In March 2021, in one of the strangest twists in the recent history of Spanish politics, the PSOE and Ciudadanos, then led by Inés Arrimadas, agreed on motions of no confidence in the Region of Murcia, in the City Council of the regional capital, in the Community of Madrid, and in the Junta of Castilla y León. The remarkable aspect of the sequence of motions was not only that Cs changed allies midway through the legislature, but that they submitted motions against governments that the party itself belonged to. Never before had the orange party offered a clear justification for the motives of that operation.
The motion failed in Castilla y León. In Madrid, the regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, in a bold move, preempted the filing of the motion of no confidence by a few moments and called elections, in which she achieved an overwhelming victory; and in Murcia, the motion failed at the regional level thanks to three Cs deputies who did not follow the instructions received. Only in the Murcia City Council did the operation designed by Sánchez and Arrimadas succeed and toppled the popular José Ballesta, who was replaced by the socialist José Antonio Serrano, mayor from March 2021 to the summer of 2023.
“The 2023 ballots became a plebiscite on the Murcians’ view of the no-confidence motion”
The PSOE had not held the mayoralty of Murcia since 1995, and the 2023 ballots became a plebiscite on Murcians’ opinions about the no-confidence motion, with the result being a resounding rejection of the motion presented two years earlier. Ballesta regained the mayoralty by rising more than ten points and secured an absolute majority through a massive vote transfer from Cs to the PP. Ciudadanos lost its four council seats and plummeted from 13.4% to 1.7%.
Serrano, from the mayor’s office, managed to avert a socialist debacle, but did not capitalize on his two years at the helm of local government. He lost almost five points and one councilor and, after a few months, left the city hall and returned to practicing medicine.
With the absolute majority and the regional government under the same political sign, the term seemed favorable to continue with projects of importance such as the recovery of the Segura river, pedestrianization of Alfonso X, or new spaces like the Costera Sur greenway, but illness and the mayor’s death have been a dramatic blow.
“The death of Ballesta and Serrano’s departure raise a local election in May next year with two new top contenders”
The death of Ballesta and Serrano’s departure raise a local election in May next year with two new headline contenders, but neither is immune to municipal life. Alberto Núñez Feijóo has already reaffirmed the current mayor, Rebeca Pérez, as a candidate in 2027. Pérez has served as councilor since 2015 and since 2023 held the position of deputy mayor. Now, her challenge is to maintain the absolute majority in PP hands.
Meanwhile, the PSOE presents Ginés Ruiz, who began his career in Podemos but left the red formation due to disagreements with its leadership. In a city where the right holds 21 of the 29 council seats, if Ruiz manages to break the PP’s absolute majority, it will be a notable achievement.
The third party in dispute is Vox. Regionally, the Abascal-led movement has suffered a severe crisis, with the expulsion of its former leader, José Ángel Antelo. This crisis has had repercussions in the regional capital with the councilwoman María Guerrero moving to the group of non-affiliated.
The municipal spokesperson for Vox, Luis Gestoso, is a man with a long political trajectory, connected to Santiago Abascal, whom he met in the PP. Gestoso held positions in the City Council of Molina de Segura and in the regional administration before joining Abascal in Vox.
“The anti-immigration discourse and opposition to the EU-Mercosur agreement weigh more on voters’ decisions than internal crises”
In the latest municipal elections, the party saw a significant rise up to nearly 19%. In the Region of Murcia, the anti-immigration discourse and opposition to the EU-Mercosur agreement carry more weight in voters’ decisions than the internal crises the party has faced.
Meanwhile, Podemos, which in 2023 lost its two councilors by a very small margin, aims to return to the council, but Ruiz’s candidacy for the PSOE complicates the challenge of crossing the 5% threshold.
N.d.E: In an earlier version it was erroneously stated that José Antonio Serrano Martínez served as a senator. The information has been corrected.
