A banner showing a picture depicting Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, leader of the PP Party. Voters in Spain head to the polls on July 23 to forged their votes and elect Spain’s next government.
Pablo Blazquez Dominguez | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Spain voters are heading to the polls on Sunday in an election that might bring the far right to power for the primary time since Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.
Polls published ahead of the vote projected a conservative win, with the PP (Partido Popular) set to secure about 34% of support — which might not be sufficient to form a majority government.
Some political analysts expect PP to hitch forces with the far right party Vox, which could possibly be the third biggest political force on this election and procure greater than 10% of the votes.
“The most probably final result is a coalition government with PP firmly within the lead and accountable for most key ministries, and Vox because the junior partner,” Federico Santi, senior analyst at Eurasia Group, said in a note Wednesday.
He added that this scenario “can be moderately market-positive, as reflected in Spanish asset prices over the previous few weeks, with a modest outperformance of Spanish equity indices in comparison with European peers, while the sovereign credit spread vis-à-vis Germany has remained broadly stable.”
Not their first time
The conservative party PP and the far right Vox have previously made political agreements to control in three of Spain’s regional authorities and produce other accords in smaller cities.
Nevertheless, their relationship seems more of a forced cohabitation than a natural partnership.
An commercial billboard of far-right wing party VOX is seen vandalised with black paint throughout the elections campaign.
Pablo Blazquez Dominguez | Getty Images News | Getty Images
In a TV debate ahead of the elections, PP leader Alberto Feijóo indicated that he would govern with Vox, if he needed their votes. Members of the conservative party have raised concerns regarding Vox’s anti-LGBT rights and anti-immigration policies.
Vox has also been criticized by mainstream politicians for opposing abortion rights and denying climate change, amongst other measures.
When debating against incumbent socialist leader Pedro Sanchez, Feijóo said that his rival couldn’t lecture other politicians on pacts. Sanchez made agreements with separatist parties to secure a working parliamentary majority.
It is the culture wars
Tacho Rufino, economist on the University of Seville, told CNBC’s Charlotte Reed on Thursday that this election is less about economic than cultural matters — including nationalism, LGBT rights, and climate change.
For his part, Sanchez has been criticized for pardoning politicians supporting regional independence, for example. During his mandate, there have also been issues with the “only yes means yes” sexual consent law, which reduced the serving time for a lot of convicted rapists through a loophole.
The Sunday vote may additionally be impacted by climate change, as that is the primary election to happen throughout the summertime. Spain is one in every of the southern European nations that is been through a major heatwave in recent days.
