RPT: REVIEW - Sunday's Election Manifests Rise Of Far-Right Forces In Spain's Andalusia

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th December, 2018) Members of the European Parliament expressed their concern to Sputnik over the rising support for the far-right political forces in Spain after the Vox party on Sunday unexpectedly won 12 seats in the Andalusian Parliament.

The success of the far-right party in the election has ended the domination of the leftist Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) in the large Southern region. Many view it as a slap in the face of Spanish Prime Minister and PSOE Secretary-General Pedro Sanchez, who has brushed off his party's setback in the vote and vowed to continue pro-EU policies.

The PSOE has lost 14 seats, falling from 47 to 33 mandates, its worst result in Andalusia in history. The seats obtained by far-left party of Podemos, a PSOE ally, will not suffice to reach the absolute majority of 55 out of 109 seats and thus form a government.

Many say that the reasons behind the leading party's setback in the election have been a failure to reduce unemployment in Andalusia as it currently stands at over 25 percent, according to EU official data.

RISE OF THE 'POPULIST,' IN SPAIN TOO

Vox, founded in 2013, is opposed to illegal immigration and Catalan independence. The party joined the prosecution in the trial of separatists accused of "rebellion" for their role in Catalonia's attempted secession last year. It even wants to suppress the autonomy of the Spanish regions in the name of budget savings and the defense of the unity of Spain and calls for the abolition of the law against sexist violence, believing that it goes too far in "political correctness."

The party has exceeded the polls forecasts which bestowed it at best with five seats. "The Andalusians made history ... and got rid of 36 years of socialist rule," Vox leader Santiago Abascal said, celebrating the triumph of his party.

At the same time, the PP is reportedly mulling forming a coalition with Vox, which was founded by former PP members.

The Socialist head of the region until now, Susana Diaz, has urged mainstream parties to block the far-right and said that she saw Vox's 12 seats as "a very serious threat ... This phenomenon which we have seen in the rest of Europe and the world, has now reached Spain and is entering the Andalusia parliament."

The political secretary of the Vox party has confirmed to Sputnik that the rapid increase in the migrant arrivals had been a determining factor in the party's success at the regional elections.

"Extra-European immigration is a controversial issue that large parties cowardly refuse to consider and yet is one of the most serious facing the continent today. It is at the root of the political earthquake that we live today, being one of the causes of the vote for Brexit, making the National Front [National Rally] alternative government in France possible, bringing to power coalitions unthinkable years ago in Italy or Austria, threatening the Grosse Koalition in Germany or making the Visegrad Group around Poland and Hungary today a headache for Brussels bureaucrats," Eduardo Aguirre said.

Andalusia is an entry point for thousands of migrants who have been reaching Spain by sea in greater numbers as traffic on the other main route across the Mediterranean to Italy has been curbed. The Strait of Gibraltar is very narrow, thus attracting a large number of undocumented migrants seeking to enter Europe.

"In VOX, we are immune to political correctness and the law of silence. We are going to say it clearly and we are going to fight not only the invasion, but also the attacks on our sovereignty because we are aware that our freedom and future are at stake," Aguirre underlined, referring to the impact of the migration crisis on Spain.

Prof. Gilles Lebreton, the head of the delegation of the National Rally (RN) in the European Parliament, also thinks that it is the migration crisis that has played a key role in the success of Vox.

"Clearly, the migratory flood that strikes Spain is the main cause of this electoral breakthrough. The socialist Sanchez government is completely paralyzed when it comes to the issue of illegal African migration. These results further heavily weaken Pedro Sanchez in Madrid. But I do not think we can deduce that the breakthrough of VOX is good news for the Catalan independence parties, because Santiago Abascal, the Vox leader, is their arch-enemy, their nemesis," Lebreton told Sputnik.

POLITICAL REACTIONS IN SPAIN AND EUROPEAN UNION

Even before the publication of the first results, RN President Marine Le Pen has sent her congratulations to Vox, welcoming the party's "significant score."

Lebreton also lauded Vox's victory and expressed hope that the same level of support will grow for the far-right political forces in France.

"This time, we can say that VOX has achieved the electoral breakthrough that I sensed since I went to Madrid in 2017 to meet with its head, Santiago Abascal ... The party does not seem to be cordoned off by the main parties, most of them declining, and that's good news. I hope that the same phenomenon will eventually reach France for the benefit of the RN, which is regularly isolated by all other parties," the member of the European parliament said.

At the same time, Spanish members of the European Parliament from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats of Europe blamed the PSOE and PP for Vox's sudden success.

"The results of the election in Andalusia, with the possible entry of the extreme right of Vox in a coalition government is very bad. But the left has a responsibility in that progress of Vox ... We should not accept governments with participation of extreme right or extreme left forces. The socialist PSOE has a great responsibility for having agreed with xenophobic secessionists," Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea, a member of the European Parliament for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats of Europe, said.

Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Becerra Basterrechea's colleague from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats of Europe, slammed the leading Spanish parties as being responsible for the rise of far-right political forces in the country, long troubled by high unemployment and a constructional crisis.

"After 35 years or rule by the socialists, forces of the right have managed to reach the most important goals of their political action ... The parties responsible are the main parties, PSOE and the PP," Bilbao Barandica underlined.

The EU lawmaker went on to say that Spain's astounding unemployment rate and Madrid's failure to come up with a sustainable development model "play in the hands of parties such as Vox."

Enrique Calven Chambon from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats of Europe also told Sputnik that it is growing unemployment and corruption in Andalusia that has led to the downfall of PSOE.

"The main reason of this socialist hecatomb is the democratic left has abandoned the values of solidarity and unity of the Spanish citizens. People from Andalusia have seen how socialists and Podemos support separatists in Catalonia and the support of the socialists from Spanish government as well. Of course, the high unemployment and the high level of corruption after 36 years in the regional government are other important reasons for the socialist downfall," the member of the European Parliament said.

Calvet Chambon went on to express doubt that the PP and the Citizens party will reach an alliance with Vox despite media speculations.