Abascal offers Senate deal with PP as left unites to challenge its majority

The offer puts cooperation between the two parties firmly on the agenda as the PSOE and its allies seek to overturn the PP’s absolute majority in the upper house.

In a video statement distributed to the media, Abascal expressed his willingness to reach ‘some understanding’ with the PP that would ‘protect the Senate from Sánchez’s agreements with the extreme left’. ALSO READ: Spain’s main opposition party, the PP, open to working with far-right Vox if elected.

‘The alliance of the extreme left demands sacrifices,’ he said, adding: ‘We must sacrifice the policies that have brought us here and recover the institutions for the Spanish people.’

Some Spanish media outlets, citing Vox sources, have reported that the party could refrain from fielding candidates in selected constituencies, giving the PP a clearer run and reducing the risk that competition between the two parties costs the right seats. Abascal’s statement confirmed his willingness to cooperate, although it did not set out a detailed agreement. ALSO READ: PP, Vox and Junts attack Sánchez’s record as Spain heads for November election.

Over the weekend, he had already promised to take ‘a broad-minded approach’ and do ‘what is necessary’ to ensure Spain ‘is free and does not depend on either Sánchez or any of his henchmen’.

Left-wing alliance targets PP control

The proposed cooperation on the right follows an agreement between the PSOE, Frente Amplio and other left-wing parties to contest the Senate election together under the name Senado de Progreso – ‘Senate of Progress’.

Announced shortly before the deadline for registering electoral coalitions, the pact is intended to concentrate support behind shared candidates rather than allow competition between separate left-wing tickets to weaken their chances of winning seats. Its central objective is to prevent another PP absolute majority. 

The agreement brings together the PSOE, Izquierda Unida (IU), Sumar, Compromís, Más Madrid, Chunta Aragonesista and Batzarre. Separate arrangements have also been reached between the PSOE and Més Izquierda Unida-Sumar across the four Balearic Islands, and between progressive forces on La Gomera (Canary Islands).

The PSOE began exploring joint Senate candidacies with other progressive parties in early October. The strategy reflects the importance of coordinating candidates under an electoral system in which a divided vote can leave parties with fewer seats than their combined support might otherwise secure.

In the 2023 general election, the PP won 120 directly elected Senate seats, compared with 72 for the PSOE, securing an absolute majority in the chamber. The left-wing parties now hope that a coordinated campaign can change that balance.

The Senate agreement does not extend to a single electoral alliance across both houses of parliament. Frente Amplio and Podemos failed to agree on a joint candidacy for Congress, despite last-minute negotiations. ALSO READ: Spain’s left heads into election divided as unity talks collapse.

Abascal alleges Sánchez intends to ‘steal’ election

Alongside his offer to the PP, Abascal accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of intending to ‘steal’ the general election. He provided no evidence to substantiate that allegation.

Abascal also linked the peaceful housing protest encampment in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol and the general strike called by trade unions for 11 November to an alleged attempt to influence the election. He accused Sánchez of ‘sowing coercion and violence to influence the forthcoming general election’. ALSO READ: Spain’s housing crisis prompts general strike on 11 November, ahead of election.

He further suggested that Sánchez might seek to use the Constitutional Court to change who could vote.

‘Perhaps he intends to use the Constitutional Court to alter the electoral register,’ he said, referring to the Ombudsman’s appeal against the provisional suspension of voting rights for people granted Spanish nationality under the so-called ‘grandchildren’s law’. ALSO READ: Spain’s Supreme Court keeps overseas voting restrictions in place for 29 November election.

Abascal urged supporters to remain vigilant until polling day, repeating his claim that ‘Sánchez intends to steal these elections’.

‘It would not be the first time he has manipulated an electoral process,’ he alleged, arguing that ‘the only way to prevent it is with a massive response at the ballot box by Spaniards’.