Far-right Vox party wins seats in Andalusian parliament
THE ultra-conservative and anti-immigration Vox party stormed into the Andalusian assembly in yesterday’s regional election, marking the first time a far-right party has achieved parliamentary representation on any level in Spain’s recent history as a democracy.
The party that favours the end of autonomy in Catalonia and the expulsion of immigrants who enter Spain illegally won 12 out of 109 seats in Andalucia’s parliament, with 11 per cent of the vote.
“Vox was the party that led the political debate,” said Javier Ortega, the party’s secretary general. “We put on the table the need to control our borders and end illegal immigration, end abusive levels of taxation and … put an end to ideological laws relating to gender.”
Despite running out narrow winner in the region it has ruled continuously for 36 years, the PSOE Socialist party of Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish prime minister, suffered a hugely disappointing result in Andalucia. The party’s all-time low of 28 per cent and 33 seats mean it will not be able to govern with a majority, even with the support of the Leftwing coalition Adelante Andalucia, which includes Podemos.
Spain’s main conservative opposition force, the Popular Party (PP), also lost ground, sliding six percentage points to just under 21 per cent, while the liberal Ciudadanos was the night’s only winner
‘We put on the table the need to control our borders, end illegal immigration, and abusive levels of taxation’
among the established parties, doubling its share to 18 per cent.
Ahead of European elections and possibly a general election next year, Spain’s political scene appears more fractured than ever.
Despite having seen its number of seats in the Andalusian parliament shorn from 33 to 26, the PP appeared to welcome the arrival of Vox on the political scene. Juan Manuel Moreno, the PP’S candidate for the presidency of the region, said it was a “historic day” on which “Andalucia had chosen change”, and that he wanted to lead a right-ofcentre coalition including Vox and Ciudadanos.
“Ahead of this election we proposed change, now we guarantee change,” Mr Moreno told an ecstatic crowd of PP members in Seville.
Juan Marín, the Ciudadanos leader in Andalucia, echoed the PP’S message. “There is a majority in the parliament for change. Change has arrived in Andalucia,” he said.
Albert Rivera, Ciudadanos’ national leader, challenged the prime minister to call national elections now that “the Andalusians have turned their back on you”.
The PP and Ciudadanos candidates have been careful not to describe Vox as far-right, while also refusing to rule out accepting the support of the ultraconservative grouping to remove the Socialists from power.
Susana Díaz, Andalusian president, blamed a low turnout of 59 per cent for her Socialist party’s small margin of victory, and said: “I call on all the other political parties who consider themselves defenders of our democratic constitution to brake the extreme Right.”