The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. Alejandro Martínez Vélez (Europa Press)
The alarm message arrives on Tuesday, January 10 at 4:00 p.m.
Javier Rodríguez Palacios, the socialist mayor of Alcalá de Henares, calls for an urgent meeting with the regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, because all of his city's health services are "saturated."
In parallel, in the capital of Spain, the La Paz hospital is the scene of horrific situations.
The patients, denounce the unions, pile up in corridors and sidewalks.
There is no place in the ER for everyone.
Less than six months before the regional and municipal elections on May 28, citizens have taken note, according to the latest CIS barometer: respondents suspend health care in the region (4.4 in a score of 1 to 10 which leaves the pass at 5.5);
to education (5.2);
o social services (5.2);
and they give the worst grade in all categories when asked about how easy it is to become independent and find housing (2.8).
The same happens with a survey commissioned by the Community itself and known this Wednesday: for citizens, the main problem in the region is health.
Thus, there are odysseys and vital dramas made of tears and sweat that transpire until they become alarming data for the PP, which has governed the region without interruption since 1995.
"The problem [of the PP] is that in the Community it cannot make much of an impact on its management balance, nor in the City Council," analyzes the political scientist Pablo Simón, who is betting that Ayuso will carry out a campaign that he defines as "
sanchezcentric"
.
"There is a perception of wear and tear on public services, the opposition is going to slit the throat with it, and the government will influence the argument of how much worse the left would do it," he continues.
“We still do not know which framework is going to be imposed, if the retrospective vote, which is based on how we have fared, or the prospective vote, based on how we believe they are going to govern us, but Madrid lives a lot in the face to national politics and too far from their voters, because regional issues are soon kidnapped by national ones”, he opines.
"That generates a logic of contamination of electoral arenas: Ayuso is going to talk a lot about Catalonia, the separatists and Sánchez, because he is not very interested in talking about public services, and the left is going to push in the opposite direction."
Thus, the demographic study of the CIS, published at the end of December, and that of the Community, known this Wednesday, offer arguments to the opposition, among other things because the first collects the same data from all the regions in which elections will be held. autonomous communities on May 28 (all except Galicia, the Basque Country, Catalonia, Andalusia and Castilla y León).
And the comparison of the results is negative for the interests of Díaz Ayuso's PP.
The citizens of Madrid are the ones who are most dissatisfied with the health, education and social services offer in their community (in the last case tied with the Canary Islands), and only the residents of the Balearic Islands rate the difficulties they face worse. have to access a home (2.2, compared to 2.8 in Madrid).
A housing rental sign, on January 4, 2023, in Madrid (Spain).
The price of housing in the Community of Madrid has grown by 5.2% in the fourth quarter of 2022 (September-December). Jesús Hellín (Europa Press)
For example, that of Marina Cabrera, 24 years old and from the province of Cuenca.
For the fourth time in the last six years, she is looking for a flat in Madrid.
She has never cost him as much as now.
In November, alerted by other friends who had just moved to the city, she began looking for a flat non-stop: through acquaintances, on web portals and agencies.
But she still hasn't found anything.
Her budget is 550 euros with expenses included for a room in a shared apartment: “I had to raise it because there is no other option.
It is impossible and everything is through the roof ”.
If she tries to count all the people she has contacted, they do not give her fingers: “It is exaggerated.
More than 25 people for sure.
After so much searching, this is what he has been able to find out: “The rooms are usually small and expenses are not included.
In addition, there are almost no private apartments and the conditions of the agencies are abusive.
The most surprising thing is that many ask you for up to three deposits, the fees and the current month”.
In your case, and with your budget, that would mean disbursing about 2,500 or 2,750 euros at once euros at once.
"It's stupid.
The apartments that they advertise, and I can pay, either do not have windows or are low interiors in terrible conditions”, criticizes Cabrera.
All in all, the housing problem is still not the most worrisome for Díaz Ayuso.
The overwhelming majority think that in the last year his government has shown that he knows little or nothing about the problems of the region (57.8%), or about solving problems (61.8%);
that he lacks sensitivity towards minorities (64.5%) and that he is not willing to negotiate (61.5%).
In these last two sections, the Madrid government receives the worst grade of all the executives who face re-election in May.
"That is very low credibility data, but by itself, without knowing the opposition's assessment, they do not say anything," warns Simón.
“At the national level, for example, you can say that nobody trusts anybody,” he adds.
“But they're bad compared to other Communities,” he warns.
However, compared to the CIS, the survey commissioned by the Community shows Díaz Ayuso as the only regional leader who is approved by the citizens, and also sweeps their preferences to occupy the presidency.
In the same way, the electoral cost of the fact that healthcare has become the main problem for the people of Madrid remains to be seen: despite the massive demonstration in defense of public healthcare in November, the controversy over the reopening of extra-hospital emergencies , or the Primary Care strike, the citizens who least feel health as their main problem are, precisely, those who voted for Vox (25% compared to 50% on average) and PP (36%), according to the survey commissioned by community.
In addition, 42.2% of those surveyed in this study commissioned by the regional administration consider the work of the regional government "good", among other things because the conviction is absolute among voters of the conservative party (72%) and those of the extreme right (75%).
With the left divided into three electoral brands (Más Madrid, PSOE and Podemos) and all the polls agreeing on her victory, Díaz Ayuso faces the elections convinced that she can fight for an absolute majority.
At the same time, she will be responsible for the first time for the municipal result of the regional PP: she has presided over the organization since last May.
In the grade you get in both exams there will be a determining factor that can be decisive: how much can you dilute Ayuso's undeniable pull, and his ability to confront Sánchez, the bad opinion that many people from Madrid have of how they live and of the public services they have .
With information from
Beatriz Olaizola
.
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