The president of Spain’s far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, in Madrid, July 19, 2023. JAVIER SORIANO / AFP
As summer heat engulfs much of the kingdom and many Spaniards are on holiday, nearly 37.5 million voters are due to go to the polls on Sunday July 23 to choose their deputies and senators.
The date was set unexpectedly by left-wing government leader Socialist (PSOE) Pedro Sanchez after his party’s defeat in local elections on May 28. If there are fears that it will have a negative impact on voter turnout, more than 2.5 million people (+ 160% compared to the last polls in 2019) have already voted by mail to avoid having to stay in their community or return.
This record shows the interest of the Spaniards in these early general elections, which could put an end to the left-wing coalition led by Pedro Sanchez, in power since 2018, and could ensure that Vox, the far-right party, comes to power in a coalition with the Popular Party (PP, conservative), as is already happening in many cities and several autonomous regions, from Castilla y León to the Valencian Community via Extremadura.
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After bipartisanship exploded in 2014 with the emergence of new formations – Podemos on the far left, Ciudadanos in the center and Vox on the far right – the Spanish political spectrum has reconfigured and is now faced with two antagonistic blocs.
From left to right: the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, the President of the Spanish Parliament, Meritxell Batet, the Prime Minister and Socialist Party candidate Pedro Sanchez, the First Secretary of the CPS, Salvador Illa, and the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sanchez, during a meeting on July 16, 2023 in Barcelona. PAU BARRENA v AFP
The PSOE, led by Pedro Sanchez, 51, wants the Union of the Left to win, lying to the opinion polls, which are more likely to lose (28%). This time his coalition partner would not be Podemos, a party with whom relations have often been difficult and which collapsed in local elections, but Sumar (“Add”). This movement, which aims to reduce divisions, was launched by popular Labor Secretary, former communist activist and labor lawyer Yolanda Diaz, 52. It brings together about fifteen parties from the alternative and regionalist left.
A consolidated territorial presence
On the right, the PP, led by former President of the Region of Galicia (2009-2022), Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, is the favorite with 35% of voting intentions according to the latest polls. The 61-year-old former senior civil servant is expected to win all the votes from the liberal Ciudadanos party, which has declined to run after its recent defeat in local elections. He does not rule out a coalition with Vox if the party is crucial for him to secure his majority in parliament, although he constantly asks voters to give him a large majority that would allow him to forego the far right.
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