Edition 225
www.thecourier.es
Friday 12th June 2015
SATURDAY SHOWDOWN
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MUNCIPALITIES MAKE UP THEIR MINDS ALEX TRELINSKI
T
he future of countless “hung” councils across the region and around Spain will be decided tomorrow after last month’s local elections, which have left PP figures like Torrevieja’s Eduardo Dolon (pictured) and Guardamar’s Carmen Verdú not knowing whether they will still be in power In Torrevieja for example, a grand coalition of opposition parties has been formed against Dolon, with his fate appearing to rest on the votes of the two new Ciudadamos representatives. Earlier in the week, they offered the “grand coalition” a deal involving a change in mayor after two years, but they haven’t ruled out some kind of a deal with the PP either. This kind of last-minute knife-edge picture is being repeated around the Costa Blanca and Murcia, as well as further afield. In Guardamar, the Esquerra Unida hold the balance of power between the PP and the socialist PSOE, whilst in Orihuela, the PP are the largest party but the question remains whether they do a deal with Ciudadamos or face a risk of being outvoted by the other
The Courier TV Pullout 12 th June -18th June
Starts page 19 >> Dolon doubt parties. Tomorrow (Saturday) is the day of decision as all the successfully listed candidates for a municipality have to meet and to vote for somebody to become mayor or mayoress. If the vote is indecisive, the number one candidate of the party which won the most seats will become mayor, or mayoress. Details of pacts will also be declared in order to obtain a majority large enough to run an area, with majority not defined as
winning more votes than any other party. The centrist Ciudadamos party appears to hold the key to whether or not the PP will keep control of the Murcia regional parliament, as the PP fell short of keeping control of the chamber by one seat last month. The Assembly will meet in Cartagena on Monday June 15th to vote for a new President, with the socialist PSOE trying to oust the PP in an anti-corruption alliance.
The picture is even more complicated in the Valencian Parliament after the loss of the PP majority. The opposition parties led by the PSOE are rowing over who should become President, with the PSOE insisting that their leader Ximo Puig is the man, but that’s lead to a falling out with the regional Compromis party with both sides blaming each other, but the smart money is still on them reaching a deal perhaps in association with Ciudadamos.