Elections in Spain: right-wing populists on the rise

Dhe right-wing populist Marta Fernández was known for her radical slogans on Instagram and Twitter. But suddenly the members of the Spanish Vox party were uncomfortable with their steep theses. When the backbencher made a career leap in June and became chair of the regional parliament in Aragon, she frantically tried to delete more than 3,000 posts. But the radical past could not be erased. Her messages had been read and saved by too many.

Vox is on the rise in Spain. The right-wing populists have been involved in more than 140 town halls and three regional governments since the local and regional elections – and perhaps soon throughout the country. On Sunday Spain will elect a new parliament and virtually all polls predict a victory for the conservative People’s Party (PP): It has the best chance of becoming the strongest party – but it will probably not be strong enough to replace Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s ruling Socialists on its own.

Alberto Nuñez Feijóo insists he doesn’t want Vox to help him. But when it comes to power, his PP has not hesitated to work with the right-wing populists – as in Aragon. More and more parliaments and governments are already showing who Vox really is.

Feminists as hate figures

For the new parliamentary leader in Aragón, Prime Minister Sánchez is a “communist dictator” who is handing Spain over to an “invasion” of illegal migrants. Marta Fernández doesn’t want to know anything about climate change, and she doesn’t believe in vaccination either. “China created Covid on purpose and intentionally,” she wrote during the pandemic. At the time, she also ironically recommended washing one’s hands at least regularly: “Because the government and the media are doing brainwashing.”

Above all, she is targeting the Equal Opportunities Minister Irene Montero. “Gender-based violence does not exist,” tweeted the MP from Zaragoza, referring to her hate figure: The Podemos politician, she wrote bluntly and contemptuously, only knew how to “kneel down to get ahead”. The feminists are “the granddaughters of the Christians who drove the Moors off the peninsula so you can walk the streets with your tits hanging out.”

In Palma de Mallorca, the conservative PP made right-wing populist Gabriel Le Senne chairman of the Balearic regional parliament. The lawyer previously made a name for himself on the islands as a Catholic ultra-conservative. The Vox parliamentary group thanked them and in return abstained in the regional parliament: PP regional president Marga Prohens, who does not have her own majority, came into office.

Vox politician thinks democracy is ‘degenerate’

“Women are more aggressive because they don’t have a penis,” Le Senne said in a discussion of gender-based violence. In a tweet, the Vox politician praised dictator Franco for “saving Spain from communism” while deeming the current democracy “degenerate”. The left is concerned about deer and wolves, but not the native Spaniards, who are threatened with extinction.