Former Franco ally heads for win in Galicia
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Manuel Fraga, a former minister under General Franco, won a record fourth consecutive term as President of Spain's autonomous north-western region of Galicia.
With 98.4 per cent of the vote counted last night, his Popular Party (PP) had won 51 per cent of the vote, giving it 41 seats, another absolute majority in the 75-seat regional parliament.
The left-wing regional nationalist party, the Bloque Nacionalista Galego (BNG), led by 65-year-old Xose Manuel Beiras, took 23 per cent of the vote. Mr Beiras, a self-proclaimed Marxist, preaches a non-aggressive form of nationalism, far from the radical nationalists connected with the nearby Basque region's armed separatist group, Eta.
The Socialists, who are the main opposition party in Madrid, came third with almost 22 per cent of the votes, or 17 seats. The party gained two seats, one from the PP and another from BNG, compared with the last election in 1997.
Spain's ruling Popular Party in Madrid pulled out the stops to secure victory for its veteran candidate, with leading figures, including Jose Maria Aznar, the Prime Minister, travelling to Galicia several times during a frenetic campaign.
Mr Fraga, 78, emerged as a leading politician in the 1950s, became Franco's right-hand man in the Sixties and after the dictator's death in 1975 founded the right-wing Popular Alliance as the Popular Party was known before wooing the centre ground. Then the old warhorse handpicked Jose Maria Aznar to succeed him as party leader.
Mr Fraga's likely triumph offers a boost for Mr Aznar, whose government is embroiled in a scandal over a fraudulent investment company that threatens to bring down Rodrigo Rato, his Economy Minister.
During a whirl of inaugurations, of sports halls, remote rural telephone exchanges, motorways and public works that often owed more to Madrid than Galicia's regional government, Mr Fraga urged people to turn out and vote.
"I stand for stability and continuity. People know me and trust me. Under my rule the once impoverished and forgotten people of Galicia have joined the modern world," Mr Fraga said.
Sometimes he nods off in public, and he lurches so unsteadily that television cameras are forbidden to film him walking. An airbrushed campaign photo was ridiculed as portraying a "virtual candidate".
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments