Humphrey CarterPalma11/01/2019 18:06
TW

The deal has been done. A coalition of right-wing parties will rule Spain’s most populous region, Andalusia, for the first time in 36 years under a deal with the far right. The conservative Partido Popular will rule along with the centre-right Ciudadanos.

Vox, an anti-immigrant party which won seats in Andalusia last year, will not be part of the new government but has agreed to support the coalition, and this has by no means eased the concerns of Spain at large with local elections on the horizon.

Ciudadanos have done their best to wriggle out of bed with VOX by claiming that they backed the PP and not VOX, but that has failed to wash with most people because, at the end of the day they signed up to the tri-party deal.

VOX has been vocal on two main points, immigration - the party wants mass deportations - but probably the most potentially conflictive of all is its stance on women’s rights. VOX has attacked extreme or militant feminism and argues that domestic violence laws favour women. In response, or as some form of justification, the PP have waffled through these claims with little solid argument while women’s rights groups and women in general have already taken to the streets in protest because VOX could become a political kingmaker.