Compromís loses Carcaixent and Alzira is not guaranteed, two key strongholds of the coalition

The result of the 28-M elections is leaving Compromís without some of the municipal strongholds that it achieved in 2015 and that staged its power in some central Valencian regions.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
06 June 2023 Tuesday 11:01
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Compromís loses Carcaixent and Alzira is not guaranteed, two key strongholds of the coalition

The result of the 28-M elections is leaving Compromís without some of the municipal strongholds that it achieved in 2015 and that staged its power in some central Valencian regions. Due to the loss of Valencia and the difficulty of reaching agreements with other forces to maintain Alzira, yesterday the Valencian coalition announced that it was renouncing to present a candidate in Carcaixent (20,500 inhabitants) and that they will not support any other candidacy that may be presented.

In a note sent to the media, Compromís stressed that "the arithmetic of the results, taking into account the ideological and programmatic profile of all the political forces that have obtained representation in the Carcaixent City Council, prevents the formation of a government of progress with minimal stability. On 28-M the coalition obtained four councilors, compared to the six it achieved in 2019, which allowed it to reach the mayoralty of this town in the Ribera Alta.

The PP became the force with the most votes, with six councillors; Units per Carcaixent, UPERC, achieved 5; the PSPV 4 and Vox 2. Everything indicates that the popular ones will obtain the support of UPERC and Vox if necessary or, otherwise, being the most voted list, they will be able to hold the mayoralty. In the same note, the coalition acknowledges that "Compromís por Carcaixent will not be part of any negotiation and/or pact to form the municipal government."

The loss of Carcaixent could be the last piece of the serious setback of Compromís in municipal power. Valencia, Carcaixent and Alzira were the main squares with a Compromís mayor in the province of Valencia. Alzira's case is yet to be resolved, but at the moment there is no agreement. Compromís would need to add the councilors of the PSPV, the only one from Ciudadanos to try to hold the mayoralty; but this solution does not seem viable given the resistance of the councilor of Cs.

The PP, headed by José Luís Palacios, managed to be the list with the most votes, with six councilors. The same ones that Compromís achieved, which has lost three compared to 2019. The Valencian coalition has been harmed by the withdrawal of Diego Gómez, who has been mayor of the city for eight years. He has been replaced by Alfons Domínguez. From there, the PSPV has achieved 4, Vox 2, UCIN, which is a split from the local PP 2 and Ciudadanos 1.

The PP needs the support of Vox, UCIN and the Cs councilor in order to have the necessary majority. But in the right-wing block it will not be easy to unite all the forces, since there are many resistances from NICU to agreeing with the PP. Quite the contrary. This independent formation, led by Enrique Montalvá, is trying to get closer to the PSPV to prevent Palacios from being mayor.