SPAIN’S conservative Partido Popular (PP) has opened the door to an electoral alliance with far-right Vox ahead of the November 29 general election, marking a shift in leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo’s previous opposition to a coalition.
Feijoo has acknowledged that his party may not be able to govern alone and confirmed that negotiations with Vox are ongoing, although the details remain under wraps.
One option being discussed would see Vox candidates join PP electoral lists in certain constituencies, while another would involve the far-right party withdrawing candidates in selected provinces.
The talks are aimed in part at strengthening the parties’ position in the Senate, where they want to secure a three-fifths majority that would give them greater influence over appointments to Spain’s Constitutional Court.
“We are talking and we will continue talking,” Feijoo said on Tuesday, referring to discussions with Vox leader Santiago Abascal.
The PP leader argued that Spain needs a strong parliamentary majority to support the next prime minister, pointing to previous electoral agreements with regional parties such as UPN in Navarra and Foro in Asturias as possible models for cooperation.
The shift marks a change of course for Feijoo, who promised in July 2025 that there would be no coalition with Vox.
But support for closer cooperation has grown among senior PP figures, including Basque MP Borja Semper, who previously warned against being drawn into what he described as ‘reactionary populism’.
Semper now argues that agreements are necessary to bring about political change at the November vote.
The PP and Vox already cooperate in several regions, where they have governed together or relied on each other’s parliamentary support.
Feijoo pointed to agreements in Andalucia, Aragon, Extremadura and Castilla y Leon as evidence that the two parties have established a framework for negotiations.
However, their regional alliances have also sparked disputes over public policy.
In Aragon, the regional government has cut financial assistance for migrant children and restricted certain postnatal services for foreign women.
In Castilla y Leon, measures introducing ideological oversight of cultural content have drawn criticism.
In Andalucia, the PP and Vox have announced plans to change the law governing the regional Court of Accounts, which oversees the use of public funds.
The parties have also taken similar positions on Spain’s Democratic Memory Law, which allows certain descendants of Spaniards who went into exile to obtain Spanish nationality.
Feijoo has questioned whether people who acquired citizenship through the legislation should automatically be entitled to vote if they have never lived in Spain, while Vox has also opposed the law.
The issue comes as the Supreme Court has ordered a halt to the registration of some newly naturalised citizens while their eligibility is reviewed.
With the election approaching, any formal agreement between the PP and Vox could have significant implications for Spain’s next government, particularly on migration, public spending and appointments to the country’s highest courts.
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