Spain’s Vox entered a regional government for the first time under a coalition deal with the right-wing Popular Party Thursday that will give the far-right faction a major impact on policy.
Under the country’s highly decentralised system, Spain’s 17 regions have broad powers, meaning Vox’s entry into the regional government of Castilla y Leon, just north of Madrid, could offer a blueprint for future power-sharing, both regionally and nationally.
It will be the first time that a far-right party will hold a share of power in Spain since the country returned to democracy following the death of longtime dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975.
The PP, which is Spain’s main opposition party, came under immediate fire from the ruling Socialists, who lashed out over its “cosying up to the extreme right”.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the agreement “very bad news for Spanish democracy and also for the Popular Party”, adding it would cost the formation “dearly in political terms”.
“There will be a lot of people, including among their own voters, who won’t understand that they are opening the door for the first time in our modern democracy to a government of the far-right,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an EU summit in Versailles.
But the region’s outgoing PP leader Alfonso Fernandez Manueco said the agreement reached with Vox “will allow us to establish a stable and solid government”. He will be reinstated thanks to the deal.
Vox would hold the second-highest position in Castilla y Leon’s government and would run three of the region’s 10 councils. It would also head the regional parliament.
The formation of a PP-Vox government could offer a foretaste of the type of right-wing alliance that might end up ruling Spain after the next general election, due by the end of 2023.
– ‘Historic day’ –
The breakthrough for the far-right faction came after it saw strong gains in last month’s snap regional election in which it soared from one mandate to 13 in Castilla y Leon’s 81-seat assembly.
Although the PP came first, it only won 31 seats, leaving it vulnerable to pressure from Vox.
“Today is a historic day for Vox. It’s the first time we are entering a regional government,” said Juan Garcia-Gallardo, who heads the far-right faction’s Castilla y Leon branch.
“This coalition government will set a good example to the rest of the regions and the whole country about the possibilities that can exist when the PP and Vox join forces,” he said, very aware of the wider implications of the tie-up.
The power-sharing agreement with Vox comes as the PP struggles to overcome a major internal crisis which has forced the departure of leader Pablo Casado.
Haunted by the rise of Vox, it was Casado’s idea to call a snap election in Castilla y Leon to strengthen the party’s hold in a region it has ruled for 35 years.
But the plan backfired, creating an opening for Vox.
– Rapid rise –
Analysts say the PP must close ranks to address its internal divisions or risk Vox becoming the nation’s second-largest party at the next election.
Founded in 2014, Vox started as a marginal force in Spanish politics before causing a major upset in late 2018 when it entered a regional parliament for the first time, winning seats in the assembly of Andalusia in the south.
Following national elections nearly a year later, it became the third-largest force in Spanish politics with 52 seats in the 350-seat parliament, mirroring gains elsewhere in Europe for the far right.
It campaigns to repeal a law banning Franco-era symbols and has called for revoking legislation designed to protect victims of domestic violence.
The regional governments of both Andalusia and the Madrid area are PP-led but supported from the outside by Vox in exchange for political concessions.
