Right-Wing Wave in Spain: "Far-Right Joins Government After Half a Century... Coalition Formation Faces Rough Road" (Comprehensive)

The right-wing also won in the Spanish general election. The trend of the left-wing declining and the right-wing wave spreading, centered on European countries experiencing economic difficulties such as Italy and Greece, was reconfirmed in Spain as well. However, since no party secured a majority of seats in the parliament, political uncertainty due to coalition government negotiations is expected to continue for the time being.

Major foreign media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that political turmoil in Spain is deepening as no party secured a majority of seats in the Spanish general election held on the 23rd (local time). According to the election results (96% of votes counted), the main opposition party, the center-right People's Party, secured the most seats with 136, followed by the center-left ruling party, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, with 122 seats. The far-right Vox and the coalition of 15 left-wing parties, Sumar, followed with 33 and 31 seats respectively.

As the election results became clear, foreign media predicted that Spain's political deadlock would be inevitable for the time being. This is because the People's Party and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party secured only 39% and 34% respectively of the 350 parliamentary seats, making coalition formation unavoidable.

Inside and outside Spain, there is a high expectation that the People's Party will join forces with the far-right party Vox. Although the People's Party has not officially expressed its intention to form a coalition government with Vox, WSJ assessed that the likelihood of the two parties joining hands is gaining weight. After the local elections in May, where the ruling party suffered a crushing defeat, the People's Party and Vox formed coalition agreements in at least 25 cities. Previous pre-election polls also concluded that a coalition between the People's Party and Vox was likely.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

However, the coalition between the People's Party and Vox (169 seats) alone falls short of the majority (175 seats), so difficulties in forming a coalition are expected. The minority party that could become the 'kingmaker' for establishing a right-wing government is Together for Catalonia, which holds 7 seats. This party, led by former Catalonia autonomous government head Carlos Puigdemont, has not yet decided its position.

If the People's Party and Vox form a coalition, it will be the first time in 48 years since the end of Francisco Franco's dictatorship in 1975 that a far-right party participates in the government. Spain, which was oppressed by fascism, had not seen far-right forces like Vox rise since the democratic constitution was enacted in 1978, but the atmosphere has changed in recent years. WSJ reported, "As Spain faces a severe economic crisis due to an increase in illegal immigrants and high inflation, it is joining the ranks of European countries where far-right parties are clearly gaining ground."

Other European countries have already experienced the rise of far-right parties. In Italy, far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was born last year for the first time in 100 years, and in Sweden, the Sweden Democrats, who advocate white supremacy, have become the second-largest party in the parliament, exerting influence. The right-wing wave is spreading mainly in Southern European countries where economic difficulties are severe.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.