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Madrid (AP) - An impressive triumph of the conservatives in the regional elections in Madrid is putting the left central government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Spain under great pressure.
The regional head of government and top candidate of the People's Party (PP), Isabel Díaz Ayuso, won 65 of the total of 136 seats in the early election - more than doubling her 2019 result. Sánchez, whom Ayuso had declared his real opponent, was shipwrecked with his party (PSOE) on Tuesday: The PSOE lost 13 of its previous 37 seats. “Ayuso beats Sánchez KO”, was the headline of the renowned newspaper “El Mundo” in the online edition.
The 42-year-old trained journalist, who had distinguished herself in the Corona crisis with her lax restrictions as the main rival of Sánchez and his strict rules to contain the pandemic, then also attacked the head of the central government unrestrained in her victory speech.
"Freedom has won today" and "Spain is something else, Mr Sánchez," she shouted, visibly moved in front of hundreds of cheering supporters who waved Spanish flags and said, "Freedom !, Freedom!"
chanted.
"A new chapter" begins in Spain, the days of Sánchez are numbered.
PP boss Pablo Casado described Ayuso's triumph as a “vote of no confidence in Sánchez”.
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Despite significantly higher infection and death rates than in most other regions of Spain, Ayuso had kept cafes and bars open in recent months. It followed the orders and recommendations of the central government only reluctantly or not at all. Madrid has been called the “party capital of Europe”, and Ayuso has become the “bar queen”, as the state television broadcaster RTVE dubbed her. Bar owners in Madrid already call Ayuso a "Santa", a saint who saved them from ruin.
Even the newspaper “El País”, which is close to the socialists, spoke of a “victory of enormous proportions”, which the PP “injected euphoria” with and breathed new life into.
The Conservatives urgently needed this after the overthrow of Mariano Rajoy by a vote of no confidence by Sánchez in June 2018 and the worst results in the party's history in the two new elections in 2019.
The party could now be dangerous to the socialists on a national level, it said.
The government and the country have been hit hard by the major corona-related economic and social problems.
Madrid is placing all its hopes on the EU's billions in aid.
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Small consolation for the socialists: Ayuso missed an absolute majority by four seats and will therefore continue to be dependent on tolerance by the right-wing populists from Vox in the future, despite the large gains in votes. "Pedro Sánchez will try to exploit it," predicted an analyst on TV. Others believe that it is not just Sánchez who should be concerned. The "road roller Ayuso" (El País) is threatening to overshadow its boss, the more moderate Casado, with its carefree, reckless and often naive manner, with which it also fishes in the spectrum of the far right.
The princess has already cleared an arch rival with her meteoric career, which was largely unknown to the general public in the 2019 election.
The left-wing leader Pablo Iglesias quickly drew the consequences of his disappointing performance as the top candidate of the Unidas Podemos (UP) alliance and, surprisingly, announced on the evening of the election that he was leaving politics.
In order to compete against the Ayuso phenomenon in Madrid, the charismatic political scientist recently made his post as Sánchez's second deputy available.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210505-99-470816 / 2