ETA

• The local and regional elections that took place the 28th May have shaken up the political chessboard in Spain.
• The right-wing Partido Popular took the largest proportion of votes and now has the largest number of seats in local and regional governments.
• In one fell swoop the socialist party has lost around 70% of the local and regional power it had.

National identity

• Ideas about identity and nationalism came to play an important part in what were supposed to be elections about local matters.
• During the last week of the campaign in particular, national issues dominated the discourse.
• The Partido Popular has constructed a rhetoric of being the only party defending the constitution and the union of the country.
• The party, presided over by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has absorbed the main voters from Ciudadanos, the Catalan political start-up that was at first phenomenally successful when it came to national prominence in 2015 but has already almost disappeared.

Political leadership

• He has managed to boost his international image with good performances in Europe and occasional visits to Washington and Beijing.
• But there is little time for Sumar to establish a strategy that can turn a social movement into a political entity with representation in the provinces.
• Meanwhile, Alberto Núñez Feijoo, of the Spanish People’s Party, proposes a quiet style of leadership.

Plebiscite

• He lost three MPs in the 2019 rerun election and now he has lost ground in many regions.
• In Catalonia, his acceptance is growing, but the seats it brings to the general elections are not enough.
• In this situation, Sánchez’s only chance is to get as near to his current 120 parliamentary seats as he can.
• Whereas local elections weren’t supposed to be a plebiscite on national government, next 23rd of July seems to be the rerun of a general election whose first round took place last weekend.