Spain's governing Socialist Party won the general election on Sunday but fell short of an overall majority, while the far-right Vox party secured seats in parliament for the first time since the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. With nearly all ballots counted, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Socialists captured 29% of the vote, winning 122 seats in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies. They will now need the backing of smaller parties to form a government.
The far-right Vox party, led by Santiago Abascal, won 10% of the vote and will have 24 seats. Its success came largely at the expense of the once-dominant conservative Popular Party (PP), which fell to 66 seats from 137 in the previous election. The centre-right Citizens party increased its seats from 32 to 57, while the far-left Podemos party also made gains.
Speaking to supporters from the balcony of the party's headquarters in Madrid, Sánchez declared victory, saying, 'The Socialists have won the general election and with it the future has won and the past has lost.' He hinted at a preference for a left-wing alliance but also warned Catalan separatists that any post-electoral pact must respect the country's 1978 constitution, which bans regions from seceding.
The surge in support for Vox marks a significant shift in Spanish politics, where the far-right has been marginalised for four decades since Franco's death. Abascal, referencing the 15th-century Reconquista, said, 'We told you that we were going to begin a reconquering of Spain and that's what we have done.' The results raise the prospect of further political instability, with Sánchez needing to navigate alliances with hostile rivals amid ongoing tensions over Catalonia's independence bid.
