Spain’s Andalusian conservatives to rule with right-wing populist Vox

The conservative People’s Party (PP) will govern Spain’s most populous autonomous region, Andalusia, together with the far-right Vox after regional lawmakers elected incumbent leader Juanma Moreno as head of a coalition government on Thursday.

Moreno was elected as the new head of a coalition government on the second attempt in parliament in Seville with the 68 votes coming from the PP and Vox, a live broadcast on state TV channel RTVE showed.

Moreno, who had failed in an initial vote on Tuesday, secured Vox’s votes by accepting its anti-immigration demands, newspapers El Pais, La Vanguardia and El Mundo reported.

This makes Andalusia the fourth Spanish region after Extremadura, Aragon and Castile and Leon in which the PP governs together with Vox.

Different interpretation of Vox demand

Vox promotes its anti-immigration demands under a “national priority” slogan, which calls for Spaniards to be given precedence over foreigners in access to social benefits, jobs, social housing and other services.

The PP accepted this wording, as it had previously in other regional coalitions with Vox, according to media reports.

To avoid conflicts with the constitution and EU law, however, the PP interprets “national priority” not as privileging nationality but as rootedness in the territory. Under that interpretation, people who have lived longer in a municipality and contributed more economically would enjoy greater claims to certain benefits and services, a criterion that in practice is more likely to favour Spaniards than recent migrants.

In the Andalusian election on May 17, the PP lost its previous absolute majority. Under its lead candidate Moreno, it won 53 seats and Vox 15. The absolute majority is 55, which is why Moreno depended on Vox’s votes.