Spain’s far-right party Vox filed a vote of no-confidence against the left-wing government, an attempt to oust Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez that is unlikely to succeed.
(Bloomberg) — Spain’s far-right party Vox filed a vote of no-confidence against the left-wing government, an attempt to oust Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez that is unlikely to succeed.
“This is the worst government in our history,” Santiago Abascal, the leader of Vox, said in a press conference on Monday after registering the motion in parliament. “Critics say this motion doesn’t have enough votes, but what we want is to shed a light on the true nature of this government.”
Vox, whose last no-confidence vote against Sanchez was defeated by a wide-margin in 2020, has proposed Ramon Tamames, 89, an ex-communist politician turned far-right thinker, as a new prime minister.
Even if the vote, for which a date has not been set yet, is very likely to fail, it highlights the polarization of Spanish politics ahead of municipal and regional elections in May and a general vote later this year in which Sanchez is widely expected to run for another term.
Sanchez, who himself rose to power in 2018 after his conservative Popular Party predecessor was ousted in a no-confidence vote, has the backing of a slight majority in parliament made up of regional and leftist parties, which have promised to vote for him to stay in office.
Officials of the Popular Party, the main opposition group that is fighting Vox for control of the right, have said its lawmakers will abstain on the motion.
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