Elections in Spain: who are the candidates for the presidency

Today, more than 36.8 million citizens are expected to vote in the electoral centers of

Spain,

in some

the elections

generalized by nationalist polarization, the rise of
ultra-right and the uncertainty of the results in which are involved the continuity of a progressive government or a radical shift to the right.

During the vote, the main candidates for the presidency called a
mbadive participation. Then a small profile of each.

Pedro Sánchez, the challenge of being president, this time with votes (PSOE)

• Origin: Madrid
• Age: 47 years old
• Family: married, two children

He is the first president to come to power in Spain with a motion of censure. Now, seek to be revalidated in the position. His story is one of the "second chances". He was defended by the direction of socialism and was able to return. Now, in the presidency, he has had to call a general election, in which he seeks to win. He managed to cut with the traditional party line: he does not enjoy the sympathy of former President Felipe González nor much of his environment. Underestimated both inside and outside of his party, the Madrilenian economist was astonished in revealing himself to be a tough guy, an image that uses his election poster, a Black and white photo in which he looks serious, with a cinematic look. It tries to transmit the security and the force before the crucial moment that lives Spain. His motto was "put a cordon sanitaire" on the right.

Pedro Sánchez

He was the first candidate to vote and, in so doing, declared that he expected the Spaniards "to send a clear message so that there is a large majority to govern". "The wish I would like to convey is that it is a day of open doors to the future," he added.

Pablo Casado, a young face for an exhausted party (PP)

• Origin: Palencia
• Age: 38 years
• Family: married, two children

Last July, he was elected to head the PP. He decided to print a right turn, like the former president José María Aznar, and was separated from his predecessor, the former president Mariano Rajoy. The arrival of Casado was perceived as the step forward of a new generation of politicians within the party, generating internal antipathies by displacing traditional personalities. Before his arrival at the leadership of the party, July 21, 2018 – through internal elections, during which the former vice president Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría was imposed – the PP had already become a important competitor for the center, Ciudadanos. it defied his hegemony. But the surprise emergence of Vox, right, makes fear a setback. His campaign motto was the need to "reunite the right" under the direction of the PP. Something that is now in doubt.

"I demand maximum participation, what will come out of the polls will condition the future of Spain, I would like a stable government," said the leader of the PP, last candidate to vote.

Pablo Iglesias, the voice of the indignant ones in loss of speed (Podemos)

• Origin: Madrid
• Age: 40 years
• Family: married, two children

Leader of Podemos, the radical leftist party that imposed itself as the institutional voice of the "outraged" movement three years ago was an undeniable emerging figure. Today, he is fighting to keep training in fourth place after a major crisis in his party and his own mistakes. Among them, he moved to a big house in a closed neighborhood after having censored the politicians who live like this and feel the problems of ordinary people. "During the last legislature, he faced strong internal tensions that have come to an end even with the departure of the leaders of some of the most prominent figures and his companions during the founding of the group.Iglesias argues that they are "the only guarantee" of a leftist government in Spain and insists that the ruling party, the PSOE, will eventually "accept the right of Ciudadanos".

Today, he voted and said: "In Spain, there is a large progressive majority".

Albert Rivera, the moderate who is betrayed by his nerves (Citizens)

• Origin: Barcelona
• Age: 39 years
• Family: divorced, a girl

President and founder of Citizens, born in 2006 in Barcelona, ​​of liberal roots and whose slogan was "common sense". He was the voice of moderation, although in this campaign he turned more to the right, in the competition with Vox. A clever and dialectical speaker, he was the winner of the first of two presidential debates, but his constant tension and nervousness played against him during the second and last part of the campaign. The expectations and popularity of his party, an emerging force for those seeking new colors in Parliament, are largely due to his charisma. However, its success is not unambiguous and although some people appreciate it, others call it populist. His proposal is to defeat the People's Party (PP) and become the reference of the right.

During the vote in Barcelona, ​​he told the press: "These are not elections, we play if we want to remain united, if we want to remain free and equal citizens, if we want a Spain turned to the past or the future. future, a Spain of extremes or centered. "

Santiago Abascal, the surprise that defends traditionalism (VOX)

• Origin: Bilbao
• Age: 43 years old
• Family: married, four children

He comes from the PP and was an adviser to the Basque Country when, with the active ETA terrorist band, it earned him a white potential. In November 2013, he announced that he was giving up the PP, alleging irreconcilable discrepancies with his address. He expressed his disagreement with the results obtained by the party in the corruption cases that are being extended there, with the anti-terrorist policy against Rajoy ETA and the Basque Country's PP and with the anti-terrorist policy. Basque and Catalan nationalism. He declares himself an uncompromising politician who embodies "the true causes" of Spain – and the radical right. It connects emotionally with the public, justifies the "traditional" of Spain, as hunting and bullfighting and its imperial past. He despises gender movements and feminism. It does not have a strong government program. His main speech is criticism of the traditional "corrupt and cowardly" politics.

When he went to the polls, he spoke with the media, saying the elections "would be historic" and demanding that "the results be respected".