Regional elections in Madrid

Regional elections in Madrid. | David Mudarra / PEOPLE PARTY HAN

Jason MoorePalma06/05/2021 10:14
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One of the reasons why Isabel Diaz Ayuso triumphed in Madrid was because she refused to close the bars and restaurants, like the rest of the country. The number of coronavirus cases increased in the Spanish capital, higher than the national average, but Ayuso stood firm. She was not closing.

Bars and restaurants in Madrid continue to enjoy good takings and tourists flocked to the Spanish capital from France and from across the country. She was widely criticised for the move but in the end she won at the ballot box. Ayuso, is a member of the Partido Popular, a right wing political group whose fortunes have nose-dived over recent years.

For years they ruled Spain and the Balearics but they were dogged by a whole series of corruption scandals and their popularity fell as a direct result. The Partido Popular now believe that they are back on track after Ayuso’s success. I don’t so, Ayuso could be just an isolated case in which a politician stood firm against the coronavirus restrictions and won the support of the people of Madrid.

I don’t think people associate Ayuso with the Partido Popular, rather her attitude towards the coronavirus. But I do think that the elections in Madrid are a watershed; it could mean that Spain is back to two party politics; the Partido Popular and the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE). Newcomers Podemos have been hit by their founder, Pable Iglesias, stepping down and Ciudadanos have just disappeared from the political map.