Isabel Díaz Ayuso

During her first election, she failed to win a majority, and therefore governed with the support of Citizens and the far-right Vox. A member of the conservative People’s Party, she was strongly criticized for her loose policies over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, as she allowed bars and restaurants to mostly stay open, and the city suffered one of the highest excess mortality rates on the continent. It was also found that her government had banned ill senior citizens from being taken to hospitals from their nursing homes. Ayuso began her career working in the press department of the Community of Madrid president Pablo Casado. She was then elected to the regional parliament in 2011 before taking charge of Cristina Cifuentes’ digital campaign in 2015, the former President of the Community of Madrid.