Madrid region to face early election after coalition split
Spain’s central region of Madrid will face an early election after its right-wing coalition government has dissolved
MADRID — Spain’s central region of Madrid will face snap elections after regional vice president Ignacio Aguado announced Wednesday that its right-wing coalition government has dissolved.
Aguado, of the liberal Citizens party, told Spanish media in an impromptu televised appearance that regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso had decided to break up their coalition.
Ayuso is the leader of the conservative Popular Party, the senior member of the government running the region around Spain’s capital.
Ayuso has been the leading critic of the handling of the coronavirus pandemic by Spain’s central left-wing government led by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, arguing that health restrictions are bad for the economy.
The rupture in Madrid’s region comes just hours after Citizens announced it is withdrawing its support for the Popular Party’s regional government in southeast Murcia and presenting a no-confidence vote along with the Socialist Party. If successful, that would give Citizens the regional presidency of the rural region.
The rupture between the Popular Party and Citizens could cause more political shockwaves in Spain, where other regions and municipal governments depend on deals between the two right-wing parties.
