According to forecasts, the conservative opposition People’s Party won the parliamentary elections in Spain on Sunday, but it is clear that it lost the absolute majority. The former head of government, Pedro Sánchez, was second only to the socialist PSOE. It was not entirely clear on election night whether the winner of the elections for the People’s Party, Alberto Núñez Figo, would succeed in forming a government.
The far-right Vox party, with which Figo has not ruled out cooperating, made it clear on election night that it wanted to be in government. Vox Secretary General Ignacio Garriga warned that you will not “compromise” your votes.
According to projections based on 94 percent of the votes being counted, the People’s Party can hope to secure 136 seats in the parliament in Madrid. Although Vox suffered losses and gained only 33 seats, it is ironic that it is likely to greatly increase its political influence. However, the two parties were not likely to obtain an outright majority of 176 seats together. PSOE came second with 122 seats. Its left-wing partner, the New Electoral Alliance Soumar, came in fourth with 31 seats.
If the PDP and Vox lose the outright majority, they will have to count on the support or at least the tolerance of the minor parties in the “Congreso de los Diputados”. This is unlikely given other parties’ opposition to right-wing populists. In addition, PSOE can count on the support of regional parties from the Basque Country and Catalonia more than PP.
As a result, the EU’s fourth-largest economy, which currently holds the union presidency, could face a prolonged deadlock. “Blockio,” a political blockade of the sort that occurred twice in a row after the 2015 and 2019 elections and required a second round of voting in each case, was not ruled out.
Like partner parties in Hungary and Poland, Vox has a very unique understanding of the rule of law. She is also Eurosceptic and advocates making money from prestigious left-wing projects in the areas of social affairs, protection of minorities and the environment, and cracking down on separatists. There is no such thing as a firewall on the right in Spain, as there is in Germany against the AfD. In some regions, PP and Vox rule together. A “Grand Alliance” cannot be imagined in Spain. Figo has emphasized several times that Sánchez does not even want to tolerate a minority government of the People’s Party, thus leaving him with “no other choice” than to speak to Vox.
Parts of the Senate were re-elected on Sunday, as well as the Congresso de los Diputados. But in Spain, the Senate plays no role in forming the government. Parliamentary elections were scheduled for the end of the year only. But Sanchez favored it after the leftist parties were defeated in the May 28 regional elections. The left-wing government has repeatedly warned that the right-wing government will undo the social gains made in recent years and set the country back decades. I went inaudible.
The ballot was originally scheduled for December. But Sanchez called new elections after the left suffered a defeat in regional elections in May. The head of the socialists in government is currently forming a minority government with leftists Unidas Podemos (UP). UP ran in the elections in the left-wing Sumar caucus.
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Parliamentary Week 6-10 May 2024 (PK0431/05/03/2024)