The PP will vote in favor of Vox's proposed law to ban the burka in public spaces

BarcelonaThe election results in Aragon and Extremadura have left the People's Party (PP) at the mercy of Vox. The PP is torn between accepting the conditions set by the far right to retain power and trying to drag out negotiations as long as possible, with the specter of a repeat election looming. This dependence on Vox to secure a majority puts the PP in a precarious position and opens up a new possibility. a dilemma within the partywho refuses at all costs to explore any understandings with Pedro Sánchez's PSOE.

In an interview this Sunday in The WorldThe leader of the People's Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has already accepted that, after the next general elections, he will need to reach an understanding with Vox to get to La Moncloa (the Prime Minister's residence), as most polls predict. "I reiterate that we have no red lines for reaching agreements with the third largest party in our country, which is Vox, on whatever specific agreements are necessary. And I reiterate that the only red line the PP has is Bildu, as the party that inherited a terrorist organization," he asserted. This stance reaffirms the PP's alignment with Vox's positions on issues such as immigration and security. Another example will be seen in this week's plenary session of Congress: the PP confirmed this Sunday that it will vote in favor of Santiago Abascal's party's proposed law to ban the burka and niqab (full-face veil) in public spaces. "The PP will approve and support the debate on this in Parliament," stated the PP spokesperson in the Lower House, Esther Muñoz, in a statement released by the party to the media. The debate will be held on Tuesday. It remains to be seen whether the right and far right will have the support of any other groups to move the proposal forward.

Muñoz is one of the PP's most outspoken advocates for a pact with Vox, but some males Regional branches have also hardened their rhetoric to prevent voter losses. The Balearic PP approved a motion two weeks ago urging the Spanish government to ban the full-face veil in public spaces. And, closer to home, the leader of the Catalan PP, Alejandro Fernández, has accused Sánchez of fomenting "xenophobia" with the regularization of half a million migrants agreed upon with Podemos. "She wants to approve a disguised 'papers for everyone' program. Then she shouldn't complain if xenophobia grows in some areas," she said in an interview.The Newspaper This Sunday.

Agreements with Vox don't scare the president of Castile and León and candidate for re-election, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, who opened the door to "coalition governments" and only set one red line that isn't exactly on the far right: he will never make a pact to allow "Sanchismo" to take hold in Castile.

Distanced from Juntos?

Feijóo had flirted with a possible pact with Junts so that Carles Puigdemont's party would choose him instead of Pedro Sánchez, and even went so far as to to propose a pardon for the former president and party leader. He has also played the card of the Catalan employers' association. trying to convince the Ministry of Public Works to pave the way for him with the regional councilorsHowever, his position remains that he will not discuss anything with the separatists that "falls outside the Constitution"—as, in his view, the economic agreement demanded by Junts would imply. The scenario in which the PP leader is operating, therefore, is that of a pact with Abascal: "If 50% or 60% of people say that Pedro Sánchez should leave, the PP and Vox must reach an understanding [...] If the PSOE consolidates its collapse, the PP and the PSOE will consolidate their collapse," he added.

The 'grand coalition' is ruled out

The PSOE has seized upon Feijóo's announcement regarding electoral pacts to once again accuse him of being "in the far-right race" with Vox. This was stated by the spokesperson for the Spanish government and Minister of Social Security, Elma Saiz, contrasting her behavior with that of Sánchez at the Munich Security Conference. At this event, Sánchez rejected nuclear rearmament and the deterrence with this type of weaponry by Europe, which Germany and France are exploring.

The Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, has joined the criticism of the PP leader: "Feijóo is finally speaking clearly and saying the same things as Vox. He wants a black and white Spain. No more 'Caritas' (a reference to a political slogan)," he wrote to X. Bolaños thus evokes what was one of the two [unclear phrases] focused on mobilizing the progressive vote to prevent an agreement between the PP and Vox, whom Feijóo at that time did not yet fully embrace.

On the other side, Sumar fears a conservative shift by the Socialists that would lead them to a grand coalition with the PP, as proposed by former PSOE minister Jordi Sevilla, who has recently become the face of the critics of Ferraz (the PSOE headquarters). According to Yolanda Díaz's party, there has already been a first warning in the vote to approve the law against repeat offenses The proposal, put forward by Junts, saw the Popular Party and the Socialists vote together in favor. However, the PP ruled out on Saturday that this was a first step toward rebuilding relations with the PSOE. "With a president who is absolutely cornered by corruption, with a president and a government that has led our country into an institutional crisis, we have little to talk about," stressed PP Deputy Secretary Carmen Fúnez.