The extreme right is consolidated in Spanish politics

USPA NEWS - Castilla y León is the largest Spanish region. It is made up of eight provinces, in which regional elections were held this Sunday, February 13. Early elections that, for analysts, were going to be a reflection of what may happen in the next legislative elections to be held in Spain at the end of 2023. And what the polls almost revealed was a technical tie between the conservative Popular Party and the Socialist Party, and a significant advance of the extreme right represented by Vox. The ultra-conservative party has in its hands the formation of a government.

In Castilla y León, the conservative Popular Party governed with the support of the centrist Ciudadanos. They had not won the 2019 regional elections, but the result of those elections was – like now – so close that the coalition between conservatives and centrists gave them the government. But the coalition entered into crisis and the Popular Party called early elections, hoping to obtain a sufficient majority to govern alone. Things have not turned out as expected by the Conservatives, who did win the elections this Sunday but will need the support of the extreme right to govern.

The Popular Party won 31 seats in the regional Parliament, two more than in 2019. It was ten seats short of the absolute majority. The Socialist Party won 28 seats, seven less than in the previous regional elections. The third most voted force was the ultra-conservative Vox, with 13 seats, 12 more than in 2019. Conservatives and Socialists lost votes, while the extreme right won them. Another nine seats were shared between three small regionalist parties, the centrist Ciudadanos and the far-left coalition Podemos.

The participation in the elections was 63.43 percent, two points less than in the previous regional elections. Just over two million citizens were called to the polls, but only 1,212,441 people exercised their right to vote. A certain tiredness of citizens with politics is noticeable, according to some analysts, who consider that the tightness of the electoral results and the advance of the extreme right can be repeated in next year's legislative elections.