Regional elections

“The autocrat denounced by voters is losing election after election“.

Luis Alcaide

Extremadura was first, Aragón was next, but in both cases the PP has not managed to break away from Vox. Feijóo acknowledges the failure. Vox is gaining votes and seats faster than the PP. Anything can happen in Castilla–León and why not in Andalucía. The left can no longer rely on winning votes, and the PP, although it is the most voted party, cannot trust in governing alone. All bets have gone wrong, and they can only be corrected. The PP-Vox alliance and the incentive of the spectacular loss of electoral support for the PSOE and other left-wing parties is a fact. Undeniable. Voters in the Autonomous Communities called to the polls distrust or even despise the data indicating the good results of the Spanish economy. The PSOE cannot use them to gain votes. The data is written in reports from international organisations, from the IMF to the European Commission. Data supported by the recent activity of companies even in the territories where the Government's party has been clearly defeated.

Voters do not recognise prosperity, the rise in consumption, tourist and holiday travel, the drop in unemployment figures, and the increase in the number of employed people. Even some companies complain about a lack of labour. Sánchez's predatory socialism has not prevented the financial sector from maintaining its activity in line with the advance of the Spanish economy. The profitability of banks is advancing to the point that the Bank of Spain is proposing to them to reinforce capital over paying dividends to shareholders and buying back their shares. The global macroeconomic environment demands maximum prudence.

The drop in votes for the PSOE and other left-wing parties confirms the distrust of Spaniards in the coalition government led by Sánchez. The autocrat denounced by voters is losing election after election. The same autocrat has been pointed out due to volcanoes, epidemics, fires, floods, corruption even from his own family, and a recent railway disaster. Moreover, house rents are sky-high. The gap between the number of houses and the needs of the population is not being corrected. Young people cannot find housing. Sánchez's government is failing to solve the housing problem at the State level. Autonomous Communities and Town Halls are not remedying it either. Alicante and its example. It does not matter whose responsibility it is regarding housing. The best way to stop the disaster that Spaniards are suffering is to deny the vote to those contaminated by the Government and cast it in favour of the PP and especially Vox, Mr Abascal. An enthusiast of President Trump, a patriot more nationalist than Europeanist who, since 10 February 2026, has the go-ahead from Feijóo to govern together in the communities and when the occasion arises, throughout the Spanish State. The PSOE and the parties to its left have, for now, lost the trust of Spaniards. It will not be easy to regain it. What are Sánchez and the other leftists waiting for to go to the polls together? They probably wouldn’t win either. One must simply manage and accept the deep disillusionment and the government's inability to show acceptable credentials. These are tough times for those who can no longer hide behind economic results, the supposed success of the vaccines against covid, or the positive, which indeed was positive, remedy of the ERTEs.♦

Luis Alcaide
Economist for the Spanish Government since 1961. He has been a state advisor in the European Union and director of Communications at the Bank of Spain. He has published editorial articles in El País (1977-1983) and in Diario 16 (1985-1988), and regularly contributes to Economía Exterior and Política Exterior. He is a founding member of Grupo Consejeros.

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