Despite the bitter election night that the PP experienced throughout Spain last Sunday, the island president of the party and candidate for the Arrecife City Council and Parliament, Ástrid Pérez, considers that the results in Lanzarote have been "very good" given the "circumstances." Specifically, the PP has been left with 21 public positions on the island, compared to the 33 it has had in this legislature. On Sunday, they obtained half of the councilors in the Cabildo, half of the parliamentarians (they retain one) and only five of the eight councilors they had in Arrecife (in 2011 they were the leading force and now they have come in third). Also in Teguise they went from four councilors to one, and in the municipalities of Yaiza and Haría they will not have any representatives. In Tinajo they do maintain the one they had, and in Tías Pancho Hernández revalidated his victory, staying one councilor away from an absolute majority, thus giving the party its only joy.
In light of these results, Ástrid Pérez openly admits that she expected an even worse result than the one obtained. Putting forward that they had "against" them the policies applied by Rajoy at the state level and his position on oil exploration at the island level, she assures that she does not feel responsible for the results in Parliament and repeats insistently that the votes she has obtained in Arrecife are "the second best result in the history of the PP in the capital."
-What is your assessment of the Popular Party's results in the elections on Sunday in Lanzarote?
Well, we have all decreased, except for the PSOE and the emerging parties. All the others have gone down. For example, CC has gone down a lot, especially in Arrecife. They had the Mayor's Office of Arrecife, all the media with them, the Canarian government with them, the Cabildo also of the same color... And the fact that they have tied in councilors with the PP is difficult to digest; I don't hear anyone talking about CC's defeat. And in the Cabildo of Lanzarote they have also decreased the number of councilors, despite having the Government, all the resources that have been spent on the campaign and so on.
We started from a very complicated situation. We were aware that the State's policies were going to hurt us, as has been the case throughout Spain. But, in addition, in Lanzarote there was an added element: oil. We believed that we were going to have very bad results. The reality has been that, taking into account the bad situation with which we started the campaign, the results have been moderately good: we have won the City Council of Tías, we were 31 votes away from an absolute majority, and in the City Council of Arrecife we have obtained the second best result in the history of the PP of Arrecife.
-In any case, in Arrecife, compared to the previous legislature, the decrease is noticeable. On a personal level, taking into account that you led the candidacy, what is your assessment?
The second best results of the PP in the history of Arrecife. In 2011 we got 8 councilors, but it is true that we had the Mayor's Office and there was a PP wave, a PP wave that swept all of Spain and Lanzarote as well. In this 2015, we have 5 councilors: a tie with Coalición Canaria. These are 5 councilors that we have obtained with State policies against us, with oil against us and, in addition, in the opposition. A political situation that no other formation has experienced. The PSOE has only taken one councilor more than us.
If we take into account that in 1999 we got 2 councilors, in 2003 we got 2 councilors, in 2007 we got 4 and in 2011 we got these 8 that I say because of the exceptional circumstance and now we get 5, almost tied with CC and very close to the PSOE; it will be understood that I am very happy with the result of Arrecife. Because we thought it was going to be worse. Having tied CC in number of councilors, when they had the Mayor's Office and many media have campaigned for Coalición Canaria, I am very satisfied. Furthermore, this is ratified by many people I meet on the street who say that it was very difficult to get that number of councilors.
-And in the case of the Cabildo?
There has been a significant setback as well. The Cabildo is not immune to either oil or State policies, and therefore, there has been a logical setback. In addition, the candidate was not very well known and we started a very late campaign because it will be remembered that the candidate for the Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands was appointed by the PP very late, and that forces all of us to start the campaign very late. In any case, the situation, as I say, was very complicated: we had oil, State policies that we knew were going to take their toll on the elections, and everything. We have returned to what we had in 2007 and 2003.
-Do you regret then having positioned yourselves like that with oil? Do you think it has really influenced you so much?
No, no, I don't regret anything. What I am saying is that we have to assume the consequences of our actions. Those are our actions and these are our consequences. But I do say, it has gone very well for us given the political situation we had in the PP of Lanzarote. I insist, we have tied in number of councilors with CC in Arrecife, with everything that has fallen on us.
The results, I have been on the street for three days, and people tell us 'how have you been able to get 5 councilors?'. And the PSOE has lost a thousand and something votes compared to 2011, but it is true that it is about a thousand votes from us. But, come on, 6 councilors. It is one more councilor, obviously we are very tied. And the political situation of the PSOE and CC was not even close to that of the PP.
-In the case of Teguise, they have gone from 4 councilors to 1, what do you attribute this to in this specific municipality?
In Teguise the situation is complicated. Apart from the State policies and oil, the mayor was a very tough rival. We knew that we were going to go down, we had never had 4 councilors in Teguise either. We had them as a consequence of the wave of the Popular Party that manifested itself in 2011 and we have returned to what we have always had in Teguise, one or two.
So, sincerely, we are even better established now in 2015 with what is raining down on us than, for example, if you look at data from 2003 or 1999. Comparing data with 2011 is complicated, because in 2011 there were exceptional circumstances for the Popular Party of Spain and Lanzarote. And now there are other exceptional circumstances, but in 2011 those exceptional circumstances were for the good and now they are for the bad. And in those exceptional circumstances for the bad, the PP has consolidated itself quite well. We all expected worse results because the polls told us that they were going to be worse.
It is true that we have lost many votes in Parliament, but it was more than known that citizens were going to vote fundamentally for Parliament because they were going to punish the brand.With respect to the list for Parliament, I do not feel responsible, insofar as it is neither the PP of Lanzarote who has decided the list nor is it the PP of Lanzarote who has established the regional strategy that was proposed.
-Do you, for your part, disagree with that strategy?
No, no, no. I do not disagree. Sincerely, I have not even thought about it. If the regional leadership has proposed a strategy and I have followed it happily, in addition. Elections are not won in 15 days of campaign with a strategy. I, for example, the good results that I have obtained in Arrecife from the 15 days of campaign and the armchair (in reference to her initiative 'Sit down with Astrid', in which she emulated the television program Traveling with Chester). I have obtained them because I have been working all my life and people know that I am a hard worker; and that I work hard.
Elections are not won in 15 days, they are won in a year, another year, another year. And, evidently, we knew that Rajoy's policies were going to take their toll on us and we also knew that oil was going to take its toll on us.
-In light of these results, are you considering making any changes?
In what sense?
-Changes in the party, some kind of different strategy...
I don't know... Did you ask Coalición the same question, if they are going to make changes in the party because of how badly they have done in Arrecife and that they have not done very well in the Cabildo either?
-In this case I am asking you.
It is curious, but it seems that the PP are the only ones who have lost something. But in Arrecife, if you look at the data, we have even won against Coalición Canaria. They had the Mayor's Office and we did not. They did not have oil and we did. They did not have the State policies and we did. And even so we have tied in councilors.
-And in terms of possible agreements, has anyone contacted the Popular Party? Are you willing to agree in the different institutions, or in any one in particular?
Well, if possible, of course. We are going to try to form a government, of course.
-And have you had proposals so far?
No, we are simply talking.
-Are you talking for which institutions?
We are talking.