May 5th, 2021. Published by POLITICO.

MADRID — They were born in the same city, Madrid, on the same day in 1978. But 42 years later, the fortunes of Isabel Díaz Ayuso and Pablo Iglesias have diverged dramatically.

Díaz Ayuso, the conservative president of Madrid, scored a stunning victory in Tuesday’s regional election, more than doubling her party’s seats in the local assembly and making her the undisputed star of the Popular Party (PP) and of Spain’s right.

Iglesias, leader of the leftist Unidas Podemos, and not long ago a phenomenon himself, made only modest gains in the election before announcing his resignation from politics.

Both developments have resonance beyond the borders of Madrid and could influence Spain’s national politics.

Díaz Ayuso’s rise has been swift. She was unknown to most Madrileños when the PP’s young leader Pablo Casado handpicked her to run in the 2019 regional election. The 30 seats she secured then represented the conservatives’ worst-ever result in the capital, as the surging Ciudadanos and the far-right Vox also competed for right-wing votes. And yet, she ended up as regional president, forming a coalition with Ciudadanos and receiving parliamentary support from Vox. (See article)