Alonso Fernandez Mañueco, the incoming regional president from the conservative Partido Popular (PP), announced the agreement on Twitter just before the new regional parliament was assembled for its first session. The PP won just over a third of the votes in an election in February, meaning it had to seek a coalition partner.
Fernandez Mañueco promised "a stable and solid government with full respect for constitutional order" and the region's autonomy statute.
Vox regional leader Juan Garcia-Gallardo called the coalition deal "sensible.. without winners or losers". He added in a Twitter meassage, "Let us all work together, with a willingness for dialogue and agreement, to achieve a legislature that benefits citizens".
Vox was launched in 2014 and is now the third largest party in the national parliament, cutting into the PP's vote share. The PP is the country's leading opposition party and has traditionally alternated power with the currently ruling Socialists, but seen its support eroded by corruption scandals.
Vox campaigns to repeal a law banning Franco-era symbols and legislation inspired by feminism.
It also seeks to end Spain's quasi-federal organisation, whereby the regions independently administer key policies such as health and education, and wants to return Spain to the centralist form of government that existed during the dictatorship.
Fernandez Mañueco's words about respecting Castile and Leon's autonomous status apparently sought to fend off any attempt by VOX to dilute that.
Vox's ascent to regional governance is another gain for the far right in Europe, which has extended support in France, Italy and Portugal. It could foreshadow another rise in support in Andalusia, Spain's most populous region, which will hold elections in the coming months.
The last time the far right held power in Spain was through the 1937 merging of the Falange Fascists with other traditionalist factions into a single-party system that lasted until Francisco Franco's death in 1975.
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Zoltan, I suppose your ideal government would have Communists in power. Your opinion of Franco is laughable, biased and one sided. You shouldn’t take Paul Preston’s , a socialist, opinión as a given. Read about Largo Caballero and his atrocities and those of the republicans in Menorca
That is the trouble with all extremists, Zoltan, be careful you do not become one.
James - Vox are Franco apologists. Remember him? Someone who murdered tens of thousands of his own people. One of Hitler's allies. He makes Putin look like an angel. They are 100% a far right party. As for socialist countries - all those Scandanavian countries with left wing governments don't seem to be doing too bad. They have the highest standard of living in the world.
MDB your hilarious! VOX are not far right. They are right wing. If you think there far right, then we now have a far left government. You fake journalists need to scrub up on your politics. You should also be none bias. You make out that it's a bad thing. Sometimes change is good and in times like these give someone else ago. Maybe you should be asking more important questions, as to why people are voting this way??? I would say that socialists are full of bulls##the and it sounds great on paper, but it achieves nothing and the people that vote for them suffer the most!! Socialism is a Jedi mind trick to brainwash. Nobody does any better out of socialism!! You only have to look at the history books.
Nothing good will come from having fascists in power.