Right wing surges in local polls, dealing blow to PM

Spain’s right-wing opposition posted strong gains both locally and regionally during Sunday’s polls in a clear setback for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, initial results and media reports said.

Widely seen as a dress rehearsal for a year-end general election, Sunday’s vote saw the main opposition Popular Party (PP) chalking up the largest number of votes in the municipal vote with nearly all ballots counted, official figures showed.

And the party also managed to dislodge the Socialists from several regions in their power, notably the eastern region of Valencia, media reports said.

The figures will be a blow for Mr Sanchez, whose Socialist party governs the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy in coalition with the far-left Podemos.

Polls suggest he will lose the year-end election which is seen as heralding a return of the right.

With over 95% of the votes counted, the PP secured 31.47% of the local ballots cast, compared to 28.28% for the Socialists, a difference of some 700,000 votes, official figures showed.

Polling stations closed at 8pm local time after a day in which voters cast ballots for mayors in 8,131 municipalities and leaders and assemblies in 12 of Spain’s 17 regions.

Turnout was 63.89%, lower than 2019 polls when it stood at 65.19%, official figures showed.

In office since 2018, Mr Sanchez has faced voter fatigue with his left-wing government, soaring inflation and falling purchasing power.

“I do think it’s an important test [ahead of the year-end elections]. It’s the only way we have of expressing our opinion about all these years they’ve been in government,” 61-year-old doctor Maria Alonso told AFPTV after voting in Madrid.

Microbiologist Irene Diaz said the local and regional polls “were as important” as the upcoming general election.

“At the end of the day, these are elections in your city which involve laws and legislation that will end up impacting your day-to-day life,” she said.