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Historic victory for Partido Popular
The Socialist party suffered a crushing defeat in Sunday's local and regional elections with the centre right Partido Popular gaining an overall majority. The Socialist party, who have governed the islands under a coalition agreement for the past four years, gained just 90,000 votes and the Partido Popular 195,000.
The result did not come as a huge surprise. The PP was widely tipped to win the elections by a landslide given widespread dissatisfaction with the Socialists and former president Francesc Antich. Any concerns that cases of alleged political corruption surrounding the previous PP administration would influence voters proved unfounded.
Jose Ramon Bauza, the new president elect, and his team are aware of the challenges they face. Unemployment levels are at an all-time high and the local economy is still in recession. A series of austerity measures are already planned in an attempt to cut back on government spending and a reorganisation of the administrational set-up is expected.
In his manifesto the new president said he would introduce measures to revive the local economy, strengthen the business sector and create much needed jobs. Tourism has been cited as the most important issue given its importance to the region's economy. In the past, responsibilities have been split between the government and the Council of Mallorca. The new government plans to make one central body responsible for tourism.
