Spain's conservatives forced to rely on far-right Vox party after losing majority in Andalucia

"Spain's conservative People's party (PP) won Sunday's Andalucian regional election, but lost its absolute majority, leaving it dependent on the support or abstention of the far-right Vox party to form a new government. After the poll in Spain's most populous region which will serve as a barometer of wider electoral opinion ahead of next year's general election the socialists slumped to an all-time low and Vox picked up one additional seat."

"The PP took 53 seats in the 109-seat regional parliament, leaving them two seats short of an absolute majority and five down on the 58 they won at the last election in 2022. The Spanish Socialist Workers' party (PSOE), which is led nationally by the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, dropped from 30 seats to 28, while Vox climbed from 14 seats to 15. The leftwing Adelante Andalucia party climbed from two seats to six, and the leftist coalition Por Andalucia held on to the five seats in won four years ago."

"Sunday's results mean that the regional PP leader, Juan Manuel Juanma Moreno, will have to negotiate his return to office with Vox something he was keen to avoid during the campaign. I'm going to try to govern alone and I'll work as hard as possible to so there are no constraints or conditions from Vox, he told Cadena Ser radio last week. I've said very clearly that I have no interest in governing with Vox. None at all."

"Moreno has criticised the far-right party's so-called national priority policy, which would favour Spaniards over foreign-born people when it comes to housing and benefits. Although Moreno dismissed it as an empty slogan, Vox has made the policy a key part of the coalition agreements it has recently reentered with the PP in regions such as Extremadura and Aragon."

The People’s Party (PP) won the Andalucian regional election but fell two seats short of an absolute majority in the 109-seat parliament. The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) dropped to 28 seats, reaching an all-time low, while Vox increased to 15 seats. The leftwing Adelante Andalucia rose to six seats, and Por Andalucia kept five seats. With no absolute majority, PP regional leader Juan Manuel Juanma Moreno must negotiate with Vox or rely on Vox abstention to return to office. Moreno had said he wanted to govern without Vox and criticized Vox’s national priority policy, which would prioritize Spaniards over foreign-born people for housing and benefits.

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