Mariano Rajoy disappointed by indignados' election success in Spain

Spain’s conservative prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has expressed his disappointment after the country’s indignados performed strongly in elections in two big cities. “Evidently the results weren’t those that we would have liked to have,” said Rajoy in his first remarks since Sunday’s elections.
While his People’s party received the most votes overall, the party suffered its worst electoral result in more than two decades. “The victory of the PP is unquestionable,” added Rajoy, “but it is also evident that we didn’t reach the majorities that the citizens trusted us with four years ago.” The party lost about 2.5 million votes compared with the previous local elections in 2011.
A string of corruption scandals have hurt the party, he said. “Governing in a crisis as tough as what we have lived through wasn’t easy or gratifying. But the PP did it,” he said.
With general elections due at the end of the year, he sought to address head-on the criticisms of his leadership that have surfaced with the poor election showing. “I’ve spent many years in this party and I’m very comfortable and calm. I don’t plan on making any changes to the government or to the party,” he said. Instead, he said, the party would change its approach to voters. “We need to be closer to Spaniards and communicate more with them.”
While he appealed for the most voted party in each region to govern – “It’s what the majority of Spaniards wants,” he argued – he said the PP would be open to coalitions. “Our philosophy will be to offer alliances that are transparent and stable.” On Monday, analysts said that coalitions between leftist parties could see the PP ousted from power in as many as half a dozen regions.

Rajoy’s remarks came as the indignados continue to celebrate their victory in Barcelona and a strong showing in Madrid. One of the day’s most tweeted photos showed Barcelona’s mayor-elect, Ada Colau, being hauled away by police as she and other housing activists occupied a bank in 2013 to demand that the bank negotiate with a man who was unable to make his mortgage payments. “The mayor of Barcelona. Congratulations,” read the accompanying tweet.
Earlier on Monday, Colau announced that she would begin reaching out to political parties and associations in Barcelona, such as the pro-independence Catalan National Assembly and labour unions. “I want to be the mayor to all 73 neighbourhoods of this city,” she said. “The fight against precariousness, the fight against corruption, these are things that cannot wait.”