Hèctor Sanjuán explained it last December in this newspaper: those over 65 in the Valencian Community already exceed, according to the latest INE data, 20% of the Valencian population; one million inhabitants, based on CIS data. Another piece of information that was offered is that almost 7 out of ten Valencian older voters over 65 years of age voted for the PSPV or the PP in the 2019 elections.
The elderly are people who are not very prone to change and their loyalty is close to that of a soccer fan to his team. Thus, 76.2% ensure that they "always vote for the same party" or "in general they tend to vote for the same party", the highest percentage of the age groups analysed. It is curious that as one advances in age, loyalty is greater among voters.
In fact, faced with the decision to vote or not, only 2.5% hesitated between various parties or coalitions. And only 5.5% had decided to abstain, since they are a group that responds to the call to the polls.
They are, therefore, a key electorate for the two big parties because, in addition, they are very loyal to the acronyms and have the decision taken well in advance. "But they must mobilize, we have detected in other elections that their participation may drop somewhat and in such a tight 28M they will be decisive," they point out from the PSPV leadership.
For this reason, Ximo Puig and Carlos Mazón, PSPV and PP candidates, are working hard these days to attract their larger audience. The Valencian president, for example, announced yesterday that in the next legislature "we will expand the home care service with free services for older people with less income".
The PSPV trusts, according to sources from this party, in the measures that the Spanish Government has adopted in terms of updating pensions. But at the regional level, others are offered to reinforce that fidelity. Ximo Puig announced yesterday, for example, that "food services at home, laundry and household cleaning, among others, will be expanded to reach more people and the frequencies and hours dedicated will be increased so that the elderly can live with help in their homes."
He said this after meeting with the promoter of the 'I am older, not an idiot' campaign, Carlos San Juan, the president of the Valencian Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Sacramento Pinazo, and representatives of associations for the elderly.
The truth is that the electoral program of the Socialists towards the elderly is very broad and they have reasons, since 44.1% of the voters for the PSPV in the last regional elections were part of that age group. It is, by far, the age group most loyal to the brand with the fist and the rose, which begins to gain support from those over 55 years of age.
Carlos Mazón has also prepared well for the campaign aimed at the elderly and no wonder, 25% of his electorate belongs to that age group. Apart from the "global" offer that the PP has announced in Spain for those over 65, the popular Valencians offer a whole battery of measures. Among these, a deduction of 350 euros for people over 65 years of age who are in charge of a descendant who does not pay income tax. Deduction that would rise to 600 euros if you have two or more dependent descendants.
The popular ones announce that they will promote a Law for the comprehensive protection of the elderly, they will promote telecare and home help services and municipal plans against loneliness, among others. They also present an ambitious measure: to ensure that all older people living in residences have access to the portfolio of primary and hospital care services.
Apart from the PP and PSOE, the proportion of older voters in parties such as Compromís, Unides Podem, Vox or Ciudadanos is not as outstanding. It moves between 6 and 5%. Vox remains at 1.6%, although it is true that many of his voters avoid saying that they voted for him, according to the analysis of the CIS data.
For its part, Unides Podem brings a new idea for the elderly, that of providing coverage for oral health. They announce that new oral health services will be incorporated into the Valencian Health System "and we will gradually extend its public coverage to the whole of the Valencian population until reaching universality with the aim of reducing the current socioeconomic bias in its access".
Compromís also offers measures such as opening day centers "20 minutes from your home." In addition to measures aimed at facilitating health care and specific lines in health centers for the elderly.
