Revolution in Spain's centre-right opposition
Following a corruption scandal in Spain's Murcia Region the liberal Ciudadanos party withdrew from its coalition with the conservative People's Party (PP) there and, together with the Socialists, called for a vote of no confidence. The leader of Madrid's regional government, Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP), then also withdrew from the coalition and called a snap election. What effect will this reshuffling of the cards have on Spanish politics?
A completely new phase
The fragmentation of the party spectrum offers an opportunity but also carries major risks, warns El País:
“The high-profile action of Ayuso and her likely alignment with Vox poses a threat to the PP's status as the ruling party, responsible for creating consensual policies and reforms in a country marked by turbulence over its system of government and territorial configuration. The earthquake of March 10 catapults Spanish politics from a geological era of petrification directly into a gaseous state. There is a new opportunity for dialogue, but also an enormous risk that a defeat for Ciudadanos in highly polarised Madrid will lead to a new form of even more radically opposed blocs than the current one.”
A new pact on the right?
eldiario.es also fears that the move could lead to an alliance between conservatives and the far right:
“Ciudadanos leader Inés Arrimadas has given the board such a shake-up that now the pieces must be picked up from the floor. Which ones? It's too early to tell. ... Arrimada's decision breaks up the conservative bloc [consisting of the People's Party, the liberals and the far right] and ties Ayuso's future to that of Vox. This doesn't appear to bother Ayuso that much, but it torpedoes the plans of [the national leader of the PP] Pablo Casado, who was trying to distance the party from the far-right.”