Spain's Socialists win regional election in Andalusia

Spain's Socialists won regional elections in Andalusia, with the Popular Party, in power nationally, coming second and upstart anti-austerity party Podemos making strong headway, on Sunday.

The vote is the first test of two new political parties and a run-up to the national election later this year. It comes against a backdrop of economic recovery in Spain, which has done little to whittle down the rampant unemployment affecting one in three in Andalusia, one of the poorest parts of the country, and one in four in Spain as a whole.

"We are the protagonists of the change, of the creation of new alternatives. ... The political map in Andalusia and Spain has changed," said Teresa Rodriguez, who led the Podemos campaign in Andalusia.

The Socialist party won 47 seats out of 109 in the regional parliament, while the PP suffered heavy losses to take second place with 33 seats.

Podemos, only a year old, took 15 seats while Spain's other political newcomer, Ciudadanos, on the center-right of the spectrum, grabbed nine seats. Former communists Izquierda Unida won five seats.

Years of recession and recent corruption scandals make the southern region of farms and tourist beaches a prime testing ground for Spain's new political dynamic, which has been transformed by the economic crisis and ensuing austerity measures.

The election is an important warm-up for Podemos, which is looking to match the feat of its counterpart, Syriza, in Greece — and as well as the upstart Ciudadanos.

"On a national level, what we can extrapolate from this is that Podemos and Ciudadanos are here to stay," said Jose Pablo Ferrandiz, sociologist at polling firm Metroscopia.

The main opposition Socialist Party, which has been in power in Andalusia since 1982, is seeking re-election against the conservative PP, which governs nationally.

Greece's Syriza won elections in January on a wave of discontent about painful cuts imposed during economic crisis — the same trend that has pushed Podemos to the top of the polls in Spain.

Podemos was buoyed by Syriza's victory, although the new Greek party has not yet been able to deliver on its election promises. It has been mired in negotiations with European lenders over Greece's crippling debt.

Figures issued late Sunday appeared to show that turnout in Andalusia was "significantly higher" than in the last election, the regional government said.

"Everyone will interpret the results [in Andalusia] as if it were a first round in the general elections," said Anton Losada, a political scientist at Santiago de Compostela University. "That is going to happen with the Andalusian election and will happen again with the other local and regional elections in May."

Andalusia was among the regions hardest hit by the collapse of Spain's housing market and ensuing financial crisis in 2008. Its regional unemployment rate is the highest in Europe at 34.2 percent.

Socialist leaders there, along with some union representatives, have been hit by a series of corruption scandals. The PP is also losing support, blamed by voters for hardship under the economic cuts its national government has imposed.

Podemos is led by Pablo Iglesias, a political science professor and television presenter who vows to end austerity and do away with what he calls the corrupt political elite.

Iglesias' alleged links to Venezuelan leaders — regular bogeymen in the Spanish media— and his support for Syriza threaten to put off some voters.

Another newcomer on the national stage, Ciudadanos, hopes to capture some of those disaffected voters. Ciudadanos started as a Catalan anti-independence party and has expanded onto the national stage in recent months. It shares Podemos' stance against corruption but strikes a more moderate tone.

"In Ciudadanos, we want justice. What Podemos wants is revenge," Ciudadanos' leader Albert Rivera, 35, said in an interview in El Mundo newspaper this week.

"We could have a more diverse Andalusian parliament, with new political forces getting in, and their support could become necessary to govern," said Jaime Ferri Dura, a political scientist at Madrid's Complutense University.

Wire services