open image in gallery
Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, addresses supporters outside the party headquarters following Spain’s general election in 2023 (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
However, the momentum of Europe’s far right, coupled with the conflict over Catalan independence reaching a crescendo in 2017, created the perfect conditions for a Spanish far-right party to emerge beyond the confines of the PP. First came the political space, and Vox expanded to fill it – the party itself had existed since 2014, when it was formed by dissatisfied members of the (then ruling) PP.
In the social sphere, two particularities differentiate Spain from its neighbouring countries. These are closely tied to the main ideological channels of the European far right.
The first of these is Spain’s strong pro-European sentiment. Unlike other countries in northern and central Europe, Spain had a hard time joining the European Union, and has benefited greatly from it. According to the latest Eurobarometer, Spain is among the five countries with the highest pro-EU sentiment in the bloc.
Vox, however, has shown somewhat Euro-sceptic attitudes. It opposes the EU and its institutions, but also casts itself as a defender of “European nations and their citizens”. It seeks to “defend the primacy of the [Spanish] Constitution over European law”, and has even flirted with the idea of “Spexit” in the past.
The other peculiarity is migration. Spain has not, until relatively recently, been a destination for many migrants, nor has it suffered the same migratory pressure as other countries.
In the last two decades, Spain has been more of a transit country to reach Europe, especially for migrants from North Africa, meaning immigration has not been a longstanding concern for Spaniards. However, this is changing, and immigration has become one of the main concerns for Spaniards in recent years.
Although research does not highlight immigration as a primary reason for Vox’s electoral support, this may change in the near future. Anti-immigrant political discourse suits the political narrative of far-right parties, as it creates an us-them dynamic that polarises the electorate.
There is little mainstream anti-immigration sentiment in Spain, but the far right is doing its utmost to create it. The difference is that in Spain this sentiment is linked more to questions of security and national identity than labour shortages or economic concerns, as is the case in other countries.
Vox’s current strategy involves distancing and differentiating itself from the PP, which was why it exited all its local government pacts last summer. This means that, in terms of eyeing up a national coalition, neither the PP nor Vox are actively seeking to work with one another.
Each party courts a different electorate. To win an election, the PP will need to woo voters from the ruling centre-left PSOE, meaning it has to keep (or be seen to keep) the far right at arm’s length. Vox, for its part, cannot move too close to the PP’s positions or it will cede votes to them.
This split means both parties have to distance themselves from one another so they can welcome more voters. In this sense, the recent Patriots for Europe summit in Madrid was nothing more than a public presentation for Vox in a space shared with other far-right European entities. It was also a great ceremony for Vox’s leader, Santiago Abascal, to rescue himself from the margins and from dependence on the PP – it grants him his own political life, his own space, and his own partners who already govern other countries.
Spain’s regional parties – which are especially strong in Catalonia and the Basque Country, two of Spain’s wealthiest regions – also hold great power on the national stage. Regional right-wing parties, such as the Catalan nationalist Junts per Catalunya, even include aspects of the extreme right. Its hyper-nationalism makes Junts even more nativist than Vox, and it aspires to have greater influence over decisions on migration and immigration policy in Catalonia.
The Spanish far right is at home among its European counterparts. They share a populist rhetoric and a narrative charged with negative emotions towards the “other”. Their aim is to stoke the electorate’s fears and engender feelings of anxiety and aversion towards anything considered different or strange.
The Spanish and European far right is, above all else, a polarising, emotional right, which uses its fiery rhetoric to generate new divisions in society. Spain’s political and social idiosyncrasies have kept it at bay for now, but there is no telling what the future holds.
Erika Jaráiz Gulías is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Santiago de Compostela.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=67b66c5a575243e992f84d526c79e1cd&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Fspain-vox-far-right-voters-b2697600.html&c=436538171024972193&mkt=de-de
Author :
Publish date : 2025-02-13 04:22:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.