ARCHIVED - Another hung parliament in Spain as far-right wingers make strong gains

Ultra-right wing party Vox tops the list in the Murcia results

The second general election in Spain in 2019 produced another inconclusive result on Sunday, with no single party or obvious alliance winning enough seats on Congress to form a majority government without reaching agreements with other parliamentary groups and the most notable change being the strengthening of the far-right wing party Vox, as voters returned to the polling stations for the second time in under seven months.

The socialist PSOE party was again the winner in terms of attracting most votes and winning most seats, and although their support dropped by almost 800,000 the number of seats they hold fell by just three to 120 out of the 350 in Congress (partly due to the turnout dropping from 75.75 per cent to just under 70 per cent). The main beneficiaries of the second election were the PSOE’s traditional rival the PP, winning 88 seats as opposed to 66 in April, and the ultra-right wing group Vox, whose representation rose sharply from 24 earlier in the year to 52.

The rise of Vox is being attributed largely to the failure of the PSOE (and, previously, the PP) to put an end to the civil unrest in Catalunya, where protests are still going on following the long prison sentences handed to separatist leaders in October, while there is also a sense that the gridlock among more moderate parties which has led to them being unable to agree among each other and form a government is testing the patience of the electorate.

On the other hand, the two parties which burst onto the Spanish political scene earlier this decade suffered significant losses on Sunday. Ciudadanos, originally formed to occupy the centre of the political spectrum but seemingly indecisive over which direction to take during the last year, saw their support drop from over 4.1 million in April to just 1.6 million on Sunday and will now be represented by only 10 MPs rather than the 57 who have sat in parliament for the last seven months, while the left-wing group Unidas Podemos lost 7 and now have 35. Más País, a breakaway group from Unidas Podemos, took only 3 seats.

The ascent of Vox has been particularly significant in certain regions of Spain, among them Murcia, where the far-right newcomers were the most voted-for party in 16 of the 45 municipalities, including six of the ten largest in terms of population (Cartagena, Molina de Segura, Alcantarilla, Torre Pacheco, Cieza and San Javier) as well as Fuente Álamo, Totana, Alhama de Murcia and Mazarrón. The PSOE topped the voting in 15 municipalities including Lorca, Águilas and Jumilla, while the PP won in the other 14, among them Murcia, Fortuna and Yecla.

As a result, the 10 MPs from the Region of Murcia who will be taking their sears in Congress will be representing Vox (3), the PP (3), the PSOE (3) and Unidas Podemos (1), with Ciudadanos losing their two representatives after their vote in the Region fell from 150,000 to 53,000.

The big question now, though, is whether a workable government can be formed on the back of the results on Sunday. Despite the strong showing by Vox a right-wing alliance with the PP looks unlikely to command a majority, partly because of the virtual disappearance of Ciudadanos, leaving the most probable option being for the PSOE to collaborate with Unidas Podemos and certain other minority groups, including regional parties.

However, that possibility failed to materialize after the election in April, when the numbers were more favourable, and of it is to prove successful now it will probably be due to the parties involved suspecting that to go to the polls for a third time would not only weaken their credibility but would also open the door to potential further gains for Vox.

Image 1: Pedro Sánchez of the PSOE addresses supporters

Image 2: Santiago Abascal, the leader of the Vox party, salutes supporters after the election results became clear on Sunday night

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