Key facts
- PP published conditions for a possible alliance with Vox.
- PP and Vox agreed to form a coalition in Valencia.
- PP and Vox agreed to govern in coalition in Burgos.
Spain's main conservative Popular Party (PP) has published conditions for a possible alliance with the far-right Vox party, signaling how the two could cooperate after a general election expected in 2027. While the date of the vote has not been set, polls suggest the PP is on track to win but would fall short of an absolute majority, making Vox a potential kingmaker.
Deals between Spanish conservatives and the radical Vox party to form local governments have increased the likelihood of the far right entering a national coalition. The PP wrested control of several regions and key city halls from the Socialists of prime minister Pedro Sánchez but will need the backing of Vox to govern many of them. The first high-profile accord between the two parties since the election was confirmed this week, as the PP and Vox agreed in principle on forming a new coalition administration in the Mediterranean region of Valencia. Talks had initially stalled because Vox’s candidate for president of the region, Carlos Flores, had been convicted of domestic abuse against his ex-wife. After Mr Flores withdrew from the negotiations, a deal was reached that grants Vox control of three regional government departments, including the culture portfolio, which will be headed by Vicente Barrera, a former bullfighter.
Carlos Mazón of the PP, who is expected to become Valencia’s regional president, said the new administration will be “stable and serious” and that it will roll back the legacy of the left-wing grouping which has governed there since 2015. On Thursday, the two parties also agreed to govern in coalition in the northern city of Burgos. Vox, which doubled its vote in the recent elections, has said it is hoping to reach similar agreements with the conservatives in 135 town halls across the country. The two parties had only previously entered a formal coalition once, in the region of Castilla y León, following a snap election there last year.
The left has criticized the PP-Vox deal in Valencia. Yolanda Díaz, the labor minister and the new left-wing Sumar party’s candidate for prime minister, warned that women’s rights, in particular, would suffer under the new regional governments. Vox has frequently attacked the government’s feminist agenda, as well as campaigning against Catalan and Basque nationalism and immigration. Many polls ahead of the election suggest that the PP and Vox will be able to form a majority in the Spanish parliament, replacing Mr Sánchez’s leftist coalition.