The Socialist party suffered a historic loss in yesterday’s regional elections in Andalusia, with the conservative Popular Party (PP) winning 53 out of 109 seats, leaving right-wing populist party Vox – who took 15 seats – in a key position in local government formation.
While the PP took the largest share of the vote, it lost its majority in the regional parliament, down from 58 in 2022, while Vox gained an extra seat, up from 14 in the 2022 election. Regional leader Juanma Moreno of the PP, who had campaigned on the promise of a government without Vox, acknowledged that his party had “fallen short”.
Moreno had been confident of an absolute majority before the election, seeking to distance the PP from Vox who had campaigned for Spaniards to receive priority over foreign-born residents for housing and public services. However, that majority did not materialise.
The Socialist Party (PSOE), who held Andalusia until 2018 when the region saw a surge of support for Vox, shed two seats in Sunday’s election to hold 28 – the party’s worst-ever showing. However, another left-wing regionalist party Adelante Andalucia jumped from 2 seats to 8 , and the leftist alliance Por Andalucia kept its 5 seats.
“The result makes Vox a potential kingmaker,” Euronews reported, The PP has previously formed coalition governments with Vox in Extremadura, Aragon and Castile and Leon. It has not ruled out collaboration at the national level if the next general election, expected to be held next year, also does not give it a majority.
Manuel Gavira, Vox’s leader in Andalusia, said that “many voters have made clear what they want — and what they want is the ‘national priority’ policy.”
The results of the regional poll in Spain’s most populous region are widely considered a barometer for the national elections next year, particularly in relation to the potential pact between PP and Vox.
The drubbing received by the Socialists was not prevented by the efforts of Jesús Montero who had previously served as Spain’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance under current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Montero had urged voters to prevent Vox gaining in Sunday’s elections in Andalusia.
The results are ominous for PSOE who have become unpopular with many voters ‘over corruption allegations, his political alliances and an open-door immigration policy’ – with healthcare also a major issue and cost of living woes. Vox has been sharply critical of the Socialist’s announcement of an amnesty to give at least 500,000 illegal immigrants the chance to gain residency.