European Central: Right Wing Politicians Win In Madrid Regional Elections
Europa Press News
Voters sent a loud message in the Community of Madrid regional election. They are happy with how Regional President Isabel Ayuso of Partido Popular (People’s Party) has run the region during the pandemic. The election is also viewed as a rejection of how the Spanish government’s response to the pandemic. Ayuso’s party won 44 percent of the vote, double what Partido Popular received only two years ago. Isabel Ayuso’s pinned tweet before the election read “communism or freedom”. At the same time, this victory is controversial because Ayuso is considering a coalition with VOX, a far-right party in Spain. Ayuso needs to create a coalition because Partido Popular is 4 seats short of an outright majority. Partido Popular previously had a coalition with the Ciudadanos (Citizens) party, but Ciudadanos failed to win a single seat in this election. In addition, the coalition collapsed which triggered this election.
While a lot of attention has been on how Ayuso has kept the businesses of the region open, she has also vowed to work attracting more companies in the region by cutting taxes. It is also important to understand that her considering a coalition with VOX breaks away from how Partido Popular has acted at the national level. Pablo Casado from Partido Popular is not willing to work with VOX at the national level. Ayuso has made it clear she does not agree with VOX on everything but can work based on their similarities. Ayuso does not have as much of a choice as Casado does. In order to continue to be the President of the Community of Madrid, Ayuso needs to form a coalition. Most of the parties are against how she has handled the pandemic apart from VOX. Casado on the other hand is in the opposition to the ruling coalition. As Casado and Partido Popular are not currently running the national government, there is not a need for a coalition in the opposition.
Defying The National Government
While the National Government enacted strict lockdown rules to curb the spread of Covid-19, Ayuso largely ignored these rules and kept bars and restaurants open. This resulted in bars naming drinks after Ayuso and restaurants naming dishes in her honor. Constituents are clearly happy with her choice not only to help the region economically but also protect the social importance of bars and restaurants. Two days before the election on May 2nd which is also significant due to the resistance of Napoleon’s troops in Madrid in 1808 on the same day, she compared her defiance of the national government to this resistance. Comments like this have caused opposing politicians to compare her to Trump. This election may represent a shift to the right in Spain as the country is struggling to recover. Ayuso also proved that she can remain popular with the people in the Community of Madrid, instead of voters defecting from mainstream parties altogether for VOX. This is a success for Ayuso as the typical voter of VOX are middle-class and middle-aged men who previously voted for Partido Popular or Ciudadanos.
Ignoring national lockdown orders in order to allow economic activity has made Madrid an outlier, as many metro areas in the west did the exact opposite. Ayuso’s resistance to obeying national lockdowns also helped create her largest opposition, Monica Garcia from Mas Madrid (More Madrid). Monica Garcia, an anesthesiologist has heavily criticized Ayuso for how she has handled the pandemic. Garcia’s message The Community of Madrid has had 15,000 deaths from Covid-19, the most deaths in Spain as a result of the pandemic yet is only the third most populated region. A couple of days before the election, the 14-day infection rate for the Community of Madrid was 384 per 100,000 people, significantly higher than the national rate of 289.
Why VOX Is A Controversial Party
VOX, whose name means voice in Latin, has borrowed Trump’s famous slogan and wants to make Spain great again. The party is against abortions and same-sex marriage, both of which are currently legal in Spain. Vox has a firm anti-immigration stance which helped make the party become popular amongst voters after the number of migrants has risen dramatically in Spain. In addition, VOX is against regional autonomy and instead favors a strong centralized government.
Besides their core beliefs, VOX has been condemned for actions during the Community of Madrid regional elections. Vox had a campaign poster picturing a grandmother and an unaccompanied foreign minor. The poster claims that the grandmother only receives 426 euros a month for her pension meanwhile the unaccompanied minor receives 4,700 euros a month. This claim however has been debunked. The 4,700-euro statistic most likely comes from the total cost of a contract that was awarded in order to take care of 16 unaccompanied foreign minors. However, unlike a pension, the 4,700 is not directly paid to these unaccompanied foreign minors and they do not directly receive money. Critics have said the posters are misleading and dishonest.
Ayuso may have won this election, but her success in future elections may depend on what issues she compromises on with VOX and whether voters agree with her decisions. In the short-term, voters of the Community of Madrid may tolerate a coalition between Partido Popular and Vox if the region sees a strong economic recovery.
