The PP of the Valencian Community has returned. He gave signs of recovery in the Valencia bullring, in the largest rally of Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the entire campaign, and has certified it this Sunday at the polls where the candidacy headed by Carlos Mazón has become the most voted force with more than 34% of the votes and 40 of the 99 seats, with 70% counted. Result that puts an end to the Botànic project led by Ximo Puig.
The PP doubles the figures of 2019, when it bottomed out and rises by 21 deputies, which will allow it some room for maneuver when negotiating the integration of Vox into a future regional Executive. The extreme right rises moderately (from 10 to 13). His votes will be decisive for the approval of laws and budgets, but it is not so clear that Mazón has to make Carlos Flores, the Vox candidate, vice president of his government.
Mazón and the local PP candidates eat Ciudadanos who disappear from the Valencian political map.
The right-wing block certifies the change of cycle in the Valencian Community with 53 deputies, for the 46 that the sum of the left obtains. The PSPV obtains a good result with 32 deputies (it obtained 27 in the last ones), but Compromís drops three and remains at 14. The Mónica Oltra effect that the Valencian coalition feared so much has indeed occurred.
However, the biggest hole in the progressive forces has been that of Unides Podem, which has never come close to the electoral barrier of 5%. A circumstance that decided the balance shortly after the scrutiny began. In the end, it was not a heart attack count as the polls suggested, including the last one that was published after the polling stations closed.
The Popular Party also wins in the three provincial capitals and, in addition to maintaining Alicante, recovers both Valencia, a key square for the popular ones, and Castelló de la Plana. In the first, the popular María José Catalá will be the next mayoress, since she improves the results of 2019 with a total of 13 councilors who, together with the four Vox mayors, allow her to achieve governance.
For its part, the sum of the left is one councilor away from adding since Compromís gets 9 councilors and the PSPV another 7; Unides Podem fails to enter the consistory and Ciudadanos disappears from the Valencia City Council. This closes the cycle of change that began in 2015 with the mayoralty of Joan Ribó, who congratulated Catalá, lamenting that "he has not been able to overcome a great wave of blue" that arrived from Madrid.
Luis Barcala will continue to be mayor of Alicante. After passing 95% of the scrutiny, the PP obtains 14 councillors. Given that the absolute majority is at 15, with the 4 councilors that at this point would be from Vox, it adds up with ease, given that the PSPV (8), Compromís (2) and EU-Podem (1) are far from approaching the most. Ciudadanos loses the 5 councilors it had. With these results, Barcala could even govern in a minority, by adding more councilors than the entire left.
In Castelló de la Plana the PP will also govern again. After two legislatures of left-wing governments, the candidacy led by Begoña Carrasco grows by 4 councilors and adds a total of 11 councilors; while Vox goes from 1 to 4 councilors. The PSPV remains with 9 councillors, two more than in 2019, and Compromís maintains its 3 councillors, but the departure of the Podem consistory avoids revalidating a new progressive government in the capital of Castellón.
