The Partido Popular secured a stunning win at Sunday's election in Andalusia. Juanma Moreno will govern Andalusia with an absolute majority, his party having won 58 seats in the regional parliament - 32 more than at the 2018 election. While the PP have been governing in coalition, Sunday's result can be defined as historic given that Andalusia used to be a PSOE socialist stronghold. Before the 2018 election, PSOE had been the party of government from the time that democratic elections were introduced after the death of Franco.
For Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the PP's victory will set the alarm bells ringing. PSOE lost three of their seats, going down to 30 in the regional parliament. There is some evidence that PSOE voters defected to the PP, while the most overwhelming evidence of electorate sentiment relates to Ciudadanos, who have suffered another electoral disaster. They have lost all 21 seats.
The Andalusia election is also being seen as something of a rejection of Vox. Although they have increased their representation by two to fourteen, their expectations had been at least twenty. It is being suggested that support for the PP was in part driven by a fear of Vox.
In the Balearics, where there will be elections next May, the PP were delighted. Party leader Marga Prohens, who is on maternity leave, joined the celebrations at the PP headquarters in Palma - "Congratulations Juanma Moreno! The Balearics PP will work tirelessly to achieve the change that has gone so well for Andalusia. We are an alternative, Marga Prohens is the alternative."