Politics

Spain’s far-right enters regional gov’t for 1st time

Madrid, Mar 10 (EFE).- Spain’s ascendant far-right Vox party is to form part of a regional government for the first time after striking a deal with the conservative Popular Party Thursday.

The PP will lead the coalition in Castile and Leon, an expansive but relatively sparsely populated region north of Madrid that has been a stronghold for conservative politics for 35 years.

With the deal, Castile and Leon became a bellwether of the shifting political sands in Spain after Vox boosted its seat share in the regional chamber from just one to 13 in last month’s snap election.

The PP, recovering from vicious in-fighting that culminated in a leadership change, previously limited its cooperation with the populist Vox to supply-and-confidence deals, which function in the regional chambers of Madrid, Murcia and Andalusia as well as a number of city halls.

Spain’s Socialist Party (PSOE), which leads the national government but sits in the opposition in Castile and Leon, warned the PP’s presumed next leader Núñez Feijóo — current leader of the Galicia region — against what it termed a “shameful coalition” with Vox.

Vox’s first outing as a regional coalition partner in Spain comes as the more moderate center-right Ciudadanos party, the PP’s previous partner in Castile and Leon, tumbles in the polls.

Spain’s next general election is slated to take place no later than December 2023. EFE

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