Snap election in Madrid turns into the nastiest for decades

Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the conservative leader of Madrid, has adopted the slogan “Communism or Freedom”
Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the conservative leader of Madrid, has adopted the slogan “Communism or Freedom”
CEZARO DE LUCA/EUROPA PRESS/GETTY IMAGES

Bullets have been sent to ministers and a police chief, death threats made against political candidates and a televised debate cut short by a walkout in what is being called Spain’s nastiest election campaign in decades.

The mid-term snap election in the Madrid region, which will take place next Tuesday, has transformed into a national litmus test. The popularity of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the region’s conservative leader, whose slogan is “Communism or Freedom”, poses an electoral threat to the Socialist-led government of Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister.

Sánchez and Ayuso have sparred for months over the pandemic, each accusing the other of incompetence and lying about the number of deaths. If the polls are correct the prime minister, who has played an active role