Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) The Greens have hailed the outcome of Spain’s elections, saying fears of big wins for populists proved unfounded.
In Sunday’s poll, the conservative Popular Party (PP) won the most seats (136), but have failed to gain an outright majority in parliament.
The Socialist Party came second with 122 seats, faring better than most observers had expected, while the left-wing Sumar won 31 seats.
This is according to 99.7% of the votes that have been counted so far.
The European Greens Party said that, “thanks to the mobilisation of progressives and Greens, the threat of the Partido Popular (affiliated to the European People’s Party) forming a government with the far-right party Vox was averted.”
“This is also very good news at European level.”
A Greens statement read, “The leader of the Partido Popular (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, wanted to oust the progressive Sanchez government. Feijóo did not rule out governing with the Francoist and far-right party Vox, as the PP already does in the regional governments of Castilla y León, Valencia and Extremadura.
“Thanks to the mobilisation of the Spanish people, a far-right Spanish government is not possible, as the PP and Vox do not have a majority in parliament.
In a joint statement, Mélanie Vogel and Thomas Waitz, Co-Chairs of the European Green Party, said, “Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE), and Yolanda Diaz (Sumar), second Vice-prime Minister of the government, have been rewarded by the Spanish people for the last 3,5 years of progressive government.
“In fact, the biggest loser on election night was an opposition party, the far-right Vox, which lost 19 seats. On the other side, Sumar, the alliance of the Greens and Progressives, received the votes of 3,014,006 Spaniards, giving it 31 seats and making it the fourth political force in Spain, a great political success”.
The European Green Party (EGP) said it warned last week that a “far-right Spanish government could have strengthened the bloc of governments opposed to climate action and social rights in the European Council.”
The statement added, “Spain saying ‘no’ to a conservative and extreme right government is particularly good news at European level, especially at a time when constructive climate and social measures are needed.
“The Spanish election shows that the alliance of the right and the far right can be defeated by progressive, Green and feminist alternatives, both in Spain and across Europe. Despite the lies and misinformation of the conservatives and the far right, in the last two major European events, the vote on the nature restoration law and the Spanish campaign, the alliance of the worst failed.
“Yolanda Diaz said in her victory speech that there were many people in Spain who were worried, and that they would sleep better now that democracy had won. This is true for Spain, but also for Europe.
“his news shows that a progressive vision can trump a regressive one and that the unholy alliance between right-wing parties and the far right can and will be defeated – and the European Greens are determined to show this again in the 2024 EU elections,” Vogel and Waitz concluded.
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