Maverick Madrid leader makes regional election a referendum on her relaxed COVID rules

Record ID: 1614161

  • Title: Maverick Madrid leader makes regional election a referendum on her relaxed COVID rules
  • Date: 30th April 2021
  • Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (RECENT - APRIL 23, 2021) (REUTERS) IGLESIAS ARRIVING AT CADENA SER RADIO HEADQUARTERS FOR ELECTION DEBATE AFTER RECEIVING DEATH THREAT LETTER AND BULLETS / IGLESIAS SAYING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish): "It is mind-boggling, we expect arrests to be made. I think this has something to do with constant impunity. No arrests were made after our headquarters in Cartagena
  • Embargoed: 14th May 2021 08:44
  • Keywords: Isabel Diaz Ayuso Madrid Madrid election Madrid regional election Madrid's maverick leader Pablo Iglesias Spain Vox party coronavirus maverick leader pandemic threats
  • Location: MADRID, SPAIN
  • City: MADRID, SPAIN
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: Europe,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA001EAPRH3B
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Conservative politician Isabel Diaz Ayuso looks set to win a new term in Tuesday's regional election in Madrid, in what many in Spain see as a referendum on her defiant stance that kept bars and shops open during most of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    The model she has applied in the country's wealthiest region, much to the chagrin of the leftist central government, has been unique in Spain and Europe by prioritising the economy and social life over keeping the pandemic in check.
    The word "Freedom" on Ayuso's campaign posters embodies her defiance as a maverick regional leader who also ruffles feathers in her own party and wants to project Madrid as a liberal haven that lures tourists from other European countries, where bars and restaurants have been shut for months.
    "Ayuso is doing it well with this issue (pandemic), she has opened the bars, we have a little more freedom, otherwise we would all be in (economic) chaos," said student Lucas Oliveira, 21, who was having a drink in an outdoor terrace. He considers himself apolitical but will vote for the PP candidate.
    Posters saying "thanks for taking care of us" that have blossomed in a number of bars and restaurants also show some of the popularity of Ayuso's policy - even if it has meant that Madrid's infection numbers are way above Spain's average.
    Regardless of their political ideology, many Madrilenos have flocked to the bars since they opened last summer when a harsh nationwide lockdown was lifted. Gyms, cinemas, theaters and museums also remained open, and one can even eat indoors in restaurants.
    But open bars are not everything, and others said they would vote for other parties regardless.
    "Keeping the bars open has been really good (for the economy), even for me, I am here, aren't I? But, evidently, she should have been more restrictive, in my view," said Isabel Villalba, a 67-year-old pensioner, who will vote for the Socialists.
    All in all, after a tense campaign that has seen several candidates and ministers receive threatening letters with bullets, opinion polls suggest that what critics have sometimes named as Ayuso's "Trumpian" style, and the fact that the pandemic, though worse in Madrid than elsewhere, has not produced a full-blown health crisis, will be rewarded.
    GAD3 pollster's president Narciso Michavila has said the election is a referendum on COVID restrictions.
    Her conservative People's Party (PP) is projected to get over 40% of the vote, potentially doubling its seats in the regional assembly from the last election in 2019.
    That will likely be insufficient to govern alone, but would be an unusual feat for any recent Spanish election characterised by political fragmentation and polarisation, while showcasing Ayuso as a potential future rival for her own party leader Pablo Casado and for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
    The explanation for the 'Ayuso effect' also lies in the collapse of Ciudadanos, the center-right wing party.
    But in order to stay in power, opinion polls say Ayuso will likely have to govern directly with, or at least with the support of, the far-right Vox party, which was already backing the outgoing PP/Cidadanos team.
    That is unless Vox does not meet the 5% threshold to have seats in the regional parliament - one of the unknowns that still give left-wing parties a slim hope that they could jointly garner enough support to clinch a surprise victory.
    But opinion polls have consistently shown that even the fact that Pablo Iglesias, of left-wing Unidas Podemos who left the government to run in the regional campaign, will likely not prevent an Ayuso win.
    With Ciudadanos all but eclipsed and Podemos also weak, this vote could to some degree mark a return to the decades-old bipartisanship that the two upstart party (Podemos and Ciudadanos) had shaken up over the past years - except that Vox could be a potential kingmaker.
    (Production: Guillermo Martinez, Juan Antonio Dominguez, Belen Carreno, Catherine Macdonald)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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