“Two radical parties from across the political divide in Spain could be in govt....”

“Two radical parties from across the political divide in Spain could be in govt....” | JUANJO MARTIN

Jason MoorePalma24/07/2021 10:01
TW
0

The latest opinion poll in Spain points to a complete sea-change in Spanish politics with a left-wing coalition being replaced by a ring-wing coalition. If elections were held today the Partido Popular would win and they would form a government with the far-right Vox party. At the moment Spanish Socialist Party Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez heads a coalition with the support of the far left, Podemos, political party.

Rather ironic that two radical political parties (Vox and Podemos) from different spectrums of the political divide could be in government. So where has it all gone wrong for Pedro Sanchez? Well it probably wasn´t Covid which dented his popularity but because he opened talks with Catalan nationalists and even pardoned the ringleaders of the failed independence referendum.

This is a hot issue in Spain with many believing that the Catalonian nationalists went too far and deserve to be in jail. The change in political direction in Spain could be just a short-term hiccup for Sanchez and opinion polls have been known to be wrong but Spain´s move to the right could spell trouble for Sanchez as he attempts to fight Covid and its economic impact on Spain.

It could be argued that over Covid he hasn´t done a bad job and was prepared to make unpopular decisions when needed. He probably ended the state of alarm too early but there were important economic factors to take into account. But, a day is a long time in politics.