It’s a complete comeback. This is what happened on the night of March 28 in the province of Alicante, when the right was clearly gaining ground against the PSPV, which lost five of its main strongholds in the municipal elections. While the rise of the right left the socialists without the mayoralties of Elche, Orihuela, San Vicente del Raspeig, La Vila Joiosa and Xàbia, Luis Barcala emerged stronger after gaining an almost absolute majority in the capital, allowing him to govern alone. .
There was great enthusiasm that night at the local headquarters of the popular party in Alicante. This is not surprising, considering that after absorbing Ciudadanos they managed to increase the number of councilors from 9 to 14, in an environment where the left began to weaken due to the fall of EU-Podemos as well as the PSOE led by Ana Barceló. . Compromis managed to protect herself. For Barcala, it is an idyllic environment that the municipal government offers on a silver platter, without the need to resort to agreements.
Meanwhile, in Elche, although socialist Carlos González won the elections, he lost the Mayor’s office to the popular Pablo Ruz, thanks to his alliance with Vox. In Orihuela, it was PSPV’s Carolina García who was deprived of command, thanks to the good results achieved by PP’s Pepe Vegara. The socialists also lost San Vicente del Raspeig because Jesús Villar, who was mayor by then, could not withstand the strong pull of the PP led by Pachi Pascual. An event very similar to what happened in La Vila Joiosa, where socialist Andreu Verdú was removed from the mayoralty under pressure from the popular Marcos Zaragoza. Again in Xàbia, although in this case there was a little more uncertainty, the Municipal Corporation was finally headed by the PP’s Rosa Cardona, thanks to the support of independents from CpJ and Vox, to the detriment of the socialist José Chulvi. .
PSPV, of course, managed to retain the Mayoralty of Elda, where Rubén Alfaro was just one councilor short of an absolute majority, as well as Alcoy, although Toni Francés had to concur after losing three councillors. Compromise.
The only bad news for the PP, which had adequately preserved its traditional fiefdoms in Benidorm and Torrevieja, where Toni Pérez and Eduardo Dolón strengthened their absolute majority, was in Calp, where it had the support of Ana Sala, who had been mayor until then. of PSPV and Compromís after leading an independent candidacy.
2023 was also a year of change in the city of Valencia. The transformation started on May 28, when municipal elections were held. That day, the Rialto Government, formed by Compromís and PSPV, lost the Mayor’s office in favor of PP and Vox. The eight-year government of Joan Ribó ended and began the term of office of María José Catalá, who regained the throne for the PP eight years after the departure of Rita Barberá and mirrored the longest-serving mayor of the Valencian democracy.
And this was not just a year of political change, but also a year in which ways of understanding the city changed. Following the change of government, the dismantling of the scaffoldings prepared by the previous municipality team began. We have gone from one end to the other in terms of mobility, traditions, economy, citizen security, urban planning… In every sense, one phase has ended and another has begun in Valencia.
PP absolute majority in the Provincial Assembly and the emergence of Vox
The PP’s good results in the municipal elections in the province of Alicante allowed it to gain an absolute majority in the Provincial Assembly, with a total of 16 deputies, one from Compromís and one from Vox, compared to 13 deputies in the PSPV. This form entered the provincial institution for the first time. The presidency is occupied by the popular Toni Pérez, who replaced Consell’s current president, Carlos Mazón. However, the main uniqueness of this mandate is the renewal of seats, considering that only six deputies repeated: three from the PP, Ana Serna, Juan de Dios Navarro and Bernabé Cano; and three others from PSPV, José Antonio Amat, Joaquín Hernández and Isabel López.