Contrary to most of Spain in yesterday’s elections, Càlig voted in a Socialist mayor, the wife of the electrician who installed the electricity in my house 31 years ago. (He was 16 then.) Ernestina has been the spokesperson for the PSOE (Partido Socialista de Obreros Españoles) for the last four years and has learned to defend herself and her party well. Càlig had Socialist mayors since 1979 until 2007 when the former principal of the school, a member of the Partido Popular, won. He set about trying to undo what the Socialist mayors had done over all those years. To save water, he managed to get rid of lots of flowers and trees that made Càlig a much more attractive village. The last Socialist mayor had a green thumb and I’m certain that something inside him died each time he saw his plants disappear. Since the PP mayor had made many enemies among the different groups in Càlig, like the band and the folk dancers, he received fewer votes. There were lots of other reasons they have been told to me but I won;t go into them all. They now have four seats on the town council. The third party of ecologists, idealists, kept their one seat on the town council. Someone told me that they discredited themselves somewhat because they have several members who are ardent hunters. The Socialists have 6 seats.. and would have had seven, but were 4 votes short. The more ardent members were lamenting that certain people they knew hadn’t voted. We dropped by the celebration afterwards in the Cultural Center where the voting was held. Champagne and goodies for all among the hugs, kisses, tears of joy. It seemed like the Càlig I had known in the 80s at the beginning of the Socialist reign. Let’s see if this spirit can last.
La nueva alcaldesa
Martha's Travels Blog 
You picked an interesting time to go to Spain.