Ruling Party Loses Hold as Leftists Surge in Spain
By RAPHAEL MINDER

MADRID — Underlining the rising fragmentation of Spanish politics, two left-wing politicians appeared poised to take charge of the city halls in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain’s two largest cities, according to the preliminary results of Spanish regional and municipal elections on Sunday.

The elections, however, failed to produce the kind of clear-cut winner of four years ago, when the conservative Popular Party swept to power as voters punished the Socialists for sinking Spain into an economic crisis. Instead, Sunday’s vote is likely to be followed by tense coalition-building negotiations in Madrid as well as across much of the rest of Spain.

The elections were seen as a bellwether for the governing Popular Party and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s own chances of winning general elections later this year.

While the Popular Party won the most votes, according to preliminary results, it was set to lose its parliamentary majorities in most, if not all, of the country’s provinces. That setback raises the likelihood that left-leaning parties will join forces in the coming weeks to remove the Popular Party and form coalition governments.

In Barcelona, Ada Colau, a left-wing politician, narrowly defeated Mayor Xavier Trias. After wiping away some tears, Ms. Colau raised her fist in victory and told supporters, “We have shown you can do politics in another way.”

Ms. Colau, a former activist who opposed housing evictions during Spain’s banking crisis, added: “Ordinary people, who normally don’t have any power, had a historic opportunity and used it. Congratulations.”

In Madrid’s municipal election, the outcome of Sunday’s vote was less certain. The Popular Party came out on top, but not by a sufficient margin to guarantee that its candidate, the veteran politician Esperanza Aguirre, would become the new mayor of Spain’s capital. Instead, Manuela Carmena, a retired judge, could win in Madrid if she can agree to join forces with the Socialists.

As the last votes were being counted around midnight, Ms. Carmena, 71, thanked her supporters, saying: “The victory is yours.” She said that she would work hard to “seduce those who didn’t vote for change.”

The elections underlined the rise of Podemos, a far-left party that was founded in 2014, but has since led the crusade against corruption among established parties. Podemos backed both Ms. Colau and Ms. Carmena.

Pablo Iglesias, the national leader of Podemos, told supporters on Sunday that “the big cities are the big engine of change in Spain.” He said Sunday’s election results amounted to “a magic and historic night” that showed Spain’s bipartisan system was coming to an end.

He added: “This is a spring of change that is irreversible and that will carry us until November,” when Mr. Rajoy’s government is expected to convene the next general elections.

Spain’s other emerging party, Ciudadanos, received mixed results, even though it may still play the role of kingmaker in some regions. Albert Rivera, the leader of the center-right party, emphasized that its most direct rival, the Popular Party, lost two-fifths of its voters compared with four years ago, according to his estimates.

“There’s been a change in the political map of Spain,” he told La Sexta, a television channel.

In Valencia, Spain’s third largest city, Rita Barberá, the conservative mayor, was set to leave office after 24 years. While her Popular Party received the most votes, it fell short of a majority, leaving the door open to left-leaning parties to form a new governing coalition.

西班牙地方選舉 執政黨恐失多數

西班牙廿四日舉行地方選舉，執政黨在這項選舉備受考驗，異軍突起的反撙節政黨可能大舉攻進地方議會，帶動西班牙政治變革。這次選舉同時被視為是今年年底大選風向球。

分析師預料，一年來崛起成為西班牙第三與第四大黨的「我們可以黨」（Podemos）和「公民黨」（Ciudadanos），將嚴重挑戰第一大黨執政黨「人民黨」，以及第二大黨在野的「社會黨」。

過去約四十年，西班牙一直是人民黨與社會黨輪流執政，從反撙節運動起家的「我們可以黨」和「公民黨」誓言終結西班牙的這項兩黨體制。「我們可以黨」和「公民黨」在這次地方選舉中高舉反貪腐、拯救失業率大纛，深得年輕選民民心。

這次地方選舉將選出西班牙十七個地區議會中的十三個，以及逾八千個城市與鄉鎮的市議會與市長。合格選民逾三千五百萬。英國廣播公司報導，所有地方議會席次均岌岌可危，十三個地區議會也是；民調顯示，選民將以選票懲罰人民黨和社會黨。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/25/world/europe/ruling-party-loses-hold-as-leftists-surge-in-spain.html

2015-05-25．聯合報．A13．國際．編譯王麗娟