© Clara Molden for The TelegraphMs Isabel Díaz Ayuso made Madrid the first Spanish region free from lockdown and has boosted its economy by cutting taxes and slashing red tape
Fresh from freeing Madrid from lockdown, Isabel Díaz Ayuso is waging a war on woke and seeking to turn Madrid into the "Florida of Europe" in a campaign that could ultimately lead to her becoming Spain's first female prime minister.
With two crunch elections on the horizon, Madrid's president is ready for the political fight of her life: to topple the socialist-communist coalition government of Pedro Sánchez, leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party.
"It is not a government; it is a machinery of power," she told The Telegraph during a visit to London. "They are trying to change Spain through the back door."
The Right-wing firebrand is running for re-election in May in a vote seen as crucial before the battle for Spain's future is fought in December's general elections. Her supporters praise her as "Saint Isabel", but the regional leader is a hate figure for the Left, which brands her a "Trumpista" or "fascist".
Last week, she travelled to London to meet international investors she hopes to attract to Madrid with low taxes and a business-friendly environment - in the same way Ron DeSantis, the frontrunner for the Republican candidacy in the US, has helped turn Florida into an economic powerhouse.
Like her American counterpart, she used devolved powers to make Madrid the first Spanish region free from lockdown and herself one of her party the Partido Popular's biggest stars. Madrid was gripped by "Ayusomania" as it enjoyed an economic boost that outstripped shuttered Spanish regions.
Since then she has cut taxes and red tape in a suite of open market policies that has been rewarded with growth two points above the national average. She cut income tax in the region by 20 per cent and introduced deductions to reward businesses hiring new workers. Madrid has overtaken Catalonia as Spain's richest region, attracting £12.8 billion in foreign investment.
© ANDRII NESTERENKO/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockMs Díaz Ayuso has her sights set on prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s and his coalition government which includes the hard-Left populists Podemos, Catalan and Basque separatists, and Communist Party of Spain
If she wins May's regional vote, Ms Díaz Ayuso's status as leader-in-waiting and scourge of the woke Left will only be burnished further.
"The woke movement is a real problem in Spain because they are authoritarian. There is less freedom to make humour, watch films and be an adult, basically.Much like Boris Johnson when he was London mayor, her powerbase in her country's capital has made her an occasional thorn in the side of her party's leadership but also a political superstar tipped for the highest office.
"Young people are pitted against each other; it has weakened relations between men and women. If older people want to speak frankly to young people they cannot do that. It is a kind of paternalism and authoritarianism - because who decides what is offensive?"
She was already controversial when she toppled her party leader Pablo Casado by accusing him of hiring a private detective to smear her on corruption allegations, forcing his resignation. It was a major scalp for the 44-year-old, with her trademark black eyeliner, red lipstick and Depeche Mode tattoo. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, a moderate conservative, took over as head of Partido Popular.
He is seen as a steady hand, but if he fails to turn a narrow poll lead into victory, the party is expected to turn to Ms Díaz Ayuso as its next leader. She is coy over her ambitions but said: "The May elections are fundamental because they are the beginning of the change in Spain. And the final elections will be in December. Everything is telling us Sánchez is not going to win."
Mr Sánchez's coalition includes the hard-Left populists Podemos, Catalan and Basque separatists, and Communist Party of Spain. She views the elections as an existential struggle for the future of Spain.
"Sánchez has emptied the country ideologically. He has divided the country and the regions. We have gone down the scale in transparency and democracy. If they win, it will be a change of institutional model and political system no one has asked for."
© REUTERS/Violeta Santos MouraIn February, 250,000 gathered in Madrid to protest against what they say is her regional government’s destruction of free public healthcare
Last year, she challenged Mr Sánchez over energy-saving measures to reduce Spanish dependence on Russian gas. The government ordered shops and businesses to limit air conditioning, heating and outdoor lighting. Ms Díaz Ayuso refused to enforce the regulations and declared: "Madrid will not be switching off."
She remains suspicious of green regulations, co-opted by the "woke movement", that risk harming jobs and business. "The ones who wrap themselves in the flag of ecology, they don't listen to real people," she said. "The key is to conserve and keep the natural heritage, whereas now it has been moved into other issues, such as how to live and consumption. It should not be an ideological fight, but some have managed to make it that."
Targeting the Leftists' woke policies may help her poach support from the hard-Right Vox, which is growing in popularity in Spain. However, she is facing the prospect of a backlash from healthcare workers. Earlier this month, 250,000 gathered in Madrid to protest against what they say is her regional government's destruction of free public healthcare.
She brushed away claims she is plotting to privatise healthcare and said partnership with private firms had made it possible to build 12 hospitals in Madrid.
"Political parties on the Left create pretend fights between public and private, between businesses and employees, between men and women," she said. "We've been hearing that we want to privatise healthcare for 25 years. It is always the same discourse when we are close to elections."
Those elections could propel her to the prime minister's office.
James Crisp is Europe Editor for The Telegraph
Comment: Is common sense slowly creeping back into Europe?