The Galician elections seem like a world apart. Not only because of the insistent permanence of the same party at the head of the Xunta, nor because of the special characteristics of the territory, with its calm nationalism, or because of how little they seem to affect general trends: the third and fourth national parties are going to have difficult to have representation.

Not even the big issues that dominate Spanish politics at the moment, the amnesty and the countryside, have had much echo in Galicia: the second because the Galician farmers announced that their mobilizations would come after the elections, and the first because it is perceived as distant. At least, that was the case until Feijóo stirred the waters with his proposal for a pardon for Puigdemont..

From the continued tranquility from which the campaign was developed, the polls predicted a victory for the PP by an absolute majority. They continue to do so, despite the fact that their candidate, Rueda, lost in the debate: only Tezanos is betting on an electoral reversal and 40db does not take the absolute victory for granted..

Part of the causes of this possible victory appear outlined in the qualitative studies on these elections, which always offer clues. Usually, the issues addressed in regional campaigns have to do with the standard of living in the area, with regional problems, such as health, education and management of services.. However, as the campaigns progress, proposals on these issues are relegated in favor of direct messages about the possibility of winning or losing the elections and the risks that this would entail for the territory..

Feijóo stated a couple of days ago the central message of the popular party: “Either the PP remains in government or we will have to endure the economic and social recipe that the left will bring, and we already know which it is”. Pontón, however, places emphasis on the real possibility of a change, “which is getting closer”, to make “a better Galiza”. In short, a typical campaign, with the axis continuity or change in the center. However, there are several interesting elements that highlight some mutations that we are experiencing in national politics..

The corner of Spain

When Spaniards are asked about the economic situation, there is a majority who affirm that it is bad and that they expect difficult times; but when asked about their personal situation, a significant majority assures that it is good. This paradox could be summarized in this way: they are people who live more or less well in a complicated situation.. This dissociation between the general and the particular appears, on the other hand, in Galicia.

The Galician humor that is reflected in the studies is special. They feel like a corner of Spain in every sense: their geographical position also defines their political and social place with respect to the rest of the country.. They compare themselves more with Asturias and Cantabria, which suffer from problems that they believe are similar to theirs, than with Madrid or Valencia.. In their speeches there appears the feeling of having been left to their own devices in a world apart.. But, at the same time, there is a very positive perception of their region and life there.. There is an evident pride in the land that is permanently pointed out. The environment can be complicated but, as the Spaniards say about their private economy, things are not bad for them: they are a great community.

interior insulation

This being relegated to the corner is given an ambivalent reading.. One of the biggest complaints of Galicians is the lack of connections. Investment in transport, generally in high-speed rail, has privileged some regions over others, but has also generated a deficit in transit that does not circulate towards Madrid.. Galicia is poorly connected to many territories of Spain, and especially to its northern neighbors, but it is also poorly equipped in the interior.. Galicians claim that their toll roads are expensive and that a good bus and train service is necessary in the community, especially when there are many very disconnected towns..

But, on the other hand, they are also beginning to suffer the problems derived from the better connection through the AVE. With the change in vacation customs and the increase in temperatures, the north is beginning to be a highly sought-after destination among Spaniards.. They are territories that do not have large tourist resources and whose model is very far from the dominant one in the Mediterranean, so that the rise of tourism, the influx often of many people in short periods, is generating tensions in prices.. The purchase of second homes or rentals for tourists causes an increase in prices for residents and a saturation of public services, and the prices of consumer goods tend to rise as other types of consumers frequently appear.. In Galicia it is happening the same as in other areas of Spain, where tourism is beginning to be seen as an inconvenience. The bottom line is that they believe they have little of the good in connections and quite a bit of the bad.. This vision may be more present among left-wing voters, but it tends to be transversal.

However, this is not a purely Galician issue.. One of the great territorial demands in Spain that is not going well is precisely the improvement of connections. All of them aspire to be better connected, with the capital, with nearby regions or with the telematic network, especially in isolated areas, because they see in this quick link the main possibility of development, whether through tourism, logistics or development of your companies. Connection is central today in the aspirations of the territories.

The relationship with Madrid

Another of the great issues of the Galician elections is also central in national politics. The two main parties in voting intention, PP and BNG, profess faith in their Galicianism, which signals a withdrawal towards their territory that is in line with that feeling of being a corner of Spain.

The relationship with Madrid is key in the campaign speeches, sometimes openly verbalized, on other occasions expressed with great distance.. The main parties usually offer their voters improved living conditions, better public benefits and more effective management. And for that objective, there is always a need to have more resources, and that usually means getting more from the State.. All communities have adopted this framework with more or less impetus: the Basque Country or Catalonia point out the importance of self-government and want more transfers of powers, but what really matters is financing; communities with less traction insist that they need investments to boost their activity; those that are growing want to take advantage of the favorable pull.

The nature of the relationship with Madrid articulates a good part of the political proposals of all parties, and more so in recent times: obtaining the maximum of State resources and offering adequate management of them is a transversal proposal, to which they aim right and left. So to speak, everyone aspires to become the PNV.

That's why they all claim local. This pride in the territory has penetrated the right, with significant differences depending on the place. The calm Galicianism of Rueda is not the same as the proud and sympathetic Andalusianism of Moreno Bonilla, the nationalist right of the PNV, or the open and neoliberal Madridism of Ayuso.. The big difference between the right is in Madrid and Barcelona: Junts will have to reconnect with Madrid if it wants amnesty (and survive electorally) and Ayuso will continue fighting from Madrid against Sánchez and Moncloa. The rest are within the framework of management and localism.

The left and its localist fragmentation

On the left the relationship is more complex. The PSOE has many faces, and where it governs it tries to assert that profile of an institutional party and manager concerned with improving its territory (sometimes in the face of the excesses of Madrid, as now with Page and before with Lambán), but where it does not have institutional power, which is in many communities, fails to find the key to reposition itself, and Galicia is a good example. The exception is Illa and the PSC.

However, the most significant transformation has occurred on the left of the PSOE, which has opted for a mix between localism and management that tends to corner the ideological aspect.. They are less of the people and more of their land. This is the case of BNG, but also of many others: Más Madrid serves Madrid exclusively, as demonstrated by the failed attempt at national extension with Más País; The Commons are an exclusively Catalan force, just as Compromís is a Valencian force; In Andalusia IU dominates, already within Sumar, because it is where they have had traditional roots, and even a Trotskyist party was converted into an Andalusian party, like that of Teresa Rodríguez. And in the nationalist territories, the changes have also been felt by the left-wing independence parties, which do not focus on one thing or another, they leave it in second place, and prefer to offer themselves as better managers.. It is Bildu's bet for the next Basque elections.

That is to say, the traditional fragmentation of the left now has as an excuse, not the different ideological currents, but the portion of territory in which they are based..

The failure of the national parties in Galicia

Given this territorial nature of current politics, the parties that have the most difficulty in Galicia are those that offer a message and a national character, poorly anchored in the reality of the community.. Sumar is perceived as a party from Madrid, even though its candidate and leader are Galician. Their most common voters are the professional urban classes, and those are the majority in Madrid or Barcelona, and that is why they have some support in A Coruña and Pontevedra and very little in rural areas.. Furthermore, Díaz is not well regarded among the Galician left, precisely because of her previous experiences in local politics..

The low acceptance of Vox is striking, to the extent that Galicia has a primary sector, which, as occurs with other forces of its European ideological stratum, should facilitate its penetration.. But his strong Spanishism is too strident and difficult to accept, at the same time that it distances him from that character of vindication of the local that permeates Galician daily life..

The PP and the noise of the capital

The most significant case in this distancing between the capital and the Galician community has been put on the table by Núñez Feijóo. His proposal for a pardon for Puigdemont if he agrees to be tried and renounces the unilateral route, with the ultimate goal of normalizing the relationship with the independence movement, has generated a lot of controversy.. From the right he is criticized, either because it represents an unacceptable concession, or because it implies a lack of a clear and firm position, or because his statements come out of time, which can give ammunition to the left right in the final week of the campaign. Galician.

Perhaps the political news of the coming days will be monopolized by this issue and will have an impact on the vote, but it does not seem likely. The amnesty is an issue that was not among the main concerns of Galicians, who see it as a problem that affects them little.. And, above all, the noise and animosity it has generated is perceived as very much in the capital.. In this context, Feijóo proposing a solution that tends to integrate Catalan parties into national politics will be frowned upon in some places, but not in Galicia, and the popular leader is aware of this.. It is also doubtful that his proposal will bother his potential voters so much that they will stop being voters.. And, finally, Rueda is presented as president of the Xunta, in Feijóo as president of the Government.

In the same way that Vox and Sumar, for different reasons, are perceived as parties that are too capital-based to have a presence, it is likely that the controversy with the amnesty will be confined to the circuits of national politics, those that cover the majority of the discussions, and they count little when it comes to voting.

Another thing is the consequences of Feijóo's statements at the national level, and what they affect him among his people and what they are used by the left to discredit him.. But now it's Galicia's turn.