Spain’s right-wing opposition leader said on Monday that he would be willing to reach occasional agreements with the far-right Vox party to secure parliamentary backing for major legislation if he were to become prime minister.
For decades, much of Europe’s political mainstream has adhered to a so-called ‘cordon sanitaire’, an informal rule that excludes far-right parties from parliamentary cooperation or coalition arrangements.
However, Alberto Núñez Feijóo (main image), leader of Spain’s People’s Party (PP), said that if his party failed to secure an outright majority in the next general election, he would ‘seek agreements for Spain’s governability’, including with Vox.
Feijóo’s remarks followed the PP’s victory in a snap regional election earlier this month in Extremadura, a largely rural region in western Spain. Although the party emerged on top, it did not win an absolute majority, meaning it would need Vox’s support to form a government. ALSO READ: PP wins in Extremadura, but will have to depend on Vox to govern, as PSOE collapses.
‘Vox is the third party in Extremadura, it has consolidated its position, and it has good national polling. We will see what its position is in the general election,’ Feijóo said.
‘In any case, our cordon sanitaire is Bildu,’ he added, referring to the Basque nationalist party that has historical links to the political wing of the now-defunct armed group ETA.
‘It will not be Vox, nor Vox voters,’ he said.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s PSOE-led minority government depends on the backing of several smaller parties, including Bildu, to pass legislation.
Spain is due to hold its next general election in 2027. Sánchez, who has been in office since 2018, has repeatedly dismissed calls from the right-wing opposition to step down and call an early vote amid corruption scandals involving his party and close associates. ALSO READ: Spain’s main opposition party claims the ruling socialists are in ‘irreversible decline’.
Opinion polls generally indicate that the PP would win a general election but would fall short of an absolute majority, leaving it reliant on Vox to govern.
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2025 ha sido el peor año del peor Gobierno en la historia democrática de nuestro país. pic.twitter.com/vZbil7fH7W
— Alberto Núñez Feijóo (@NunezFeijoo) December 29, 2025
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