MADRID - Spain’s opposition conser­vative party retained con­trol of Galicia, its traditional stronghold, in a tight re­gional election on Sunday, a boost for its under-fire leader. The Popular Party (PP) won 47.5 percent of the vote, giving it an abso­lute majority of 40 seats in the 75-seat regional parlia­ment, official results with 95.5 percent of the vote counted showed. The party has governed Galicia since 2009, winning majorities in each of the last four elec­tions under Alberto Nunez Feijoo who in 2022 left the rural northwestern region of some 2.7 million resi­dents to become national party leader. Polls in recent weeks had suggested the race was tightening, raising the possibility that a surg­ing left-wing nationalist BNG party and Prime Min­ister Pedro Sanchez’s.

Source: The Nation February 20, 2024 11:31 UTC