Atlantic Sentinel

Tag: Vox (Spain)

  • Spanish Conservatives Are Unlikely to Normalize Vox

    Esteban González Pons
    Esteban González Pons, the group leader of Spain’s conservative People’s Party in the European Parliament, gives a news conference in Madrid, June 13, 2022 (PP)

    Spanish conservatives still hope they can neutralize the far right by cooperating with it.

    Esteban González Pons, the group leader of Spain’s People’s Party in the European Parliament, told The New York Times that bringing Vox (Voice) into the government might “normalize” it:

    Vox will be another party, a conservative party inside of the system.

    Polls predict the People’s Party (PP) will win the election this month with 31 to 37 percent support. It would need Vox’s 12 to 15 percent for a majority.

    To his credit, Pons acknowledged there is a risk: “We can legitimize Vox.” Arguably, it already has by not ruling out a coalition. (more…)

  • Far Right Comes to Sánchez’ Rescue in Spain

    Santiago Abascal
    Spanish Vox party leader Santiago Abascal gives a speech in Valencia, February 22, 2018 (Vox España)

    Sometimes bad people do good things. Spain’s neo-Francoist party Vox (Voice) has given Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez a majority for his plan to spend Spain’s €140 billion share of the EU’s €750 billion coronavirus recovery fund.

    Vox had criticized the plan for its “opaque” oversight during a debate in Congress, but when it became clear the conservative People’s Party (PP) would vote against it, the far right spied an opportunity.

    “We regret that in the worst moment of these 42 years of democracy, PP is not the opposition but the absolute destruction,” a Vox spokesman thundered.

    That’s a little rich coming from a party that wants to reverse Spain’s democratization in important ways, including by abolishing regional autonomies, teaching a more Franco-friendly version of twentieth-century history in middle schools and weakening women’s rights.

    But it is also an example of how multiparty democracy can make a country more governable. (more…)

  • No Party or Bloc Wins Majority in Spain

    • Neither the left nor the right has won a majority in Spain. Catalan and other regional parties will hold the balance of power in the new Congress.
    • The only options for a majority government are a grand coalition of the center-left Socialists (PSOE) and center-right People’s Party (PP), which has never been tried, or a coalition of left-wing and regional parties.
    • The Socialists remain the largest party, although they are down three seats. This will be a disappointment to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who called the election in hopes of breaking the deadlock in Congress.
    • He is expected to try to form a minority government. (more…)

  • Vox Is Unreliable Partner for Spanish Right

    Santiago Abascal
    Spanish Vox party leader Santiago Abascal gives a speech in Valencia, February 22, 2018 (Vox España)

    Spain’s far-right Vox (Voice) is turning out to be an unreliable partner for the mainstream parties of the right.

    • In Andalusia, where Vox won legislative seats for the first time in December, the party agreed to support a minority government of the conservative People’s Party and liberal Citizens but then made additional demands, including money for a program about Spanish colonialism and cuts to a fund that provides redress to victims of the Franco dictatorship as well as to groups that help immigrants.
    • In the Madrid regional assembly, Vox has reneged on its support for the People’s Party’s Isabel Díaz Ayuso and is demanding additional concessions to bring the center-right to power.
    • In Murcia, Vox is refusing to support a center-right government unless the party is involved in drafting its policies.

    At least they’re up front about it in Murcia. It’s not unreasonable for Vox to demand something in return for its support. Except that every time it gets what it wants, it asks for something more.

    The People’s Party and Citizens have themselves to blame. They shifted to the right in an attempt to outflank Vox and ruled out deals with the center-left. That has given Vox, with less than 10 percent support nationally, disproportionate power. It knows the mainstream parties have no alternative. (more…)

  • Sánchez Wins in Spain But Could Need Separatists for Majority

    • Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez won the election on Sunday with 29 percent support for his center-left Socialist Party.
    • But his alliance with the far-left Podemos does not have a majority, forcing Sánchez to negotiate with parties from the Basque Country and Catalonia.
    • The conservative People’s Party imploded, losing half its votes to the center-right Citizens and the far-right Vox, which enters Congress for the first time. (more…)