almost final results, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, a firm opponent of strict health restrictions, doubled her score in the last regional election in May 2019, totaling more than 44% of the vote and 65 out of 136 seats in the regional parliament. 

The PP, which has led the region for 26 years, does not have an absolute majority, it will have to rely on the far-right party Vox, which has already supported Isabel Díaz Ayuso for two years and indicated on Tuesday evening that it could count on his voices.

Leading in 2019 in the region, the Socialists (24 seats) lose 13 regional deputies, while the left as a whole totals only 58 seats.

Very strong mobilization

Despite the pandemic, the more than 5.1 million voters turned out en masse, with turnout estimated at 75%, an increase of more than 10 points compared to the previous election.

This very strong mobilization reflected the national scope of the poll, whose very tense campaign was marked by the sending of letters of death threats to candidates containing bullets.

The PP presented this election as a step on the way to his return to power in Spain.

"Today, Madrid adopted a motion of democratic censure" against Pedro Sánchez, launched its leader Pablo Casado on Tuesday evening, speaking of "an inflection point in national politics".

At the head of the Spanish government from 2011 to 2018, this formation, which remains behind the Socialists in the voting intentions at the national level, was driven out by a motion of censure filed by Pedro Sánchez following a corruption scandal.

"Freedom" for slogan

But this victory in Madrid is above all that of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who had made Pedro Sánchez his only opponent and had taken for slogan "Freedom". Despite pressure from the central government, this supporter of a very right-wing and populist line has always refused to impose strict restrictions against the pandemic in order to protect businesses, especially bars and restaurants, which have remained open. A strategy that has borne fruit, against the backdrop of the fed up of part of the public with regard to anti-Covid measures.

Its detractors put forward the grim health situation in the Madrid region, which, with some 15,000 deaths from Covid-19 out of a total of 78,000 for all of Spain and nearly 700,000 cases out of a total of 3.5 million, presents the worst record of the 17 regions of the country.

The poll was triggered by Isabel Díaz Ayuso's surprise decision to end her alliance with the center-right Ciudadanos party, which suffered a historic setback and no longer has any deputies in the regional assembly.

With AFP

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