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A foreigner’s guide to understanding Spanish politics in five minutes

Do you find Spanish politics a bit confusing? Don’t know PSOE from PP? Deputies from Senators? The Local has broken it down in simple terms, as well as what's to come over the next few weeks, heading into the general election.

Published: 15 October 2021 17:56 CEST
Updated: 7 June 2023 16:47 CEST

A foreigner's guide to understanding Spanish politics in five minutes

The Spanish Congress (Las Cortes) in Madrid on January 7, 2020. Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP.

Spanish politics is often difficult to understand for foreigners. Not only the language, but the number of parties and coalition governments, the new parties that pop up, and then seemingly disappear, the interplay and power structures of local, regional and national governments.

Foreigners in Spain are probably familiar with some politicians. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, for example, perhaps the far-right leader Santiago Abascal, or Madrid President Isabel Ayuso.

But to really integrate into Spanish life, a better understanding of the political system – and how it affects your life – can help.

What is the Spanish system?

Like the UK, Spain is a constitutional monarchy. Spain’s King Felipe VI is the ceremonial head of state, but the democratically elected Prime Minister heads the national government.

The basis of the Spanish political system is the 1978 Constitution, written during the ‘la transición española‘ from Francisco Franco’s dictatorship to democracy.

How is the Spanish government structured?

The 1978 constitution outlined the separation of powers into the executive, legislative and judicial branches:

Executive: Spain’s Prime Minister (currently PSOE’S Pedro Sánchez) is head of the national government, the executive branch of Spain’s system. The Prime Minister has a deputy and a cabinet of ministers.
Legislative: The Spanish parliament, the Cortes Generales, is the legislative branch and like the UK has two chambers: the directly-elected lower house, Congreso de los Diputados (Congress of Deputies) and the upper house, Senado (Senate).
Judicial: Spain’s judicial branch is headed by the president of the Tribunal Supremo (Supreme Court) and nominated by 20 judges of the General Council.

As you might’ve noticed, Spain is an intensely regional country. Many parts of Spain have their own language and identity, and as a result of this, regional politics play a much greater role in Spain than in many other countries, and the autonomous communities (comunidades autónomas), as they are known, also have an executive and a legislative body, with their own Statute of Autonomy, approved by the national parliament.

The exact structures differ depending on the region, and additional powers of devolution are given to the regions with particularly independent histories and cultures, namely the Basque Country, Catalonia, and Galicia. The regional parties can often be partners (or uncomfortable bedfellows) for the national government.

Who are the main players?

Although the UK does, technically speaking, have a multi-party system, one major difference between British and Spanish politics, and something that also might seem a little strange to our American readers, is that in Spain there are several parties that can affect national politics and tens more at the regional level that can have an effect on regional politics, which in turn, can then have a knock-on effect at the national level.

At the national level, however, the government has been headed by one of two parties since the early 1980s. In many regards, though Spain does have a multi-party system, its democratic history has been effectively dominated by a traditional two-party system.

Here are the major players to know in Spanish politics:

Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE): The major partner in the current coalition government. Founded in 1879 and known as the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party in English, PSOE is the oldest party in Spain, and is generally perceived to be, or its policy platform is largely made up of, what we would understand in the UK and US as largely centre or soft left. The current leader is Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, known as ‘el guapo’ (the handsome one) and the man who shocked the country by calling a snap general election.

PSOE is particularly popular among older Spaniards, especially retirees, from working-class backgrounds.

What their voters generally like: PSOE’s economically and culturally soft-left, progressive approach, pro-European outlook and cooperation with regional groups.

*Pedro Sánchez in October 2021. Photo: Gabriel BOUYS / AFP*

Partido Popular (PP): Much younger than PSOE, PP (Partido Popular or the People’s Party in English) was founded in 1976 and has historically adhered to a socially conservative, economically liberal, Christian-democratic ideology, although the emergence of Vox has forced the party rightward on certain cultural issues.

The party was in power until 2018 when corruption downed the Mariano Rajoy government, and its current leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, is the man likely to be Spain’s next Prime Minister.

What their voters generally like: They’re fans of the PP’s stance on small-state governance, low taxes, pro-business, traditional values, bullfighting, and patriotism.

The Popular Party (PP) party’s leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Photo: Pierre-Philippe MARCOU/AFP.

Unidas Podemos (UP): widely referred to as ‘Podemos’, UP is a left-wing populist party born from the various far-left groups involved in the 15-M anti-austerity movement. These include Podemos, Izquierda Unida, and several other fringe groups. Podemos is an anti-austerity, anti-corruption, democratic-socialist party, although some of its views may be perceived as far or hard left. Since 2020, Podemos has been the junior coalition partner in government. The leader is Ione Belarra, who took over former leader Pablo Iglesias, the divisive former Deputy Prime Minister who quit politics in 2021.

Podemos suffered huge losses in the recent regional and local elections, losing two-thirds of its regional deputies and failing to gain any in Madrid or Valencia. The party’s popularity has suffered enormously following the disastrous Solo Sí es Sí sexual consent law (the brainchild of Equality Minister Irene Montero, Iglesias’ wife) that accidentally reduced the sentences of hundreds of rapists. Podemos’ ministers in Cabinet are among the most unpopular politicians in Spain according to polling.

What their voters generally like: The fact that UP is anti-establishment, anti-facist, anti-austerity and sympathetic to regional identities.

*Unidas Podemos’ new leader Ione Belarra next to Pablo Iglesias (L), who has now retired from Spanish politics. Benjamin CREMEL / AFP*

Ciudadanos (Cs): The ‘Citizens’ party in English, Ciudadanos was born in Catalonia in the mid-2000s. Although founded on social democratic principles, the party drifted rightward and is now widely considered a centrist, liberal-conservative, pro-European party. The current president is Inés Arrimadas, and after some initial electoral success, the party suffered setbacks in the 2019 elections and was all but wiped off the electoral maps in the 2023 local and regional elections.

Ciudadanos has already announced that it will not contest the July general election, and the majority of its voter base will be absorbed by PP.

What their voters generally like: that CC was centrist, middle-of-the-road, pro-EU party that stood against the radical extremes of Spanish politics.

Vox: You’ve probably heard a bit about Vox in the last couple of weeks.

Not only because they’re likely to play a big role in the next general election, and possibly enter into a coalition government with PP, but also because some of their views grab headlines. They are considered hard or far-right, populist, and have particularly hard anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT, and anti-Islam stances. Founded by former PP members in 2013, Vox found electoral success on both a national and regional level in the 2019 elections, and tripled its number of local councillors in the 2023 local and regional polls.

Vox is led by the controversial Santiago Abascal, and has been constant and vocal critic of the POSE-led government and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in particular. For those British readers who like to take trips to Gibraltar now and then, Vox is vocal about the issue and believes Gibraltar is rightfully Spanish.

What their voters generally like: They see the party as anti-establishment, anti-elitist, anti-globalist, anti-immigration and anti-Islam; pro-centralisation and law and order; anti-separatist; patriotic and upholders of traditional Spanish values.

Leader of the far-right party Vox, Santiago Abascal (2L) and Vox party members take part in a protest by right-wing protesters to denounce controversial Spanish government plans to offer pardons to the jailed Catalan separatists. Photo: Gabriel Buoys/AFP

Sumar

The newest party in Spanish politics, Sumar, is actually more of a coalition group that seeks to keep 15 different left-wing parties under one banner.

It was launched by Spain’s Deputy Minister and Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz. Díaz is a Communist party member, and has, among other things, pledged to end tax privileges, introduce new environmental legislation, provide guarantees on housing standards, a commitment to reduce the working day without affecting Spaniard’s salaries (“we want to work less to live better,” in her own words), and overhaul how Spain’s regions are funded to prevent “unfair competition between” them.

What their voters generally like: Sumar voters in the general election will be from across the far-left, perhaps even some PSOE voters too, and will be attracted to: taxing big companies; environmentalism; housing; and labour reform.

Spanish Minister of Labour Yolanda Díaz delivers a speech during a rally on April 2nd, 2023, in Madrid. Photo: Thomas COEX/AFP.

The state of play in 2023

Politics has been hard to avoid in Spain in the last few weeks, as you’ve probably noticed from our coverage. With the local and regional election campaigns, the elections and results, and then the plot twists of all plot twists when Sánchez called a snap general election after his party suffered big losses, Spanish politics has been hard to keep up with.

So, what’s the lay of the land in 2023? Put simply, there’s a general election on July 23rd. Everybody in Spain had assumed that it would be in December, so Sánchez’s snap election has sped up the political timeline considerably.

PP and Vox both made gains in the local elections, with PP stealing traditionally PSOE town halls and regional governments, and Vox improving its vote share. In several regions, PP now governs with the support of Vox, whether formally or informally.

Polling suggests that PP will win the most votes in the coming election, but won’t quite reach an absolute majority, even with the support of Vox.

On the left, Pedro Sánchez and PSOE have come out fighting and seem set to run an active campaign, attacking PP’s far-right links and defending their own economic record, but the problems are with the parties to their left.

After Podemos’ electoral hammering last week, many on the Spanish left feel it should be Díaz and Sumar leading the election campaign, not the damaged Podemos leadership. Sumar and Podemos are currently locked in negotiations to come to some kind of electoral arrangement but time is running out – any pact must be finalised and resisted by Friday 9th June at the latest.

The outcome of these negotiations will be key because polling suggests a united left vote (PSOE plus Sumar with Podemos included) could win enough votes to stop PP and Vox governing, though polls suggest this is the most likely outcome.

Member comments

Anonymous - 16 October 2021 at 23:30 CEST

I’m an ill informed American and even I know that the UK is not a Constitutional Monarchy. Parliament, yes, Monarchy, yes, Constitution, I don’t think so.
1. Anonymous - 16 October 2021 at 23:33 CEST
  
  My bad…even though the UK doesn’t have a Constitution, it’s still referred to as a Constitutional Monarchy. So much for my American Education.

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INTERVIEW: 'A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it's not for Brits in Europe'

In the early days of 2021, after the United Kingdom had left the EU and completed the final stage of Brexit, many British citizens returned to their home countries in Europe only to face a grilling at the border.

Though the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) technically guaranteed their right to live and work in the countries they’d settled in before Brexit, there was widespread confusion about these fundamental rights and many were treated like new arrivals.

Over time, the chaos at the airports subsided as border officials and airlines were given clearer guidance on the treatment of Brits. But three years later, a number of Brits who live on the continent still face problems when it comes to proving their post-Brexit rights.

This was the reason campaign group British in Europe decided to set up their new EU-funded ICE project. Starting this year in March, it aims to build valuable connections between UK citizens abroad and mentor the next generation of civil rights advocates around the continent. The acronym stands for ‘Inform, Empower, Connect’ and the project’s organisers describe it as “the first project of its kind”.

“It’s a completely innovative project – especially the fact that it’s across so many countries,” Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe and one of the project’s founders, told The Local.

Bringing together groups from 11 EU member states, the project aims to train up volunteers to understand both the Withdrawal Agreement and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as learning skills like advocacy and communication, using real-life civil rights cases that are referred to British in Europe.

“The ultimate goal is to amplify the messages across the wider group,” said Golding. “You start with the volunteers, they go back to their groups, then the people that we train, they go back and train people. Then they pass on that knowledge to the wider groups, on their Facebook accounts and through social media, and hopefully it all snowballs, not just in their countries but across the EU.”

‘Far-reaching repercussions’

So many years after Brexit, it’s hard to believe that there’s still a need for a project like ICE that empowers Brits to protect their rights. Indeed, the future of groups like British in Europe and regional groups like British in Germany and British in Spain felt uncertain just a year or two ago.

But Golding says there are still serious issues cropping up for Brits in several countries around Europe – they just have a different quality to the problems that arose at the start.

“In some ways it’s needed even more because as we predicted right at the beginning, at the first stage of implementation, you’ve got the more routine cases,” she explained.

“What we’re seeing now is not as many cases, but when the cases come up, they’re complex. They can have such far-reaching repercussions on people’s lives. And of course, memories start to fade. A lot of people think Brexit is already done, but it’s not.”

Volunteers in British in Europe ICE project

The volunteers of the British in Europe ICE project pose for a photo at the kick-off meeting in Brussels on May 21st, 2024. Photo courtesy of Jane Golding

Though the rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement apply across the continent, different countries have taken different approaches to implementing them.

That means that while in Germany, for example, UK citizens simply had to declare that they lived in the country, people in neighbouring Denmark had to apply for their rights.

This led to a notorious situation in Denmark in which as many as 2,000 Brits were threatened with deportation after not applying in time or completing the right application process. According to Golding, this had a lot to do with the fact that people who arrived in 2020 weren’t given the same information as other UK migrants who arrived before.

In Sweden, meanwhile, the situation is still difficult for many Brits who lived there prior to Brexit.

“There have been issues with an anomalously high numbers of refusals compared to other countries, and they seem to be taking a very strict approach on late applications,” Golding explained.

Portugal has been another difficult case. Although the country opted for a declaratory system where Brits could simply exchange old residence documents for a new ID card after Brexit, reports suggest that the authorities have taken years to issue these cards, leaving many of the some 34,000 Brits in the country in limbo.

“While people are still waiting to have their status confirmed and have their card in their hand, it’s difficult to access a whole range of services, like health services, or applying for jobs or dealing with the authorities, or even going to the bank,” Golding said. “All of these problems just affect people’s lives.”

A French border guard checks a passport at the border

A French border guard checks a passport at the border. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

There are also concerns about the EU’s new exit and entry system (EES), due to come into force in October, which is based on biometric documentation.

“We still do not have clear data on how many people in declaratory countries like Germany, where it wasn’t compulsory to apply for the card, don’t actually have a card,” Golding said. “How is that going to play out if it’s a document-based digitalised system?”

A lack of support

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still available to support NGOs in Europe helping Brits with their migration and civil rights issues. But that temporary funding soon expired, leaving groups like British in Europe largely on their own.

“The whole point is people’s lives change at very different paces,” Golding said. “And now this project is really going to start to pick up some of those cases and report on those issues, which is really crucial and exciting for the precedent that it sets, and it’s very clearly necessary still, because people don’t just sort their lives in the 18 months that the FCDO chose to supply that funding.”

This feeling of being left alone and increasingly isolated from the UK is one that many Brits in Europe have felt in the aftermath of Brexit. But the upcoming UK election on July 4th could be a game-changer.

This time, following a change in the law, Brits who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to vote for the first time.

Polling station in the UK

A polling station in the UK. Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

When it comes to the election, the message from British in Europe is clear: “Make your voice count now, make your vote count, make sure you use it,” Golding said.

With the June 18th registration deadline fast approaching, BiE is advising UK citizens abroad to apply for a proxy vote as soon as possible, rather than relying on a postal vote from abroad. Since the 15-year rule was abolished on January 16th, more than 100,000 British citizens have registered to vote, according to official statistics. It is unclear how many were registered before the change in the law.

With an estimated 5.5 million Brits currently living abroad – 1.3 million of whom are in the EU – this could have a significant impact on the electoral landscape, Golding says. But most significantly, the change is creating a feeling of connection and belonging that wasn’t there before.

Nurturing this sense of belonging is one of the main goals of ICE.

With these bridges being built, British in Europe hopes to create a network of support that spans across borders.

“Now we’ve met. We’re going to meet,” said Golding. “We know we’re going to meet again in Berlin in October and then we’ll meet again in the new year in 2025 as well. It means a huge amount because even British in Europe, our steering team, we’ve only met physically three times.”

This opens up the possibility of people sharing their knowledge from country to country, Golding explained.

“There is crossover and the reassurance of having that EU wide view and knowing that you’re not alone and knowing that in this country, we managed to get this solution,” she said. “And then you can go back and say to the authorities in your country, well, in that country they did that – all of that helps. It’s really good.”

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