The Galician PP once again offered this Sunday an overwhelming demonstration of its capacity for resistance.
Neither the wear and tear of 15 years in power, nor the presence of a new candidate, nor an erratic campaign that caused confusion among its own ranks, nor even a large mobilization of voters like the one the left dreamed of... Nothing affected it in the least. minimum to the popular strength, which, despite giving up two seats, comfortably maintains the absolute majority in the Galician Parliament - 40 deputies out of 75 -, the fifth consecutive since 2009.
The polls confirmed the strong growth of nationalism which, as expected, broke its historical ceiling and exceeded 30% of the votes.
But all of that BNG gain came at the expense of the PSdeG-PSOE, victim of a drain that has left it with just nine seats, a third of what it had in its best times.
The other partner of the central government, Sumar, did even worse, which did not even reach 2%.
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Election Results in Galicia
If the Galician elections had been presented as a test for Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the Galician politician's leadership in the PP has emerged unscathed from the challenge.
Between Feijóo and the successor to whom he handed over the baton in the Xunta two years ago, Alfonso Rueda, they have managed to break the marks that seemed unbeatable of the old boss Manuel Fraga.
The founder of the PP had managed to achieve four absolute majorities before losing it in 2005. Rueda will now enjoy his fifth consecutive majority and will be able to extend the PP's mandate for almost two decades.
An overwhelming fact sums it all up: since Fraga's first victory in 1989, ten elections have been held in Galicia and the popular party has obtained the majority in nine of them.
The left relied all its luck on a large participation, in the belief that the brilliant victories of the PP in the regional elections benefited from greater apathy of the electorate than in general or municipal elections.
And participation, indeed, skyrocketed, reaching 67%.
But everything turned out to be a mirage for the PP's opponents.
Although they lost two seats, the popular party retains the strong support achieved in 2020 almost intact. They only drop a few tenths and remain above 47%.
As the participation was higher, Rueda has even managed to collect about 70,000 more votes than Feijóo in 2020. In the most left-leaning province, Pontevedra, the PP advanced more than one point.
The biggest loss of the popular party - about three points - was recorded in Ourense, where the populist formation of Mayor Gonzalo Jácome finally managed to place a deputy in the Parliament of Santiago, of little value in the face of Rueda's resounding victory.
Everything indicates that Democracia Ourensana has ended up damaging the PSdeG to a greater extent, which lost seven points in this province.
The PP also once again kept Vox at bay, which confirmed that Galicia is hostile territory for the extreme right.
Those of Santiago Abascal once again remained at just 2%.
The BNG candidate for the presidency of the Xunta de Galicia, Ana Pontón (center), hugs one of her advisors, after learning the results of the Galician elections.ÓSCAR CORRAL
Videoconference between Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Alfonso Rueda after learning the results of the elections to the Parliament of Galicia, in an image of the PP.
The popular candidate Alfonso Rueda has won 40 seats, two less than in 2020, but enough to continue governing after 15 uninterrupted years of the PP in the Galician Executive.
David Mudarra
Sumar's candidate in Galicia, Marta Lois, during the press conference held after learning the results.
The leftist coalition has obtained only 1.88% of the votes and will not have representation in the Galician Parliament. Brais Lorenzo (EFE)
The president of Democracia Ourensana, Gonzalo Pérez Jácome, continues the scrutiny of the electoral results, this Sunday in Ourense.
This populist party has been the surprise of the night by obtaining a representative in the Galician Parliament, but it fails to be the key to the Government given the good results of the PP. Alejandro Camba (EFE)
The candidate for the presidency of the Xunta de Galicia, José Ramón Gómez Besteiro, during his appearance after learning the results of the Galician regional elections.XOAN ALVAREZ (EFE)
BNG supporters sing this Sunday, in the Nave de Vidán in A Coruña (Galicia), the place chosen by their party to follow the vote count.
Cabalar (EFE)
Podemos' candidate for the Xunta de Galicia, Isabel Faraldo, follows the count of the regional elections at the headquarters of her organization, this Sunday in A Coruña.
Podemos is left out of the regional Parliament, not obtaining any seats, with an insignificant 0.26% of votes.kiko Slim (EFE)
Sumar's candidate for the presidency of the Xunta, Marta Lois (second from the left), upon her arrival at the Hotel Peregrino, in Santiago, to monitor the results of the Galicia election day.M.
Dylan (Europa Press)
Three people count the votes at the Illas Cies institute, in Vigo (Pontevedra), this Sunday. Adrián Irago (Europa Press)
Several journalists follow the Galician election night from the national headquarters of the PP, in Madrid. Rodrigo Jiménez (EFE)
Dozens of people protest at the PSOE headquarters, on Ferraz Street, during the recount of the Galician election night, this Sunday in Madrid.
FERNANDO VILLAR (EFE)
For the BNG it was a bittersweet night.
The success of Ana Pontón's candidacy was as incontestable as the polls predicted.
It rose almost eight points and climbed to 31%, a long way from its historical ceiling of 25%.
It reached some milestones of great symbolism, such as being the most voted force in Vigo, the first city of Galicia.
But the very strong growth of nationalism led to something very close to the zero-sum game that many on the left feared.
Almost everything was fueled by the decline of the PSdeG and the space now divided between Sumar and Podemos.
The distance between the two axes right and left barely moved compared to 2020, when participation had been almost ten points lower.
The figures suggest that the possibility of the nationalists taking power in the Xunta for the first time also ended up mobilizing the right-wing electorate.
With all this, the PSdeG was headed towards a monumental disaster.
It was already coming off the worst results in its history four years ago and sank even further, losing five seats and more than five points.
It remained below 15% when in other times not so distant it was above 30%.
The concentration of the left's vote in the BNG and the limited time to launch its candidate, José Ramón Gómez Besteiro, who throughout the campaign appeared as a subordinate of the nationalists, have taken an enormous toll on him.
And the setback is also suffered by the central government, after Pedro Sánchez and his ministers threw themselves into the campaign in an attempt to corner Feijóo with a poor electoral result.
The day was equally or more painful for Sánchez's partners in the Executive.
Yolanda Díaz suffered the worst political defeat in her country in a long time after her electorate switched en masse to the BNG.
The candidacy led by her former spokesperson in Congress Marta Lois did not even reach 2%, even behind Vox, when in the general elections last July she had collected 10% in Galicia.
Podemos is even more dramatic: its 0.26% surpasses even PACMA.
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