Yesterday’s snap election in Castile-León, one of the 17 regional autonomies into which Spain is divided, was another excellent day for Vox, the most right-wing of Spain’s mainstream parties. Vox, which previously had just one seat in the 81-seat regional assembly, now has 13 and holds the balance of power.
Vox’s success prevented the Partido Popular, which has governed in Castile-León for over three decades, achieving an absolute majority (41 seats or more). Instead after winning only 31 seats, the Partido Popular, Spain’s main party of the right, said it would begin discussions with all the parties. But the arithmetic suggests that in order to form a stable government the Partido Popular will depend on Vox — something it dearly wants to avoid.
The success of Vox has come as no surprise to those in Spain. In the most recent general election in November 2019, Vox surged to 15 per cent of the vote, winning 52 of the 350 seats in the national parliament and becoming the country’s third-largest political party.
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