Spain's election: why this voter says only PP and VOX can oust Sánchez

A voter argues that only PP and VOX can oust Sánchez, and that any other right-wing ballot splits the vote and helps the PSOE. The idea that a minority vote is a wasted vote is the core of his thinking.

There is an idea that resurfaces every time an election approaches: that voting for a small party is throwing your vote away. One voter takes it to the extreme and argues that, if you want to remove Sánchez, you only have two real options, **PP** or **VOX**. Any other right-wing ballot, he says, is a vote for the **PSOE** without meaning to be.

## The logic of the strategic vote and its limits

The argument is simple. If the goal is to remove the **PSOE** from government, splitting the vote among many parties only costs seats to the bloc that could govern. That is why he points to **SALF**, **Democracia Nacional**, **Falange** or **Miriam González** as options that, however well liked, will not win a seat and will only make Sánchez stronger.

This is the logic of the strategic vote, which is neither new nor exclusive to the right. It applies in every election and in every bloc. The problem is that it takes for granted something that is not always true: that the voters of those small parties would vote PP or VOX if the parties did not exist. There is no way of knowing.

## What each option offers, according to this voter

The text distinguishes between the two options he considers viable. Voting **PP**, he says, means choosing a calm government focused on management, but one that will not tackle the entrenched issues because nobody wants to upset the neighbour. Voting **VOX**, by contrast, means shaking the tree so that those issues enter the government's agenda.

The **Overton** window is the concept he uses to explain why certain issues stay out of public debate. It is an idea from the nineties that describes the range of policies society accepts as normal. What seems unthinkable today can become defensible tomorrow if someone pushes it.

## The risk of taking the outcome for granted

The voter closes with a warning: Spain is at stake and there are no more chances left. It is a way of speaking that repeats at every election and is best taken with a pinch of salt. Polls fail, seats are distributed unpredictably and no vote is guaranteed until it is counted.

Deciding who to vote for is a personal matter and admits no recipes. What works for one voter may not work for another. Information and one's own judgement matter more than any slogan.