Yesterday, 64.8% of the 6.8 million Andalusians called to the polls cast their votes, and the victory of the People’s Party (Partido Popular) was incontestable. Securing 1.7 million votes (41.6%) and 53 seats, it ensures that Juanma Moreno, the leader of the Andalusian PP, will remain in the San Telmo Palace for another 4 years. However, their indisputable victory carries a bittersweet undertone, as they dropped 5 seats, meaning they lost their absolute majority—which stands at 55 deputies. This will likely force them to reach some form of agreement with Vox, the party to their right, which obtained 575,000 votes (13.8%) and 15 seats, establishing itself as the third political force.
In between the PP and Vox is the PSOE of former Deputy Prime Minister Mª Jesús Montero, which secured 28 seats with 946,000 votes (22.7%)—two fewer than they achieved 4 years ago. This represents a new rock bottom for the Andalusian Socialists, who had governed the region with wide majorities from 1982 until four years ago. Since Pedro Sánchez came to power in Madrid, the PSOE, which had obtained 47 deputies in 2015, fell to 33 in 2018, 30 in 2022, and 28 yesterday. Losing seats while in government is highly common—the natural wear and tear of power—but losing them while in opposition should prompt some reflection from the Andalusian Socialists. Instead, yesterday they appeared highly self-satisfied that the results were not as bad as some polls had predicted and that, at the end of the day, the PP has lost its absolute majority and will be forced to reach an understanding with Vox. This is striking, considering that the PSOE insists on continuing to govern—without a parliamentary majority, without a budget…—to “halt” the far-right, which does nothing but grow at this end of the “Sanchismo” cycle.
The left to the left of the PSOE managed to hold its ground—as is the case with Podemos, which took 5 seats (263,000 votes, 6.3%)—and even rise in the case of Adelante Andalucía, which secured 8 seats (six more than they previously held) with 400,000 votes (9.6%).
