In Spain, if we have long believed in political parties from the Catalan bourgeoisie, such as Ciudadanos, its audience has since weakened. On the other hand, the nationalist party Vox gives him the impression of progress. Juan José Dorado, Spanish journalist and correspondent in France, looks back on this ascent.
franceinfo: Vox, recently was an almost unknown party …
John Joseph Dorado: This far-right party did not actually have any elected officials until recently, whether in town halls, in regional governments or others. And since 2015 it has been progressing, so much so that today, for a few weeks, Vox has entered the regional government of Castile and Leon, one of the largest Spanish autonomies. Today, Vox is the third political force, and not only in Castile and Leon: the extreme right in Spain still weighs 15%. We are far from the figures of France, but indeed, once again, little by little, the far right has arrived, settled down and is starting to grow in Spain as well.
Vox comes from the People’s Party, the Conservatives. How to explain this enthusiasm?
In the past, the Spanish People’s Party was hegemonic, because it brought together in a single party the entire right, from the Christian Democrats or the center right, and up to the far right. And from 2015, part of the popular Right left the Conservative Party and created Vox. Because at that time, we already have the separatist temptations of Catalonia. We had before the Basque Country with the terrorism of ETA, but it is Catalonia that will cement the creation and hegemony of Vox. It is essentially the Catalan question and the question of autonomy. We don’t realize, but Vox has grown everywhere. Today the party is one of the main parties in Andalusia, with 11% of the vote. It is the fourth political force. But since then, we hardly talk about the separatists, who are no longer at the top of the wave. Today, Vox has picked up well-known themes in France: purchasing power, the fight against inequality, which they say are accentuated by the Spanish socialist government which is in coalition with the left-wing radicals of the Podemos.
Will we have to rely on Vox, from now on, to govern Spain?
It is a real possibility, because the party has just entered a regional government for the first time and it is almost certain that to constitute majorities on the right, it will be necessary to reckon with Vox. Ciudadanos, the center-right party, has practically disappeared: there is therefore no longer any central force that can take the country towards social democracy or the Christian democrats. Vox gradually becomes an essential party in the Spain of the years to come.