Spain's far right has yet to arrive, but it will
An analysis argues Vox represents the classic right and that a true far right could emerge after absorbing the PP. Key points in a debate shaking Spain's center right.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The thesis that Vox is simply the right and that a far right has yet to arrive is a political hypothesis, not an established fact. What is verifiable is that the PP has shifted toward the center and that Vox has occupied the space to its right since its founding in 2013.
The idea that the far right has not yet arrived in Spain circulates with some insistence in political circles. It holds that Vox is nothing more than the classic right, the one the PP abandoned more than two decades ago, and that a genuine far right would appear later, once Vox absorbs whatever remains useful of the Popular Party. It is a hypothesis. Not a fact.
## What Vox and the PP are today
Vox was founded in **2013** by dissidents from the PP. Its discourse combines border defense, criticism of the welfare system, warnings about the state of the public pension system, and rejection of the Agenda 2030. In the general election of **November 2019** it won **52 seats** in Congress, its best result to date. In the **July 2023** election it fell to **33 seats**.
The PP, for its part, has governed with policies its critics describe as continuing the PSOE's line on social and European matters. That perception fuels the thesis that the hard right's space is vacant and that Vox occupies it without technically being far right.
## The absorption hypothesis and the PSOE's shift
The argument holds that Vox will eventually absorb the PP and that only then, with a strengthened right, could it harden its policies to the point of far right. It is compared with what peine to the PSOE, which gradually adopted radical left positions until making them its own. It is a debatable analogy: parties change their skin, but not always in the expected direction.
## Why the label matters less than the votes
Calling Vox far right or simply right wing does not change its parliamentary arithmetic. In **2023** it won **3.1 million votes**. The label serves to mobilize or to alarm, as the case may be. What matters is what it does with that support when it governs in coalition with the PP in regions such as **Madrid** or **Andalusia**, where it has shaped immigration and social spending policies.
The debate over whether the far right has arrived or is yet to come is, at bottom, a debate about the future of Spain's center right. And certainties are scarce there.
The idea that the far right has not yet arrived in Spain circulates with some insistence in political circles. It holds that Vox is nothing more than the classic right, the one the PP abandoned more than two decades ago, and that a genuine far right would appear later, once Vox absorbs whatever remains useful of the Popular Party. It is a hypothesis. Not a fact.
## What Vox and the PP are today
Vox was founded in **2013** by dissidents from the PP. Its discourse combines border defense, criticism of the welfare system, warnings about the state of the public pension system, and rejection of the Agenda 2030. In the general election of **November 2019** it won **52 seats** in Congress, its best result to date. In the **July 2023** election it fell to **33 seats**.
The PP, for its part, has governed with policies its critics describe as continuing the PSOE's line on social and European matters. That perception fuels the thesis that the hard right's space is vacant and that Vox occupies it without technically being far right.
## The absorption hypothesis and the PSOE's shift
The argument holds that Vox will eventually absorb the PP and that only then, with a strengthened right, could it harden its policies to the point of far right. It is compared with what peine to the PSOE, which gradually adopted radical left positions until making them its own. It is a debatable analogy: parties change their skin, but not always in the expected direction.
## Why the label matters less than the votes
Calling Vox far right or simply right wing does not change its parliamentary arithmetic. In **2023** it won **3.1 million votes**. The label serves to mobilize or to alarm, as the case may be. What matters is what it does with that support when it governs in coalition with the PP in regions such as **Madrid** or **Andalusia**, where it has shaped immigration and social spending policies.
The debate over whether the far right has arrived or is yet to come is, at bottom, a debate about the future of Spain's center right. And certainties are scarce there.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (3 replies).
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