TWO fledgling populist and ostensibly anti-austerity parties made only small inroads in their first regional bids for power in Andalusia’s election on Sunday.

The populist Podemos party, which identifies itself closely with Greece’s governing Syriza party, came third, winning 15 seats in the 109-seat Andalusia parliament.

And fellow newcomer Ciudadanos, a more right-wing party whose name means “citizens,” finished fourth with nine seats.

“The political map in Andalusia and Spain has changed,” claimed Podemos candidate Teresa Rodriguez.

“Some people will read the news tomorrow and think they’ve won,” said Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera. “But we know the two-party system has died.”

With 96 per cent of the votes counted yesterday, the big loser was the Popular Party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, which dropped from 50 seats won in 2012 to just 33 on Sunday.

The Socialists won 47 seats, meaning they will have to make alliances to stay in power in their traditional heartland.

Other regional elections are due in May and a general election will be held before the end of the year.

The Socialists have governed Andalusia since 1982 and the newcomers blame Spain’s political establishment for its 34.2 per cent unemployment rate.

Two former Socialist leaders have been named as suspects in an investigation into how a fund to help the unemployed was allegedly fraudulently managed.

The Popular Party has also been rocked by scandal, with former treasurer Luis Barcenas in jail after he was found to have held millions of euros in secret Swiss bank accounts.

by Our Foreign Desk