Ruling Party Loses Hold as Leftists Surge in Spain
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Version 0 of 1. MADRID — Underlining the rising fragmentation of Spanish politics, two left-wing politicians appeared poised to take charge of the city halls in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain’s two largest cities, according to the preliminary results of Spanish regional and municipal elections on Sunday. The elections, however, failed to produce the kind of clear-cut winner of four years ago, when the conservative Popular Party swept to power as voters punished the Socialists for sinking Spain into an economic crisis. Instead, Sunday’s vote is likely to be followed by tense coalition-building negotiations in Madrid as well as across much of the rest of Spain. The elections were seen as a bellwether for the governing Popular Party and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s own chances of winning general elections later this year. While the Popular Party won the most votes, according to preliminary results, it was set to lose its parliamentary majorities in most, if not all, of the country’s provinces. That setback raises the likelihood that left-leaning parties will join forces in the coming weeks to remove the Popular Party and form coalition governments. In Barcelona, Ada Colau, a left-wing politician, narrowly defeated Mayor Xavier Trias. After wiping away some tears, Ms. Colau raised her fist in victory and told supporters, “We have shown you can do politics in another way.” Ms. Colau, a former activist who opposed housing evictions during Spain’s banking crisis, added: “Ordinary people, who normally don’t have any power, had a historic opportunity and used it. Congratulations.” In Madrid’s municipal election, the outcome of Sunday’s vote was less certain. The Popular Party came out on top, but not by a sufficient margin to guarantee that its candidate, the veteran politician Esperanza Aguirre, would become the new mayor of Spain’s capital. Instead, Manuela Carmena, a retired judge, could win in Madrid if she can agree to join forces with the Socialists. As the last votes were being counted around midnight, Ms. Carmena, 71, thanked her supporters, saying: “The victory is yours.” She said that she would work hard to “seduce those who didn’t vote for change.” The elections underlined the rise of Podemos, a far-left party that was founded in 2014, but has since led the crusade against corruption among established parties. Podemos backed both Ms. Colau and Ms. Carmena. Pablo Iglesias, the national leader of Podemos, told supporters on Sunday that “the big cities are the big engine of change in Spain.” He said Sunday’s election results amounted to “a magic and historic night” that showed Spain’s bipartisan system was coming to an end. He added: “This is a spring of change that is irreversible and that will carry us until November,” when Mr. Rajoy’s government is expected to convene the next general elections. Spain’s other emerging party, Ciudadanos, received mixed results, even though it may still play the role of kingmaker in some regions. Albert Rivera, the leader of the center-right party, emphasized that its most direct rival, the Popular Party, lost two-fifths of its voters compared with four years ago, according to his estimates. “There’s been a change in the political map of Spain,” he told La Sexta, a television channel. In Valencia, Spain’s third largest city, Rita Barberá, the conservative mayor, was set to leave office after 24 years. While her Popular Party received the most votes, it fell short of a majority, leaving the door open to left-leaning parties to form a new governing coalition. |