Seville (Reuters) – the PP won Sunday the autonomous elections in Andalusia for the first time in its history but failed the absolute majority than expected, leaving the Government national conservative Mariano Rajoy without symbolic support to its austerity measures.
Outcomes, on the other hand, were a fresh defeat for the PSOE against forecasts, which could continue ruling the community with the help of Izquierda Unida, a formation which doubled its number of seats in an electoral consultation where the high abstention came up to 40 percent.
With the completed ballot, the PP won 50 seats in a Parliament of 109, short of the absolute majority, while the PSOE won 47 seats — nine fewer than in the previous elections – and IULV-CA rose from six to 12 members, in what has been considered a bulwark against the wave of conservative after the victories of the PP in General and municipal last year.
Opinion polls had promised that the PP would achieve between 54 and 59 seats by the fatigue of the Andalusians to more than three decades in power of the Socialists, because of the high rate of unemployment – 31 percent, the highest in the country – and the corruption scandals, with several leaders charged in the so-called scandal of the ERE.
The consultation was held four days before a general strike by the labor reform that cheaper dismissal and five days before that Rajoy submit their budgets for 2012 with more cuts.
In April, it is expected that Rajoy Government put in place reforms that allow the autonomous communities cut in expenditures on education and health, thanks to an ample majority in the national Parliament.
Possible coalition of left-wing
Although a coalition between PSOE and IU is not given for granted, Izquierda Unida leaders suggested Sunday that his party contemplated that possibility.
“people in Andalusia want a change, but want a shift to the left,” said Cayo Lara, general coordinator of Izquierda Unida in Madrid.
“Today has been that there is a majority of voters in Andalusia have not voted on the right and seeking a path that defends the social model and the equality of opportunities”, said socialist candidate José Antonio Griñán, adding that once more the PSOE had given him again return to polls.
Socialists have obtained better results than expected, which will give them a break after the election of the General and municipal debacles which lost much of its share of power in the country and led to a changed in the direction of the party.
“The PP has failed in all its expectations.” “There is a progressive majority in Andalusia”, said the Deputy Secretary-General of the PSOE, Elena Valenciano, in his appearance before the press at the headquarters of the party in Madrid.
Socialists achieved a good result Sunday in Asturias, where elections were held second regional in less than a year by a political stalemate, although they could not govern because no party achieved an absolute majority.
En AndalucÃa, 37.7% of the 6.4 million voters of the almost eight and a half million inhabitants did not attend to vote, an abstention rate 10 points higher than in the autonomous elections of 2008.
Analysts said that the results were a bitter victory for the PP, and even that could become a defeat.
“the low turnout that we have seen has punished both Socialists by the crisis and corruption, and surprisingly the PP, which to some extent has been punished for Rajoy cuts,” said José Pablo Ferrándiz, director of the polling Metroscopia, to Reuters.
