Spanish far-right set to gain positions for the first time in regional government

This is the only way possible for the centrist PP to form a ruling coalition in Castille and Leon

The region of Castille and Leon (Spain) held its regional election on Sunday, 13 February and the results are in. The far-right party Vox has achieved record numbers at the ballot, making it the third strongest in the country’s largest region.

The winner is the centre-right Popular Party (PP), which grabbed 31 seats at the local parliament, however, this will not be enough to form a sole government. To achieve an absolute majority 41 seats are needed and Vox can add 13 to the mix to push a strongly right-oriented coalition above the threshold.

Pushing into the mainstream of politics

Discontent with rural exodus, failing demographics, bleak economic perspectives have caused many residents of this region to turn to the far-right giving Vox their best performance yet.

Socialists PSOE took 28 seats, with over 99% of the ballot counted.

Far-left party Unidas Podemos lost seats and votes and did not even come close to forming a majority with the ‘España Vacía’ parties (Empty Spain — a reference to the swathes of unpopulated regions in central Spain).

In a victorious speech, Vox leader Santiago Abascal said that to back the PP, his party candidate Juan García-Gallardo would have to be appointed vice president of the regional government.

“Vox has the right and duty to form a government in Castile and Leon,” Abascal told supporters following the election results.

So far, Vox has backed PP-led administrations from the fringes, but if Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, PP leader in Castile and Leon, accepts, it would be the first time Vox would have ministerial positions in a regional executive.

Electoral turnout in the region was 63.4%, only slightly lower than the previous elections in 2019.