PP hopes to consolidate power in Spain's south Mariano Rajoy, Spanish prime minister, was hoping on Sunday that his centre-right Popular party would finally win control of Andalusia from the Socialists in a regional election, a victory that would consolidate the PP's hold on Spain as it implements wrenching economic reforms. With 8.4m inhabitants, Andalusia is Spain's most populous and electorally important region, and it has been a fiefdom of the left for the three decades since the Socialists won the first post-Franco regional election in 1982. Official figures show that 31 per cent of the workforce is unemployed. Most recent opinion polls suggest the PP will win, but if it fails to gain a clear majority, the Socialists could join with the United Left party to form a regional government. An election was also being held on Sunday in the smaller region of Asturias in the north. Mr Rajoy, who took power in December after defeating the Socialists in a general election, has taken political and economic risks to try to secure victory in Andalusia. He has deliberately delayed until after the vote a national austerity budget for 2012 that might have alarmed Andalusians dependent on state handouts, thereby irritating his European partners and worrying Spanish policymakers who regard reducing the budget deficit as an urgent priority. Details of this year's budget are due to be announced on Friday this week, the day after a general strike called by the country's main trade union federations. By the time parliament has enacted the budget, Spain will have only a little over half the year to cut its budget deficit by at least €17bn (on top of €15bn of tax rises and spending cuts announced in December) to reduce it to 5.3 per cent of gross domestic product from 8.5 per cent in 2011. A change of power in Andalusia after three decades would almost certainly bring to light new controversies over regional finances and corruption, as has happened in other regions and cities after elections. Officials in Andalusia are already under investigation for mismanagement of funds aimed at crisis-stricken local companies, in particular the award of early retirement remuneration packages for over 180 people who never worked for the companies where they had supposedly been employed. At an election meeting in Cádiz last week, Mr Rajoy recalled that Andalusia was the only region where there had never been a change of control since the restoration of democracy in the 1970s and said "things could have been done infinitely better" than by the Socialists who had monopolised power. Campaigning later in Asturias, Mr Rajoy said the PP was determined to pull Spain out of its economic crisis. "It's the time to be serious and finish with frivolity," he said.