Spain follows Greece as anti-austerity parties sweep local election

Spain’s political future has been thrown up in the air after local elections saw the dominance of its two big political parties destroyed, and sparked unwelcome comparisons with Greece

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Former communist and court judge Manuela Carmena will hope to become mayor of Madrid thanks to the support of the Socialists, who finished a distant third in the capital Photo: AFP

By James Badcock, Madrid and Harriet Alexander

6:10PM BST 25 May 2015

Europe’s Left-wing anti-austerity parties have claimed another victory after a surpise triumph in Spain’s local elections.

The defeat of the two main parties that have dominated Spanish politics for more than 40 years means that a series of new Left-wing movements now hold the balance of power, inviting an unwelcome comparison with Greece.

Across the country, even historical strongholds for the ruling Popular Party (PP) and the opposition socialist PSOE were rocked by the upsurge in support for recently formed groups, which can now hold the traditional parties to ransom as they try to form a ruling coalition. In all of Spain’s major cities, including Madrid and Barcelona, coalitions will be required.

“Spain’s political panorama has entered a new phase,” centre-right daily newspaper El Mundo wrote in an editorial, while centre-left El Pais said the results of Sunday’s elections marked “deep change”.

And, ahead of general elections due in November, there were fears that the country – with the eurozone’s fourth largest economy – could face a radical swing to the Left, similar to that in Greece.

“The prime minister thought that he could be like David Cameron, who a few weeks ago won an important victory for the British Right,” wrote El Mundo. “But instead, he is on the path towards becoming like former Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras.”

^{President Spanish Primer Minister Mariano Rajoy}

Mr Samaras, the centre-Right leader, found his austerity programme to be so unpopular he lost to far-Left Syriza in January elections – causing real fears that Greece could default on repayment of its loans and be forced out of the eurozone. Mr Rajoy, like Mr Samaras, has pursued a policy of austerity to try and revive the moribund Spanish economy. It appears to be working - Spanish unemployment in January recorded the sharpest drop since the country adopted the euro in 1999.

But it has not proved popular.

In Spain the PP and PSOE saw their combined tally of votes fall from 65 per cent four years ago to 52 per cent, as local elections in 13 regions confirmed that the two parties have lost the ability to rally majority support.

Now it is two new forces – Podemos (We Can) and Ciudadanos (Citizens) – who control the fate of most of the 13 regional assemblies and are set to be kingmakers. Nationwide, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s PP won 27 per cent of the vote while PSOE picked up 25 per cent, their worst results for two decades.

Felipe Gonzalez, Spain’s longest-serving prime minister, who served four successive mandates from 1982 to 1996, warned that the country’s party system could become as unwieldy as Italy. But “we will lack Italians to manage it,” he said.

The PP won a majority of votes, but not enough to rule alone. Instead they will now be forced to try and form coalitions – and if they fail, the new parties could take power in their place.

^{Podemos ('We can') Secretary General Pablo Iglesias speaks during a meeting in Oviedo, Spain}

The difficulties in creating a coalition are illustrated by Andalucia, which held its regional elections in March and has not yet been able to agree on a ruling agreement. As in most regions, Andalusian statutes state that a new election must be called if no government can be formed two months after the first investiture debate.

On Monday both Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias and Ciudadanos’ Albert Rivera warned that they would make serious demands in return for their parties’ support in investiture debates around the country.

“We are a new, clean, free and autonomous brand,” said Mr Rivera, in response to the idea that Ciudadanos would facilitate PP governments. “The good news is that from now on, agreements are not going to be made on the basis of jobs for politicians, but to benefit the lives of Spaniards.”

The centrist Ciudadanos does not rule out deals with the PP or PSOE. Podemos has always said it would never do deals with Mr Rajoy’s PP and has warned the PSOE that any party responsible for austerity measures, such as the cutbacks introduced by the last Socialist government, would have to “do a 180-degree turn”.

Spaniards, Mr Iglesias said, “have not voted for pacts; they have voted for change”.

Pedro Sánchez, the PSOE leader, said he would talk to both Podemos and Ciudadanos.

“PSOE is going to lead the progressive change that the majority of Spaniards have voted for,” he said.

Mr Rajoy made no comment on the elections. Spain’s next general election is due at the end of the year.

In Barcelona, anti-poverty activist Ada Colau could become mayor if she can complete complex talks with a mixture of Left-wing Catalan nationalists and the Socialists.

In Madrid, the Podemos-backed coalition Ahora Madrid finished a close second behind the PP, but 71-year-old former communist and court judge Manuela Carmena will hope to become mayor thanks to the support of the Socialists, who finished a distant third in the capital. The PP has held Madrid for 23 years, and defeat for mayor candidate Esperanza Aguirre would be a huge blow to Mr Rajoy’s party         the Telegraph.