Rise of the far-right: what’s behind the popularity of Vox in Spain?

Europe needs to fight an “Islamist invasion”, “climatic terrorism” and “woke ideology”, said the leader of Vox, Spain’s fastest-growing political party, at a Patriots for Europe rally this week.

The “enthusiastic reception” for Santiago Abascal from his supporters “reflects a national trend” that Vox is “on the march”, said The Times.

Who are Vox?

Vox – Latin for voice – is Spain’s party of the populist-nationalist right. It “initially grew” out of “alarm that Catalonia’s drive for independence would break up Spain”, said The Economist and “as that threat has receded”, it has turned to illegal immigration and “waging a culture war against feminism, trans and animal rights”.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

It’s currently the third-largest party in the nation’s parliament: at the last general election, in 2023, it won 12.4% of the national vote, giving it 33 seats in the 350-seat house.

In 2020, the party’s outspoken leader told the socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, that he was “the worst in the past 80 years”, which implied that even Francisco Franco’s government was better. When people demanded an apology, he doubled down, saying: “Fine, make it 800 years.”

Abascal wants to reclaim Spain’s history, and told the Wall Street Journal that the nation has “been ashamed of its past” for too long. He added that this was “absurd” because “our history is full of moments we should be proud of”, going on to cite the Moors being driven out of Spain, and the colonisation of the New World.

Why is Vox becoming more popular?

The party is “doggedly focused on immigration”, said the Wall Street Journal, which puts it “outside the bounds of the political mainstream, whose parties are too squeamish to address the subject head-on”.

Corruption scandals “rocking” the governing Socialist Party have been “celebrated” by Vox, said Politico. Abascal said the government is “a pool of corruption, a stinking swamp, a mafia group and a gang of criminals”. When the People’s Party (PP), refused to present a no-confidence motion against Sánchez, Abascal suggested that Spain’s mainstream political groups collude with one another.

Vox has “benefited from the PP’s flaws” because although its leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, was a “successful regional president of Galicia” he has “struggled to make his mark on the national stage”, said The Economist. Vox also capitalised on the “catastrophic mismanagement” of floods and mudslides in Valencia last year, sending volunteers to “stricken towns” under the “catchy slogan” of “only the people will save the people”.

So can Vox take power?

Spain’s younger citizens, who are “disillusioned with politics as usual”, are “increasingly drawn” to Vox, said the Wall Street Journal, noting a poll showed that 27.9% of 18- to 24-year-olds, and 26% of those aged 25 to 34 say they will vote for the party at the next election.

However, the party’s “international alignments could hurt it”, said The Economist, because its support for Donald Trump “may backfire on Vox if American tariffs hurt Spanish exports”. It’s “hard to see it displacing the PP, which retains deep roots in many of Spain’s regions”.