Weary, that’s how they describe themselves. Some Canarian candidates have counted the number of kilometres travelled during these elections – 22,326 kilometres have been covered by the Coalition Canaria candidate Carlos Alonso from Coalición Canaria (CC) – and they emphasize that they have even visited all the islands three times, in the pre-campaign and during the campaign. The Canarian candidates for the European elections, which are taking place tomorrow – none of them are top of the list – have worked tirelessly. Some more than others, to be honest, but that has depended on the resources of the party and the position they held on the lists.
On this Friday, at the close of this unique campaign, the island candidates have once again urged the public to go to the polls on Sunday because the Canary Islands have a lot at stake. The truth is that the campaign has been intense but has gone somewhat unnoticed. Nothing like the one carried out by the incomparable Nardy Barrios as a candidate for Mayor of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for Coalición Canaria-Unidos in 2019 when, at 70 years of age, she launched herself in a paraglider over the city on the first day of the campaign to “view it from above”.
22,000 Kilometres Covered in Campaigning / F. Marimón
In this case, the Canarian candidates, supported by their national leaders – some more than others because Dolors Montserrat, the number one candidate of the PP, has not visited the islands, although the popular leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has – have been more restrained. These are European elections that seem more distant.
Contrary to candidates who have the support of their national party, such as Juan Fernando López Aguilar (PSOE) or Gabriel Mato (PP), Carlos Alonso of CC is one of the candidates who has put in the most effort. Of the purely island-based parties, Alonso is the best positioned, number two in his pact with the PNV. Although he knows that it is difficult to win a seat, he has tried his best. CC has only had one MEP, Isidoro Sánchez, from 1999 to 2003.
22,000 Kilometres Covered in Campaigning / F. Marimón
Alonso is an expert in European affairs and knowledgeable about EU institutions, and his motto, as in the national Congress, is that if CC reaches the European Parliament, the voice of the Canary Islands will be heard, with an “accent” from the Islands. But abstention is a major problem. Therefore, like the other candidates, he has asked repeatedly for the Canarians to go out and vote. His campaign began on April 2 when he was appointed. From that moment, he started his journey through the islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, La Palma, and El Hierro. Afterwards, he visited them all.
There are several islands where he has been three times. During the pre-campaign, he also travelled to Brussels, Madrid, and Bilbao. Only on the island of Tenerife, and since the mileage was activated with the pre-campaign already underway, they have covered 6,000 kilometres by car touring the island and its municipalities. Overall, Alonso has travelled outside the Canarian Archipelago for 13,806 kilometres between Tenerife, Madrid, Bilbao, or Brussels. He has worn out the soles of his shoes over 8,520 kilometres across all the islands. In total, Alonso has undertaken an electoral campaign of 22,326 kilometres, he mentions. This Friday, at the closing of the campaign in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, he urged the public to “vote with a Canarian accent”.
Juan Fernando López Aguilar and Gabriel Mato, from PSOE and PP respectively, know they are sure to win, in the sense that they will be elected, even though the socialist is placed 13th, and the member of the People’s Party is in 11th position.
The candidate from the Sumar – Nueva Canarias /BC coalition, Lorena López, faces difficulties because she is in 19th place, and even more so the Canarian candidates from Vox, like Nicasio Galván, a member of the Canarian Parliament, running in 57th place, almost at the end of the ballot, but he does it to support his party, he says.
The Purple Party option, led by former minister Irene Montero, has the most candidates from the Canary Islands, a total of seven, although not with high expectations of reaching Brussels. The top spot for the islanders is for Ana Gloria Ruano, who holds the 20th position. Therefore, it is almost impossible for her to win a seat. Although miracles do happen.
22,000 kilometres of campaign / F. Marimón
Juan Fernando López Aguilar is another candidate who has put in a lot of effort. Very serious and rigorous, they say in his party when it comes to attending events. He has handed out roses left and right and has not stopped repeating that these elections are essential for the Canary Islands, as crucial policies for the Islands are decided in Europe, such as the Migration and Asylum Pact – which he feels somewhat responsible for – or the recognition of the singularities of the Canary Islands. López Aguilar started the pre-campaign on May 10 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and has not stopped touring the Islands.
On Friday, at the end of the campaign, López Aguilar addressed “the undecided who might come across an ultra-right-wing demonstration pretending to pray the rosary to spread their mud” to tell them to “vote for the Socialist party wholeheartedly.”
22,000 kilometres of campaign / LP/DLP
Gabriel Mato, MEP since 2009 for the PP and the 11th candidate for the Popular Party, has also run an intense campaign. Mato started the pre-campaign on May 21 at the Feaga opening. He has flown non-stop from La Palma, where he resides, to Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Gomera, El Hierro… To all the Islands, including La Graciosa. He even attended the anti-amnesty demonstration in Madrid on May 26. He has been at wrestling matches, meetings with fishing associations, gatherings with farmers, or the rally with Feijóo. On Friday, at the campaign closing in La Palma, he highlighted the work of the Popular European Party in favour of the Canary Islands, “seeking exceptions in legislation that could harm ultra-peripheral regions.”
Vox Canarias indicated that it gave impetus to this campaign to convey the electoral programme for the European elections with a focus on the Canarian reality. The party has moved throughout the Canary Islands, with visits from Jorge Buxadé and Santiago Abascal. Vox candidates have met with neighbourhood collectives, those affected by the La Palma volcano, agricultural cooperatives, or the fishing industry.
The candidate from Sumar-Nueva Canarias/BC, Lorena López, has also campaigned strongly but more in the eastern province, like Podemos candidate Ana Gloria Ruano. Lorena López concluded her electoral activities yesterday with “enthusiasm” at the prospect of the coalition she is running with being able to secure between four and five MEPs on the upcoming Sunday, according to polls.
Podemos Canarias, on the other hand, defended that the so-called “Canarian exception” to limit the purchase of housing by foreigners in the Canary Islands is within the European legal framework.
