SPANISH REGIONAL POLITICS
Political developments in Spain's autonomous communities, including regional elections, coalition dynamics and the influence of parties like PP, PSOE, Vox and Sumar on regional governance
13 articles
Montero to Moreno: This investiture is a fraud. Stop hiding behind Pedro Sánchez's government
EL PAÍSMontero, a Moreno: “Esta investidura es un fraude. Deje de esconderse detrás del Gobierno de Pedro Sánchez”
Jun 30, 2026, 03:34 PM
During an investiture debate, government spokesperson María Jesús Montero accused regional leader Juanma Moreno of running a fraudulent investiture and hiding behind Pedro Sánchez's government. The far-right spokesperson confirmed he would not back the Popular Party leader, who hoped to seal an agreement before the Thursday vote.
End of the road for the Don Benito-Villanueva de la Serena merger: the two Extremadura towns will stay separate
EL PAÍSPunto y final a la fusión entre Don Benito y Villanueva de la Serena: los dos pueblos extremeños se mantendrán separados
Jun 30, 2026, 11:27 AM
The town of Don Benito has voted to definitively halt the planned merger with neighboring Villanueva de la Serena, meaning the two Extremadura towns will remain separate. The council will instead pursue cooperation between the municipalities through a shared body.
Vox boasts that Llorca's budget will be 'the first in Spain' to explicitly include 'national priority'
EL PAÍSVox se jacta de que los presupuestos de Llorca serán “los primeros en España” que incluyan expresamente la “prioridad nacional”
Jun 29, 2026, 02:48 PM
Spain's far-right Vox boasted that the budget of regional leader Llorca would be the first in Spain to explicitly include the concept of 'national priority'. Vox's spokesman in the Valencian parliament presented amendments, many negotiated with the conservative PP, while the left accused the regional president of serving Vox leader Abascal in order to govern.
The new Catalan PP wants to be the 'big house of the real Catalonia' to propel Feijóo to the Moncloa
EL PAÍSEl nuevo PP catalán quiere ser la “casa grande de la Cataluña real” para impulsar a Feijóo a La Moncloa
Jun 29, 2026, 02:01 PM
Catalonia's revamped People's Party (PP) wants to become the 'big house of the real Catalonia' to help propel leader Feijóo to the Moncloa palace. With its 2023 defeat in mind, the party aims to expand its territorial presence to close the gap with the Socialists in general elections.
Moreno, in his investiture speech: 'There are only two options, an electoral rerun or a legislative pact'
EL PAÍSMoreno, en su discurso de investidura: “Solo hay dos opciones, la repetición electoral o el pacto de legislatura”
Jun 29, 2026, 01:11 PM
In his investiture speech, conservative leader Juanma Moreno said there are only two options: an electoral rerun or a legislative pact. The Popular Party leader stayed silent on immigration and sidestepped the 'national priority' issue, while Vox confirmed it would vote against him.
Marta Higueras's project stirs Madrid politics a year before the municipal elections: 'The problem is thinking in national terms'
EL PAÍSEl proyecto de Marta Higueras agita la política de Madrid a un año de las municipales: “El problema es pensar en clave nacional”
Jun 29, 2026, 11:17 AM
Marta Higueras, former deputy to ex-mayor Manuela Carmena, is shaking up Madrid politics a year before municipal elections with a 'municipalist and independent' project for the 2027 vote. She aims to attract abstaining voters, arguing the problem is thinking in national rather than local terms.
Mañueco accepts Vox's 'national priority' in his investiture and urges avoiding 'self-interested demagoguery'
EL PAÍSMañueco asume la “prioridad nacional” de Vox en su investidura y pide evitar “demagogias interesadas”
Jun 9, 2026, 06:40 PM
Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, the PP leader in Castilla y León, accepted Vox's 'national priority' demands in his investiture and called for avoiding 'self-interested demagoguery'. He was re-elected regional president after winning the votes of his own party's deputies and those of Vox.
PSOE offers to back the PP's Extremadura budget if Guardiola sacks the Vox councillors
EL PAÍSEl PSOE ofrece su apoyo a Guardiola en los presupuestos del PP en Extremadura si cesa a los consejeros de Vox
Jun 9, 2026, 12:01 PM
The PSOE has offered to support the budgets of María Guardiola's PP government in Extremadura if she dismisses the Vox councillors from her cabinet. The regional finance chief and government spokeswoman, Elena Manzano, replied that the people of Extremadura 'already spoke at the ballot box' last December.
If Castilla y León Were a General Election: PP Loses 5 Seats, Vox Gains 6
EL PAÍS¿Y si fuesen generales? El PP perdería cinco escaños en Castilla y León; Vox ganaría seis
Mar 17, 2026, 04:30 AM
A hypothetical projection based on recent regional election results in Castilla y León suggests that if a general election were held there, the PP would lose five seats while Vox would gain six, jumping from one to seven seats. Abascal's party surged five percentage points in the regional vote, making it the key beneficiary in this simulation. The right-wing bloc as a whole would secure 20 of the region's 31 congressional seats.
Junts Tests a New Identity in Manresa
EL PAÍSExperimento Manresa
Mar 17, 2026, 04:30 AM
The Catalan pro-independence party Junts is experimenting in Manresa with a delicate political balancing act: combining its traditional centre-right, law-and-order message inherited from the old Convergència with a new ideological varnish designed to compete against the far right. The exercise reveals internal tensions between the party's conservative roots and its electoral ambitions in a changing political landscape. Whether the two identities can coexist remains the central question of what analysts are calling the "Manresa experiment."
Tearing Apart Social Consensus: The Battle Over Balearic Memory Law
EL PAÍSRomper la concordia
Mar 17, 2026, 04:30 AM
An opinion piece in El País argues that the push to repeal the Balearic Islands' Democratic Memory Law exploits social division and serves the interests of a narrow minority. The author contends that framing the repeal as a matter of social harmony is misleading, amounting to empty political rhetoric. The piece calls out the move as an attack on the historical recognition of victims of Francoism and the Civil War.
Door-to-Door Canvassing: Más Madrid's Bid to Win Back Left-Wing Voters
EL PAÍS“Cara amable, no se miente”: puerta a puerta para reconquistar al votante de izquierda en Madrid
Mar 17, 2026, 04:30 AM
Thirty activists, councillors and MPs from the left-wing party Más Madrid are canvassing the Arganzuela district of the Spanish capital, knocking on doors to listen to residents' concerns. The initiative, closely followed by EL PAÍS, is one of the party's flagship strategies to reconnect with disillusioned left-wing voters in Madrid. The campaign reflects a broader effort by the Spanish left to rebuild grassroots ties in a city long dominated by the conservative Partido Popular.
Andalusia honours the radiology chief it blames for the screening crisis
EL PAÍSLa Junta de Andalucía otorga el mayor galardón de calidad al servicio de radiodiagnóstico al que culpa de la crisis de los cribados
Mar 16, 2026, 04:30 AM
The regional government of Andalusia has awarded its highest quality certification to the radiodiagnostics department whose head, Javier Castell, it simultaneously blames for the collapse of the region's cancer screening programme. The contradiction has drawn sharp attention, as Castell received the "Excellent" quality certificate even as the Andalusian president accused him of bypassing established protocols. The case highlights a deepening institutional controversy over accountability within the regional health system.