Socialists win Valencia regional elections and set to repeat coalition with Compromís

A MOVE by Valencia's socialist regional president to raise the profile of the three provinces by holding an election on the same day as the country voted in its national government has paid off – Ximo Puig's PSPV has won 27 out of 99 seats, from his previous 24.

With the PSPV's coalition partners, left-wing Compromís, and its own 25 seats, the existing regional government is not far short of a majority allowing it to reign for another four years.

This is the first time since 1991 that the socialists have won a regional election in Valencia – in 2015, the right-wing PP earned the most seats, but in a minority and with a very diminished presence, allowing the two left-wing factions to form a pact and prevent them from returning to office after a constant 20 years in power.

It is likely that this time around, Puig will need left-wing Podemos on board – although the party led by Rubén Martínez Dalmau has lost seats, its eight regional MPs will be necessary to recreate a left-wing coalition, and it looks probable that this will go ahead.

Compromís, led by hitherto deputy president Mònica Oltra, and Puig have governed in coalition with Podemos' blessing, although the latter opted not to join the coalition itself.

The result, known in valenciano as the Acord del Botànic (Acuerdo del Botánico in Spanish, or 'Botanic Agreement'), is likely to remain largely intact, but with Podemos as a full member this time instead of influencing policy from the fringes.

Podemos' decision not to join the coalition but just to lend its support to it was 'a mistake', Dalmau says – his intention is for members of his party to run regional ministries along with Compromís and the PSPV.

The right-wing PP, led by Isabel Bonig, is completely out of the running with just 19 seats, compared with 31 after the 2015 regional election – even joining forces with the newly-strengthened centre-right Ciudadanos, whose presence in Parliament has gone up from 13 seats to 18, would not make up enough numbers.

It could add far-right Vox's 10 seats to the combination of 37 it could achieve, but these 47 MPs would still fail to reach the necessary 50-seat majority required, and Ciudadanos would be unlikely to agree to a pact with the alt-right party which, for the first time ever, has gained a foothold in Spanish politics.

Vox's largest voting public was in the Valencia province village of Nàquera, in the Camp de Túria district, where 21% of the electorate cast their ballots to the far right.

Compromís has plummeted in the political stakes at national level, with just 6.45% of the Valencian public voting for it and sending it down to sixth place among the region's parties in central government, giving it just one seat in Spanish Parliament, for Joan Baldoví.

But at regional level, presidential contender Mònica Oltra gained over 16% of the votes, bumping Compromís up to fourth and becoming the second-most voted party in the province of Valencia behind the PSPV, albeit with less support in the other two provinces, Alicante and Castellón.

Ciudadanos, led by actor and TV presenter Toni Cantó, is now the third-largest party in Valencian Parliament.