MADRID (Reuters) – A far-right lawmaker is set to run the parliament of Spain’s Balearic Island region that includes the prime holiday destinations of Ibiza and Mallorca after a deal with the conservative opposition People’s Party (PP).
The party, Vox, has steadily gained ground since its launch in 2013 and has become the third largest party in the national parliament.
Last year, it entered a coalition to run the regional government in Castille and Leon, marking the first time a far-right party had held a share of power in Spain since the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
Under Tuesday’s agreement, the two parties said they would reframe gender violence as intra-family violence and seek to crack down on illegal migrants arriving on the Mediterranean archipelago after steady increases over the last five years.
The deal is the second struck by the parties to run Spanish regions since local elections were held in Spain in May.
The Socialist Party of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez lost power in many areas in that poll, prompting him to call a snap national election for 23 July so Spaniards could “clarify their wishes”.
Polls indicate the PP will win those elections but is likely to fall short of an absolute majority and will need Vox’s support to form a government, leading to negotiations on strategic alliances.
In Valencia and the Balearics, negotiations between Vox and the PP have concluded quickly. In the southwestern Spanish region of Extremadura, a traditional fiefdom for the Socialists, Vox and the PP have clashed over forming an alliance to oust them because the PP’s candidate has promised voters she would not ally with Vox.
If they fail to reach an agreement, a repeat election could be called in the region in the autumn, as could also happen at national level if one single party fails to win an absolute majority or strike a deal with a coalition partner.
Vox’s policy pledges include that priority should be given to the use of Castillian Spanish over regional languages and a focus on support for “the family as a basic institution”.
In other areas of Spain where it governs or seeks to govern it has called for the installation of giant Spanish flags.
(Reporting by Belén Carreño; Editing by Aislinn Laing and Barbara Lewis)
