Elections in Spain could push another EU member to the right

Spanish voters endured the strong summer heat and went to the polls on Sunday in a general election that could lead to Spain to the list of members of the European Union that turn to the right.

He Ministry of Interior reported that at 2 in the afternoon the turnout was more than 40%, that is, 2.5% higher than in the November 2019 elections.

The president of the government, Pedro Sánchez, called the early elections after the severe setback of his Socialist Party and his far-left partner, United We Can, in the regional and municipal elections in May. Sánchez governs since 2018.

The polls opened at 9 in the morning and the 36 million voters could deposit their ballots until 20:00. There would be almost definitive results around midnight.

Most of the polls for Sunday’s elections showed the conservative as the favorite Popular Party, led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, which was the most voted in May, although it would probably need the support of the group of far-right Vox, led by Santiago Abascal, if he wants to form a government.

That coalition would return a far-right force to Spanish rule for the first time since the country’s democratic transition in the late 1970s following nearly 40 years of dictator Francisco Franco’s rule.

A PP and Vox government would mean that another EU member moves firmly to the righta trend that has already been seen in SwedenFinland and Italy. Countries like Germany and France are concerned about what this shift in immigration and environmental policy could mean of the EU.

The two main Spanish left-wing parties are supporters of European cooperation. On the right, the PP is also in favor of the EU, but Vox is not.

Spain had just started its turn as the presidency of the European Union. Sánchez hoped to use that six-month period to show the progress of his government. A defeat for the Socialists could mean that the PP takes the reins of the European presidency.

Sánchez was the first to vote on Sunday, at a polling station in Madrid.

He later commented on the large number of foreign media covering the elections., and said that “it means that what is going to happen here today is going to be very important, not only for us only, but also for Europe. And I think that also has to make us reflect”.

“I don’t want to say whether I’m optimistic or not either,” he added. “I have good vibes.”

The Socialists and a new movement called Sumar that brings together 15 small left-wing parties for the first time are aiming for an upset victory. Sumar is led by the second vice president of the government, Yolanda Diaz, the only woman among the top four candidates.

Díaz asked that everyone come to vote and recalled that the freedom to do so had not always existed in Spain.

“What we are at stake today is a lot, surely for the people of my generation these are the most important elections,” Díaz commented after voting.

“We are playing to get up tomorrow with more rights, more democracy and more freedom,” he added.

No party is expected to achieve an outright majority, and the alternatives are basically another leftist coalition or an alliance of the right and far right.

Feijóo, the favorite in the polls, pointed out that “it is evident that we are at stake for many things, we are at stake for which model we want, which country (…), have a solid government, have a strong government”.

Abascal, the leader of Vox, said he hoped a large turnout would allow the country to change direction.

The Sánchez government has led Spain through the COVID-19 pandemic and managed an economic slowdown fueled by inflation and exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But his reliance on minority parties to keep his government afloat, including Catalan and Basque separatist formations, and the passage of various progressive laws could cost him his job.

The conservative parties dislike everything about Sánchez, whom they accuse of betraying and ruining Spain. They promise to repeal dozens of their laws, many of which have benefited millions of citizens and thousands of businesses.

Alejandro Bleda, 45, did not say who he had voted for but indicated that he had leaned towards left-wing parties. “The way the polarization is in this country, it’s (…) either 50 years behind or still in progress,” he said.

At stake were “many freedoms, those of many social rights, public health, public education, LGTBI rights,” Bleda said after voting at the Palacio de Valdés public school in central Madrid with his wife and son.

Voters elected 350 deputies to the lower house of Congress and 208 senators.

Carmen Acero, 62, who voted for the Popular Party, compared Sánchez with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and said that he had voted because “continuing with Pedro Sánchez is hell.”

Acero, who carried a Spanish flag on his cell phone, accused Sánchez of being a “murderer” for siding with a small Basque regional party, Bildu, which includes some former members of the now-defunct armed separatist group ETA.

His main concerns, he said, were “the union of Spain, the union of Spain, work, security.”

Voting takes place in the height of summer, when millions of people would likely be far from their usual polling places. But the requests for voting by mail have skyrocketed and the authorities estimate a participation of around 70%.

The government indicated that all polling stations were operating normally and without incident.

After a month of heat waves, a temperature above 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) was expected for the day, between 5°C and 10°C above normal in many parts of the country.