This Sunday the Galician PP once again provided an overwhelming example of its resilience. Neither the wear and tear of 15 years in power, nor the presence of a new candidate, nor an unpredictable election campaign that caused confusion within his own ranks, nor even a major voter mobilization like he had dreamed of. The Left… Nothing has in the slightest dented the strength of the people, who, despite losing two seats, comfortably retain an absolute majority in the Galician Parliament – 40 out of 75 deputies – for the fifth consecutive time since 2009.
The polls confirmed the strong growth of nationalism, which, as expected, broke its historical ceiling and reached 30% of the vote. But all this GNH gain came at the expense of the PSdeG-PSOE, which fell victim to a drain that left it with just nine seats, a third of what it had in its heyday. The other central government partner, Sumar, fared even worse, not even reaching 2%.
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Although the elections in Galicia were presented as a test for Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the Galician politician's leadership in the PP has survived this challenge unscathed. Between Feijóo and the successor to whom he passed the baton in the Xunta two years ago, Alfonso Rueda, they have managed to break the boundaries that seemed unbeatable by the old boss Manuel Fraga. The founder of the PP managed to win four absolute majorities before losing them in 2005. Rueda now enjoys his fifth consecutive majority and can extend the PP's mandate to almost two decades. One overwhelming fact sums it all up: since Fraga's first victory in 1989, ten elections have been held in Galicia, and the Popular Party has won a majority in nine of them.
The Left banked all its luck on large turnout, believing that the PP's brilliant victories in regional elections benefited from a greater apathy on the part of the electorate than in general or local elections. And turnout actually skyrocketed, reaching 67%, up nine percentage points from the previous election. But for the PP opponents everything turned out to be a mirage.
Although they lost two seats, the popular parties almost retained their strong support from 2020. They only lost a few tenths and are still above 47%. Because the turnout was higher, Rueda was even able to collect around 70,000 more votes than Feijóo in 2020. In the most left-leaning province of Pontevedra, the PP advanced by more than a point.
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The Popular Party's biggest loss – about three points – was recorded in Ourense, where Mayor Gonzalo Jácome's populist formation finally managed to place a deputy in the Santiago parliament, who was of little value given Wheel's resounding triumph. Everything indicates that Democracia Ourensana ended up doing more damage to the PSdeG, which lost seven points in this province. The PP also returned to keep Vox at bay, confirming that Galicia is a hostile territory for the far right. Santiago Abascal's remained again at just 2%.
The BNG candidate for the presidency of the Xunta de Galicia after learning the results of the Galician elections.ÓSCAR CORRAL
Video conference between Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Alfonso Rueda after the announcement of the results of the parliamentary elections in Galicia, in a picture from the PP. Popular candidate Alfonso Rueda won 40 seats, two fewer than in 2020, but enough to continue governing in the Galician executive after 15 uninterrupted years of the PP. David Mudarra
Sumar's candidate in Galicia, Marta Lois, during the press conference after the results were announced. The left-wing coalition only received 1.88% of the vote and will not be represented in the Galician Parliament.Brais Lorenzo (EFE)
The President of the Democracia Ourensana, Gonzalo Pérez Jácome, continues the verification of the election results this Sunday in Ourense. This populist party was the surprise of the evening by gaining a representative in the Galician parliament, but given the PP's good results it is not the key to government. Alejandro Camba (EFE)
The presidential candidate of the Xunta de Galicia, José Ramón Gómez Besteiro, during his appearance after learning the results of the Galician autonomy elections. XOAN ALVAREZ (EFE)
BNG supporters sing this Sunday at the Nave de Vidán in A Coruña (Galicia), the place chosen by their party to watch the counting of votes. Kabalar (EFE)
The candidate of Podemos for the Xunta de Galicia, Isabel Faraldo, follows the recount of the regional elections this Sunday at the headquarters of her organization in A Coruña. Podemos is excluded from the regional parliament and does not receive a seat with an insignificant 0.26% of the vote.kiko Slim (EFE)
Sumar's candidate for the Xunta presidency, Marta Lois (second from left), upon her arrival at the Hotel Peregrino in Santiago to monitor the results of election day in Galicia.M. Dylan (Europa Press)
Three people are counting the votes this Sunday at the Illas Cies Institute in Vigo (Pontevedra). Adrian Irago (Europa Press)
Several journalists follow election night in Galicia from the PP's national headquarters in Madrid.Rodrigo Jiménez (EFE)
Dozens of people protest this Sunday in Madrid at the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street during the counting of the Galician election night. FERNANDO VILLAR (EFE)
It was a bittersweet night for the BNG. The success of Ana Pontón's candidacy was as undeniable as the polls predicted. It rose nearly eight points, climbing to 31%, far from its historical high of 25%. She achieved some milestones of great symbolism, such as being the force with the most votes in Vigo, the first city of Galicia. But the very strong rise of nationalism led to something very close to the zero-sum game that many on the left feared. Almost everything was fueled by the demise of the PSdeG and the space now divided between Sumar and Podemos. The distance between the two axes right and left hardly changed compared to 2020, when participation was almost 10 points lower. The numbers suggest that the possibility of nationalists taking power in Xunta for the first time ultimately mobilized right-wing voters.
With all of this, the PSdeG was heading for a monumental catastrophe. It had already achieved the worst result in its history four years ago and sank even further, losing five seats and more than five points. It remained below 15%, while in not so distant times it was above 30%. The concentration of the left's votes in the BNG and the limited time to launch its candidate, José Ramón Gómez Besteiro, who appeared as a subordinate of the nationalists throughout the election campaign, have put an enormous strain on him. And the central government also suffered a setback after Pedro Sánchez and his ministers threw themselves into the election campaign to corner Feijóo with a poor election result.
For Sánchez's partner in the executive branch, the day was equally or more painful. Yolanda Díaz suffered her worst political defeat in her home country for a long time after her electorate switched en masse to the BNG. The candidacy, led by its former speaker in Congress Marta Lois, did not even reach 2%, even behind Vox, while it had reached 10% in the parliamentary elections last July in Galicia. Podemos is even more dramatic: its 0.26% surpasses even PACMA.
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