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The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) won the general elections on Sunday, November 10. The political party led by Pedro Sanchez, however, has lost a bit of ground compared to the results achieved on April 28. The same party went from 124 seats to 120, according to figures published by the government spokesperson Isabel Celaa.
The People's Party (PP) came second, securing 88 seats in the House of Representatives. Overall, the resuls were better than the 66 deputies gleaned almost seven months ago, but still well below the 131 seats won in 2016 under the leadership of Mariano Rajoy.
The two major political parties of the Iberian country thus maintain their leadership in the political scene. However, this leadership has become seriously threatened by the meteoric rise of Vox with its 3.5 million votes.
A real threat for immigrants
In fact, the far-right formation is undoubtedly the real winner of these elections. Vox has managed to double its presence in the House of Representatives, with 52 seats against 24 in April.
The party led by Santiago Abascal has clearly benefited from the violent marches organized by Catalan pro-independence groups in response to the heavy sentences (between 9 and 13 years) pronounced on Monday, October 14, by the Spanish Supreme Court against nine Catalan leaders for «sedition, embezzlement of public funds and disobedience».
The exhumation of Franco's body from his «Martyrs' Valley» mausoleum on October 24 in Madrid also contributed to this spectacular progression of Vox.
Vox’s victory does not bode well for immigrants settled in Spain and especially for the large Moroccan community. Vox has already announced its hostility against migrants during the electoral campaign held Monday, November 4 in Sevilla, by organizing a meeting in front of a reception center for unaccompanied minors, the majority of whom are of Moroccan origin. The far-right party's elected officials are expected to influence Madrid's migration policy in a bad way.
Moreover, Vox's anti-Morocco rhetoric will now be more audible in the House of Representatives, especially if the left bloc led by the PSOE fails to form a so-called «progressive» government. Santiago Abascal and his party have never hidden their hostility towards Rabat, especially on the cases of Ceuta and Melilla and aid to the Kingdom in its fight against illegal immigration.
