Humphrey CarterPalma26/06/2019 04:01
TW

The writing has been all the wall since Ciudadanos joined a three-way pact in Andalusia with the Partido Popular and far-right party Vox to end decades of socialist rule. Knowing they had perhaps taken a gamble, Ciudadanos were quick to state that they had entered into a pact with the PP but not Vox. Sorry, it did not wash; they were either in the pact or not. Then Spain held a round of general, local, municipal and European elections and Ciudadanos fared quite well. They were in fact secretly hoping to be invited to the top table and form a socialist-liberal coalition government. That did not and will not happen and now, in the wake of Ciudadanos continuing to flirt with Vox, the party is in turmoil.

A senior figure quit the party on Monday over regional deals it has struck with the far right, underscoring tensions across an increasingly fragmented political scene. And France's Macron, who heads the liberal block in the European Union, has warned the Cs that should they continue negotiating with Vox, he will kick the party out of the block.

Vox, which has spoken out against LGTBI rights and wants to scrap legislation protecting women from domestic violence, became the first far-right party with significant representation in parliament since dictator Francisco Franco's death in 1975. The grassroots Cs don’t like it, neither do Europe's liberals, and it could all end in tears.