Vox puts housing at the heart of its election strategy

Can housing become the battle horse that carries Vox to power?

Santiago Abascal's party has made access to housing the centrepiece of its message, capitalising on the frustration of a generation that cannot leave home. A problem that a decade ago was confined to Madrid and Barcelona is now nationwide: in Soria, rents have already reached 1,000 euros a month, according to sources in public debate. Vox has managed to read the discontent, but its remedies draw scepticism even among its potential voters.

A shared diagnosis: a crisis that keeps getting worse

There is broad agreement that the housing crisis has been entrenched for nearly a decade. The causes are multiple: bureaucracy, taxation, administrative duplication and, for some sectors, migratory pressure. Vox has embraced the latter factor forcefully, proposing to restrict property purchases by non-EU foreigners and limit access to rental assistance. It is a line that clashes with the liberal discourse of other parties, but it resonates with a segment of the electorate that feels housing has become an unattainable good.

The gap between rhetoric and governing

Vox's great pending task is proving it can actually govern on housing. In the Valencian Community, where it governs in coalition with the PP (Spain's conservative People's Party), critics point out that no concrete measures have been taken beyond rhetoric. The party is accused of negotiating minor portfolios –bullfighting and hunting– and leaving heavyweight ministries, such as Housing, in the hands of its partners. This contradiction fuels doubts about whether the party can move from protest to action.

The ghost of Podemos: drifting towards other issues?

Some analysts see parallels with Podemos, which burst onto the scene with housing and evictions as its banner, only to dissolve into feminism, immigration and climate issues. Vox has tried to avoid that fate by refreshing its image: the promotion of Carlos Quero, an academic profile with a less abrasive aesthetic, aims to attract a broader electorate without losing its hardcore base. But it remains to be seen whether the party will keep its focus or be tempted by other crusades.

An ironic closing: For now, Vox has managed to steer public debate where it wants. What it has not achieved is bringing rents down. If the past is prologue, by the next election cycle the party could be talking about something else. Or not. The problem is that, meanwhile, rents are not waiting.