Spain goes to the polls to decide its next government on Sunday, and a hard-right coalition is looking likely.

The most likely government to emerge - most analysts predict - will be a coalition including a hard-right nationalist party for the first time in Spain since the death of fascist dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

More left-leaning Spaniards are frantically texting contacts, urging them to make sure to vote - despite the heat and it being holiday time for many - to “stop the fascists” in their tracks.The rhetoric this election season has been toxic, with voters becoming increasingly polarised.

It’s a fight over values, traditions and about what being Spanish should mean in 2023.

This kind of heated identity debate isn’t peculiar to Spain. Think of Italy, France, Brazil or the post-Trumpian debate in the US.

At EU HQ in Brussels, there are huge concerns about a resurgence of hard-right nationalist parties across Europe.

  • acargitzEnglish
    93•1 year ago

    I am getting tired of liberals (in the European sense, not the American sense) clutching their pearls at the resurgence of the fascist right when they did everything they could to kill off the socialist left everywhere in Europe. If you shift the Overton window so that your corporate neoliberal asses are the left side of it, what the fuck do you expect to be at its right side?

      • xuxebiko
        32•1 year ago

        India did that about 20 years back and for the past 9 years we’ve (mis)governed by violent right-wing Hindu supremacism. :(

        the Communist holdout of Kerala is the only state in India where the BJP does not have a foothold.

    • @[email protected]English
      16•1 year ago

      Pretty much what’s happening here in France. The majority sides with the hard right on a lot of decisions. It’s also happening in the EU parliament. We’re heading right towards very very hard times.

      • @[email protected]English
        1•1 year ago

        It’s like everyone in the rural areas wants to be a downtrodden peasant again. Not very French of them, if I’m being honest.

    • Riddick3001OPEnglish
      -1•1 year ago

      they could to kill off the socialist left everywhere in Europe?

      Yeah, if you put it that way, seems logical. You mean during Franco, Mussolini & Hitler?

      But, after the WW 2 it was mainly Stalin that purged the Socio-democrats in (Eastern) Europe. In US there was a purge though.

      And in the 60/70’s there was a major resurgence of socialist political parties in Europe, afaik. I think that the old political dynamics ideals and politics have changed quite a lot. To me, you have power mongering people, oligarchs or influencers on both side of the political spectrum. I therefore don’t take their political ideologies as a grand determination for their character, unless they are extremist ofc. Many polticians also often switch sides depending on the outcome, opportunistic .

      I prefer to focus on if and how the power is (ab)used in real life. If the poltician is working for the will & good for the people, or for his own wallet and corruption.