Madrid voters go to the polls in COVID-influenced crunch election

Voters in Madrid go to the polls on Tuesday to choose the legislative assembly in Spain's wealthiest region in an election that could reshape the nation's political landscape, in part due to Madrid's unorthodox policy on COVID-19 restrictions.

Isabel Diaz Ayuso, from the opposition conservative People's Party (PP), is the frontrunner to be returned as the Madrid regional leader, according to opinion polls.

Ayuso, 42, has won the support of many Madrid residents by defying Spain's left-wing government which pressured her to close down bars and restaurants to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. read more

Instead, she prioritised the economy and social life, which pleased many bar and restaurant owners - as well as madrilenos who are famous for their lively nightlife.

Critics accuse Ayuso of neglecting health services while looking after business. The Madrid region, home to some seven million of Spain's 47 million people, recorded 369 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 in the last 14 days on Monday against a national average of 223. Occupancy of intensive care units is also the highest in Spain, at about 44.7%.

The PP has controlled the region for the past 26 years and a convincing win on Tuesday would likely give impetus to the party at a national level.

The PP is projected to win over 40% of the vote, potentially doubling its seats in the assembly from 2019's election, but Ayuso may need the help of the far-right Vox party to govern.

Surveys suggest the centre-right Ciudadanos party, which has in the past teamed up with the PP to form regional governments, faces the prospect of winning no seats and disappearing from the political landscape.

"This could begin a new electoral cycle in Spain and demonstrate a picture of Spanish politics with a recomposed space on the right in which Ciudadanos is no longer there and in which the PP can only get a majority with the help of Vox," said political scientist Lluis Orriols of the University Carlos III.

Capri's world has always been blue - the color of the water surrounding the Mediterranean island, many of its fishing boats and, most famously, the light in its Blue Grotto.

Now, the glamorous tourist destination with magnificent mansions, classy restaurants and world class shopping is hoping to shake off the pandemic blues after a year of on-andoff closures that have depressed the economy. "I can sense a positive spirit, a spirit of recovery," said Paolo Federico, general manager of the five-star Punta Tragara hotel. "Maybe this anxiety will not be part of our baggage anymore."

Capri, like the rest of Italy, is slowly reopening. Outdoor dining became possible again on April 26 and indoor dining will be allowed at the start of June.

Tourism to the island, made famous in the last century by superstar habitués such as Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren and later by Tom Cruise and Jennifer Lopez, plunged by about 70 percent over the pre-pandemic period, when up to three million people visited yearly.

Optimism trickles down from luxury fashion shops and top-tier restaurants such as La Capannina, where a photo of Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis eating there 50 years ago hangs on the wall, to more modest haunts as well as to fishermen and boat operators.

Vincenzo Iaccarino, president of the island's Blue Grotto boat drivers, found it strange for Capresi - as the island's natives are known to have the place mostly to themselves, almost as if a key ingredient was missing in a recipe.

"It's beautiful but it doesn't dance" without visitors, he said, using the popular Italian idiom "È bella ma non balla." Iaccarino, 57, a boat owner authorised to take tourists inside Capri's famed Blue Grotto, has for 33 years shepherded them past the narrow, low opening, just as his father did.

Sunlight passing through an underwater cavity creates an illuminating reflection so magically blue that the Roman Emperor Tiberius, who had a villa on the island, is said to have used it as his private swimming hole 2,000 years ago. Fourteen of Italy's 20 regions, including the Campania region where Capri is located off the coast of Naples, have been designated yellow zones with a relatively low COVID risk. Five are classified orange and one red.

"I'm optimistic and I hope we will work because (we won't be able to stand) another year like last year," said Iaccarino. The European Union has said American visitors, a traditional mainstay for Capri's tourist season, can travel to member countries this summer if they have been vaccinated.