General Election: Right-wing extremists are the victors in Spain

Stand: 10:04 clock | Reading time: 2 minutes

SOnce again the Spaniards have to turn their cross for a new parliament this Sunday. And this for the second time this year. Around 37 million voters are called to vote. As this is the fourth vote in four years and the political blockade in Madrid is expected to continue, observers expect a far lower participation than at the end of April. At that time, almost 72 percent of Spaniards had gone to the polls.

According to recent polls, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) of incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will emerge victorious again. However, the Socialists will not come to a viable majority by any means. A coalition with other left forces excludes Sanchez so far. "No chance of ending the blockade," headlined the prestigious newspaper "El Pais" on Saturday.

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Sanchez could not agree on any government formation for months after the last vote. In September King Felipe VI. call another election. The Spaniards seem to be getting tired of the many elections. This shows, for example, the number of postal voters, which has collapsed massively compared to April.

How is this blockage created?

The main reason for the problems of government formation in Spain is the increasing fragmentation of the party landscape. In the past, a bipartisan system was in effect, with either the Socialists or the PP conservative party in power. There were no coalitions.

The PP, which had recently suffered significant losses, is expected to regain Sunday.

As one of the winners, the right-wing populist party Vox is traded, which could even be the third strongest force with twelve to 14 percent. Vox, which builds on the legacy of the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, was drafted into the Spanish parliament for the first time with around ten percent of the vote after the last election.

One of the factors that will significantly influence the vote, according to observers, is the continuing protests of the independence movement in Catalonia. The conservative forces accuse Sanchez of not penetrating hard enough in the breakaway region. To avoid chaos on Election Day, around 8,000 regional police officers and up to 4,500 National Police and Civil Guard forces are expected to provide security.