THE socialists (PSOE) took a beating in yesterday’s local elections. Not surprisingly, the party of national government, led by prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, suffered heavy losses throughout Spain, reflecting the people’s disillusionment with the socialist regime of the last seven years.

Overall, PSOE lost 2,262 councillors while the Conservative Partido Popular (PP) gained 3,151. However, while PSOE’s percentage share of the vote plummeted by eight percentage points, the PP only increased theirs by one and a half points, showing that the electorate is still mistrusting of the party led by Manuel Rajoy.

In the Serranía de Ronda the socialists lost ground nearly everywhere and several councils have “changed hands”.

The main beneficiaries were the independent parties.  The Conservative Partido Popular (PP) did less well than they would have hoped in traditionally left-wing rural Andalucía.

In the Guadiaro valley, where we live, there are new mayors in Montejaque, Benaoján and Cortes de la Frontera. In the villages of the valley there was no real pattern, however. The socialists suffered badly in Benaoján and Cortes de la Frontera and lost control of Montejaque. The Partido Andalucista (PA) made great strides in Cortes but lost seats in Ronda. They didn’t put up any candidates in the other villages. Jimera de Líbar remained firmly in the hands of the Conservatives. Montejaque was won by the independent Agrupación Democrática Independiente de Andalucía (ADIA) following a strong campaign and a hefty manifesto for change.

In a dramatic development in Ronda, the incumbent mayor, Antonio María Marín Lara, looks set to be ousted after all, despite his party, PSOE, polling most votes. PSOE gained 7 seats, as did the Partido Popular (PP), not enough to govern alone on the 21-seat council.
Lara, who was elected in 2007 for the Partido Andalucista (PA), crossed the floor in 2010 and joined PSOE, taking his fellow PA councillors with him. Officially branded a political turncoat, it seems that no party is willing to form a coalition with him in order to gain a majority of seats on the council. As a result it is likely that the PP candidate, Maripaz Fernández, will form a coalition with the PA and become the town’s first ever female mayor.

Where these results leave Zapatero’s national government remains to be seen. The voters have definitely given him the thumbs down, but Rajoy and the PP will be less than pleased at their showing in the polls.

To create link towards this article on your website,
copy and paste the text below in your page.

<style type="text/css"><!--.quote {width:350px; padding: 6px; border: solid 1px #456B8F; font: 10px helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; color: #222222; background-color: #ffffff}.quote a {font: 13px arial, serif; color: #003399; text-decoration: underline}.quote a:hover {color: #FF9900; }//--></style><div style="float:left;padding:5px;"><img src="http://www.secretandalucia.com/guadiaro-valley/images/stories/municipal-elections-2011.jpg" width="120" alt="" /></div><div class="quote"><a href="http://www.secretandalucia.com/guadiaro-valley/news/562-municipal-election-results-in-the-guadiaro-valley.html" target="_blank">Guadiaro Valley Municipal Election Results</a><br />Tuesday, 24 May 2011<br /> THE socialists (PSOE) took a beating in yesterday’s local elections. Not surprisingly, the party of national government, led by prime...<div align="right" style="width:350px"><p style="text-align:right;">© 2012 - <a href="http://www.secretandalucia.com/guadiaro-valley/" target="_blank">Secret Andalucia - Guadiaro Valley, near Ronda</a></p></div></div>

Preview :

Guadiaro Valley Municipal Election Results
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
THE socialists (PSOE) took a beating in yesterday’s local elections. Not surprisingly, the party of national government, led by prime...

© 2012 - Secret Andalucia - Guadiaro Valley, near Ronda

Powered by QuoteThis © 2008