Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.
Sheikh Qassem: The government’s latest decision [on the disarmament of the Resistance] is non-charter-based, and if the government continues down this path, it is not faithful to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Spain’s political system plunges in widening cracks

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 24 Jul 2023 17:54
3 Min Read

The results of yesterday's election is clear proof that no party has a clear path forward.

  • x
  • Alberto Feijoo, leader of mainstream Popular Party, gestures to supporters outside the party headquarters following Spain's general election, in Madrid, on July 24, 2023. (AP)
    Alberto Feijoo, leader of the mainstream Popular Party, gestures to supporters outside the party headquarters following Spain's general election, in Madrid, on July 24, 2023. (AP)

The socialist Pedro Sanchez's chances of retaining his position as Spain's Prime Minister appeared bleak two months prior. Sanchez decided to schedule a general election on July 23 after his party suffered crushing defeats to the Popular Party (PP) in local and regional elections in May.

But to almost everyone's astonishment, the Right did worse than Spain's Left-wing parties last night. Even with the backing of the extreme Right-wing party Vox, Alberto Nez Feijoo's PP lacks the votes necessary to build an absolute majority, despite winning 33% of the vote in yesterday's election. The 31.7% that Sanchez got may be enough to make him the only party leader capable of becoming Spain’s next PM.

Read more: Meet the four main candidates in Spain's general election

However, Feijoo and Sanchez's relative success demonstrates that Spain's established parties continue to have sway. Although Sanchez's PSOE and Feijoo's PP together received close to 16 million votes, their electoral victories conceal a number of deeper-seated issues with the Spanish electoral system, including political polarization and electoral fragmentation.

Related News

Portugal now facing costs of its largest-ever wildfire

Spain wildfires rage as heatwave fuels European environmental disaster

Vox and the left-wing party Sumar, formerly Podemos, underperformed in these elections, but they have solidified their position as supporting actors to the two more significant political parties in Spain. In fact, these two, rather than the Socialists or PP, were responsible for shaping the election's narrative by reviving the language of the Spanish Civil War, portraying a conflict between the return of Franco and the Red Terror, and taking positions on cultural conflicts involving migration, feminism, and ecologism.

These are concerns that populist parties have exploited throughout Europe, but Spain stands out because the country is still recovering from secessionist movements in Catalonia and, to a lesser extent, the Basque area. Vox's stridently anti-Catalan and anti-Basque position has consequently grown to be a significant barrier to the Right-wing alliance garnering enough support in the legislature. Without Vox, conservative votes would have probably gone straight to the PP, which would have made it easier for Feijoo to negotiate with other moderate peripheral nationalist forces.

Sanchez has improved his ability to function in this unsteady world. He understands that Left-wing and Center-Right peripheral nationalists have no choice but to support him by making the assertion that "fascism is coming" all the time. Nevertheless, Sanchez's political future is in the hands of Carles Puigdemont's Junts party because the Catalans were successful in convincing people to not cast ballots in this election. Spain would likely need to have new elections next autumn if Puigdemont fails to mobilize support in favor of Sanchez to form a coalition government.

The outcome from yesterday demonstrates how fragile and highly fragmented Spain's political system continues to be. Even though the threat of a populist uprising was exaggerated, the problems that already exist are not only persisting but also getting worse.

Read more: An explainer: How will the general election shape Spain's future?

  • Spain
  • PSOE
  • Pedro Sanchez
  • Spain's elections
  • Alberto Nez Feijoo

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS