The radical right continues its progression in Spain. If the Popular Party (right) came first without obtaining an absolute majority on Sunday in Castile and Leon, in central Spain, it was above all the strong progress of the far-right party Vox which marked this early regional ballot.
According to almost final results, the Popular Party (PP) won 31.4% of the vote, ahead of the Socialist Party (PSOE) of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (30%). Vox came third, with 17.6% of the vote. The PP thus has 31 seats out of the 81 in the regional parliament, so it cannot govern alone. The Socialist Party inherits 28 seats, and Vox 13 seats, whereas it had only one until now.
Vox wants to participate in “the formation of a government”
This result is “historic”, greeted the leader of the far-right party, Santiago Abascal, on Sunday evening. This gives Vox “the right and the duty” to participate in “the formation of a government”, he insisted, hinting at an alliance with the PP. The current president of Castile and Leon and leader of the PP, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, said for his part that he wanted to “dialogue with everyone”.
Marginal barely four years ago, Vox caused a political earthquake in Spain at the end of 2018 by entering a regional parliament for the first time, that of Andalusia in the South. This party then became in 2019 the third political force in the Spanish parliament. Vox already supports the ruling PP in Andalusia and the Madrid region, but without being part of the government. In Castile and Leon, the far-right party has made it known in recent weeks that it will not be content to support the executive from the outside.
A rural region
In Spain, the regions have broad powers and regional elections take on a national dimension. Pedro Sánchez has also gone on several occasions to support his party’s candidate, as have the leaders of the main Spanish parties. With a population of nearly 2.4 million, Castile and Leon, a very rural region, has been a stronghold of the PP for 35 years.