No sooner had the PP candidate and incumbent regional president of Madrid Isabel Díaz-Ayuso attacked her opponents who had received death threats, a knife and bullets in the post for having tried to use them to their political advantage, she received a threat herself.
The Madrid election has blown up into an extremely nasty contest and the outcome, according to the latest poll, could send shock waves all the way through central government.
Yesterday’s poll has put the so-called centre right Partido Popular ahead of its rivals, but Díaz-Ayuso would need the support of the far-right VOX party to remain in office should the poll prove correct on election day.
And, the election, set up as the “battle of Madrid” by the Spanish press, could resonate far beyond the political boundaries of the Spanish capital and may affect the future strategies of the national coalition government of PSOE and Unidas Podemos.
The result in Madrid may have an impact at the national level ahead of the next general election in 2023. Díaz-Ayuso has gambled everything by soft curfews and allowing bars ands restaurants to remain open - for the most part.
However, for the left-wing block this has left Madrid with one of the highest rates of Covid in the country and hospitals and staff at breaking point - not to mention opening the door for the far right VOX to gain some serious political power.