Albiol retakes Badalona as People's Party sweeps across Spain
Political comeback of former mayor comes amid conservative wave in Spanish regions and cities
The conservative People's Party candidate, Xavier García Albiol, got an absolute majority in the city of Badalona, the fourth most populated city in Catalonia, just north of the Catalan capital.
The politician was the mayor from 2020 to 2021 before being ousted via a motion of no confidence called by left-wing forces, but is now set to become mayor again.
The conservative candidate got 18 out of the 27 local seats in the city council, surpassing the required 14 to get the majority.
"Thank you, Badalona," he said on Sunday night.
"Today is a historic day for Badalona, a very special day that with no doubt it will be remembered for a long time. I just want to thank my bosses, so I mean the neighbors of this city," he said.
"I know for sure that some neighbors in Badalona who may not agree with my political party have trusted us with their vote, people who may sympathize with the Socialists, or with pro-independence parties, who don’t vote, who vote for Podemos, it doesn’t matter to me," said Albiol.
Conservatives make big gains in Catalonia
Across Catalonia, PP made big gains and won 196 local councilors, a huge leap from 66 local seats in the last local election. The People’s Party also became the fifth party with the most votes: 247.113 in total.
PP sweeps across Spain
In Spain as a whole, the People’s Party emerged as the big winner on Sunday in local and regional elections, winning the most support with over 7 million votes, over 31% of all ballots cast.
PP beat the Socialists and its left-wing allies in most Spanish regions, including Madrid, Valencia, and the Balearic islands, and is expected to secure political power, either by ruling alone or in coalition with far-right VOX.
Ciudadanos hits rock bottom
The rise of PP and Vox in Catalonia and across Spain came in part at the expense of Ciudadanos, the anti-independence champions which over the past decade sided with right-wing parties.
Ciudadanos only kept 10 local councilors across Catalonia, down from 239 in the last local election, and were left without any councilors in Barcelona and in most major cities.
"This is not the happiest night of our lives. Results don’t come even remotely close to what we were hoping for," said Anna Grau, Ciudadanos mayoral candidate for Barcelona.