Spain’s conservative opposition leader said Monday he would be open to striking occasional deals with the far-right Vox party to secure parliamentary support for key legislation if he becomes prime minister.
Much of Europe’s political mainstream has over recent decades maintained a “cordon sanitaire”, a policy of avoiding parliamentary cooperation or coalition agreements with far-right parties.
But the head of Spain’s conservative Popular Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, said that if his party failed to win an outright majority at the next general election, he would “seek agreements for Spain’s governability”, including with Vox.
Advertisement
His comments came after the PP won a snap regional election in the rural western region of Extremadura earlier this month but fell short of an absolute majority, leaving it dependent on Vox to govern.
“Vox is the third party in Extremadura, it has consolidated its position, and it has good national polling. We will see what its position is in the general election,” Feijóo said.
“In any case, our cordon sanitaire is Bildu,” he said, referring to the Basque nationalist party linked historically to the political wing of the now-disbanded armed separatist group ETA.
“It will not be Vox, nor Vox voters,” he added.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s minority coalition government relies on a string of smaller parties including Bildu to pass legislation.
Spain’s next general election is scheduled for 2027. Sánchez, in office since 2018, has repeatedly rejected the conservative opposition’s calls to resign and call an early general election over graft scandals affecting his party and inner circle.
Most polls suggest the PP would win a general election but lack an absolute majority and would need Vox to govern.
