Why the Spaniards voted for Vox
The far-right Vox party came third in Spain's most recent parliamentary elections. In elections in April the party gained parliamentary seats for the first time and on Sunday its number of seats doubled to 52. How has Vox, which was only founded in 2013, managed to rise so fast?
The mistakes of the others
Politicians of both big parties have paved the way for Vox's success in Spain, writes political scientist José Ignacio Torreblanca in L'Opinion:
“The election in Spain allows us to make interesting observations about the mistakes committed by the traditional parties. Casado's conservative PP certainly played a crucial role in Vox's rise. When Vox gained popularity last year, rather than isolating it the PP chose to adopt some of its proposals and political rhetoric. ... Pedro Sánchez, the leader of the Socialists and current prime minister, also contributed to Vox's success with his overly flexible position on Catalan separatism.”
Sánchez has given Vox a boost
The prime minister is mainly responsible for Vox's success, Corriere del Ticino comments:
“Sánchez's gamble has led to the victory of the far-right Vox. ... The party led by former representative of the conservatives Santiago Abascal, which was completely under the radar until a year ago, has become the third-strongest party after its success in Andalusia. ... The violent Catalan protests after the sentencing of the separatist leaders have given Vox votes. But so have the absurd exhumation and removal of the mortal remains of dictator Franco from the 'Valley of the Fallen', initiated by Sánchez, as well as the migrant issue (although less important in Spain) and above all the inability of other parties to form a government.”
A historic shift to the right
Commenting on the website of Radio Hromadske Oleh Pavlyuk is alarmed by the increase in votes for the far right:
“The biggest shock of this election was the rise of the far-right Vox party, which was founded in 2013 by former members of the People's Party. In the April 2019 election, Vox unexpectedly took fifth place with 24 seats. Now it has moved up to third place and will have 52 seats in the Spanish Congress. For the first time since 1982, representatives of the far right have secured seats in the Spanish parliament. ... Vox's electoral successes have forced the ideologically close People's Party and Cuidadanos to start using far-right rhetoric, too.”