The electoral collapse of PP, a headache for Mariano Rajoy – LaCapital.com.ar

The vote in Andalusia. Voters punished the conservatives, who accuse wear his administration by cuts and corruption.

The right in power in Spain yesterday had reason to worry after its collapse in regional elections in Andalusia, facing intense election year in which we, left, and Citizens in the center-threatening reelection. Less than a year before the elections, the Popular Party (PP) head of government Mariano Rajoy, in power since late 2011, finished second in the great southern region of the country, with 33 deputies in the regional parliament 109: 17 least so far away from the 47 obtained by the socialist PSOE in its historical stronghold. On the heels, the emerging parties: we entered the chamber with 15 seats and Citizens nine

This is the worst result of the PP in Andalusia since 1990 and a second warning after. fall in European elections in May, when he lost eight seats (16 versus the previous 24). Adjectives were relentless in the conservative press: “setback” wrote El Mundo, “The PP sinks” headlined ABC, while Reason criticized “a terrible result without shades or hot packs”. The Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo, meanwhile regretted “infinitely worse result than could be expected”.

Although from the conservative training ensures that the result “is not extrapolated “to the rest of the country, opponents insist that defeat is a message from the electorate against the austerity policies of the Spanish government and corruption. “We have to be very aware that we are in a difficult for parties that are in government now,” acknowledged today Carlos Floriano, director of the campaign committee of PP, after analysis of the results by the national leadership.

A “dangerous neophyte”. Rajoy, who on Sunday night held a crisis meeting with party leaders and two ministers according to several media was personally involved Andalucía traveling five times in the 15 days campaign. Still, it failed to convince the Andalusians to give back to the Socialists, however beaten by a huge local corruption scandal, despite the revival of the economy, with growth of 1.4 percent of GDP in 2014 after six years of crisis.

Thus, the results can, somewhat worse than expected, were overshadowed by the fall of PP. “The photo shows that you have a serious problem is the PP because this may have been the beginning of a debacle” believes Fernando Alvarez Ossorio, a professor of constitutional law at Sevilla. To explain what happened there to look the other neophyte in this election, still little known outside Spain due to overwhelming interest can: Citizens, a baby born in Catalonia in 2006 party that advocates transparency and combating corruption, now launched the national arena.

Its 9 percent of votes in Andalusia difficult to obtain for a match considered by many as “Catalan”, comes in part from right-wing electorate but also undecided which might have can opt for austerity policies against the PP in a region with 34.2 percent unemployment, far above the national average of 23.7 percent.

The ideological range. So, analysts say, if we managed fewer seats than predicted by the polls was more competition from Citizens for the problems of their Greek ally, SYRIZA in its financial negotiations with Brussels. “Many young people who would be in the orbit of PP-PSOE we have found that it is more ideological range” because of its centrism, considered Alvarez Ossorio. “Objectively, with some distance, if a year before there we say we now enter a game called we to 15 percent of votes and other citizens, with 9 or 10, we would like crazy, a huge tsunami, “says José Fernández-Albertos, politóloco of the Centre for Scientific Research.

This weakness of the reigning bipartisanship so far is a puzzle for Rajoy, who in May must deal with municipal and regional elections in 13 of the 17 autonomous communities, elections in Catalonia in September and independence-focusing at the end of legislative year nationwide.

And all you must also manage internal tensions of his party on Monday Reason stressed the “need to recover some lost values” in the PP, referring to ultraconservatism who had advocated almost prohibit abortion

Convinced future success

wear Rajoy yesterday attributed the crisis, the clear defeat of his party in the Andalusian regional elections but does not see extrapolated to Spain. Regarding the next elections, Rajoy did not seem to feel concern and, at the direction of his party, expressed his conviction that the PP will be the most voted in municipal and regional elections in May.