We'll set out red lines that I won't cross
In the sun-drenched south of Spain, a political accommodation has been struck that carries the weight of a national reckoning. Andalucía's conservative regional president, having lost his governing majority in May's elections, has bound his party to the far-right Vox in a coalition that enshrines the very policies he once publicly mocked. The agreement — touching immigration, historical memory, and cultural identity — is less a local arrangement than a rehearsal for what Spain's next general election may demand of its centre-right at the national level. In the tension between principle and power, power has, for now, prevailed.
- A regional president who governed alone for seven years found himself with no majority and no alternative — Vox's 15 seats became the only arithmetic that worked.
- The coalition agreement formally adopts Vox's 'national priority' policy, giving Spanish-born citizens preference over immigrants for public benefits — a demand Moreno had dismissed as empty demagoguery during the very campaign that brought him here.
- Beyond immigration, the deal moves to dismantle historical memory legislation protecting victims of the Franco dictatorship, replacing it with a so-called 'harmony law' condemned by the UN and civil society as an erasure of atrocity.
- Spain's Socialists warn the Andalucía deal is a national blueprint — and polls suggest the PP may face the identical coalition dilemma after next year's general election.
- PP national leader Feijóo, who once promised a centrist course, has praised the deal and declined to rule out a national pact with Vox, leaving his party's ideological direction an open and consequential question.
Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla had governed Andalucía for seven years without needing anyone else. When May's regional election stripped the PP of its absolute majority — falling from 58 seats to 53 in a 109-seat parliament — that independence ended. Vox held 15 seats and the only viable path forward.
On Thursday, Moreno signed a coalition agreement that reversed positions he had taken on the campaign trail. The 'national priority' policy he had called a sensationalistic slogan — giving Spanish-born citizens preference over immigrants in housing and public services — is now written into the governing programme. The deal also commits Andalucía to rejecting national immigration policy and refusing to accept unaccompanied migrant children.
The agreement reaches further still: it opposes climate policy under the guise of resisting 'ideological agendas,' defends bullfighting and intensive farming, and moves to repeal legislation designed to bring justice to victims of the Franco dictatorship. In its place, the coalition proposes a 'harmony law' — a framing condemned by the national government, historical memory organisations, and United Nations experts as an attempt to whitewash one of Europe's darkest chapters.
Moreno called the deal 'sensible, fair and legal.' PP national leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo praised his colleague's capacity for dialogue. Vox's Manuel Gavira, now a vice-president in the new government, declared it a victory for common sense.
The stakes extend well beyond Andalucía. Spain's general election is due next year, and current polling suggests the PP may again fall short of an outright majority. Feijóo has declined to rule out a national coalition with Vox, saying only that he would set 'red lines' before sitting down to negotiate. His predecessor Pablo Casado once denounced Vox from the floor of congress as a party of fear, rage, and resentment — and paid a political price for it. Feijóo is walking a different road, and Andalucía has just shown where it leads.
The Socialists see the regional deal as a preview. 'There is no moderate PP and no hardline PP,' said party secretary Rebeca Torró — 'only a PP that is exactly the same as Vox.' Whether that characterisation hardens or softens in the minds of Spanish voters may determine the country's direction for years to come.
Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla had wanted to govern Andalucía alone. The regional president of Spain's conservative People's Party had spent seven years running the southern region without needing help from anyone else. But when voters went to the polls in May, they took that option away from him. The PP lost its absolute majority, dropping from 58 seats to 53 in the 109-seat parliament. Vox, the far-right party that had been pushing for a seat at the table, picked up 15 seats. There was no path forward without them.
On Thursday, Moreno signed a coalition agreement that amounts to a capitulation on the very things he had campaigned against. During the election, he had dismissed Vox's signature demand—what they call "national priority"—as "a sensationalistic but empty slogan." The policy would give Spanish-born citizens preference over immigrants when accessing housing and public services. Moreno had ridiculed it. Now his government was enshrining it into law. The coalition agreement explicitly guarantees "national priority in accessing public benefits." It also commits Andalucía to reject the immigration policies of Spain's socialist-led national government and to refuse accepting any more unaccompanied migrant children.
The agreement goes further still. It opposes what it calls "the imposition of ideological agendas" on environmental issues, a coded rejection of climate policy. It defends intensive livestock farming against what it frames as persecution by animal rights groups and Brussels. It commits to protecting bullfighting. And it includes a plan to overturn legislation passed four years ago that was meant to bring "justice, reparation and dignity" to victims of Spain's civil war and the Franco dictatorship that followed. In its place, the coalition wants a so-called "harmony law"—a term that the national government, historical memory organizations, and UN experts have all condemned as an attempt to whitewash or erase the horrors of the Franco era.
When Moreno announced the deal, he called it "sensible, fair and legal." His national party leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, praised his "commitment, capacity for dialogue, and vocation of service." Manuel Gavira, Vox's regional leader and now a vice-president in the new government, said the coalition would deliver "a government that defends common sense and improves the lives of the people of Andalucía."
The Andalucía agreement matters far beyond the region itself. Spain holds a general election next year, and the polls suggest the PP will finish first but may not win an outright majority. If that happens, the party could face the same choice Moreno faced: govern alone and lose, or make a deal with Vox. Feijóo has repeatedly refused to rule out a national coalition with the far-right party. In a recent television interview, he said he hoped to govern alone but had no intention of "demonising" Vox. "If it turns out that we need to make a deal for a coalition government, we'll sit down and we'll form a government coalition," he said. "We'll set out a series of red lines that I won't cross."
The Socialist Party, which leads the national government, sees the Andalucía deal as a preview of what a PP-Vox national government would look like. Rebeca Torró, the party's organizational secretary, said there was no such thing as a "moderate PP" or a "hardline PP"—only "a PP that's exactly the same as Vox." She pointed to the familiar pattern: "Backward steps in equality, attacks on the rights of LGBTI people, a weakening of public services, a questioning of climate change, and the normalisation of speech that jeopardises rights and freedoms that were hard-won over the course of decades."
Feijóo's predecessor, Pablo Casado, had struggled with the same question about how to handle Vox. Despite relying on the far-right party to prop up three regional governments, he eventually turned on them in a fiery speech to congress six years ago. "You brag about being populists with your demagoguery that offers easy—and usually fake—solutions to complex problems," Casado said. "The People's party doesn't want to be another party of fear, of rage, of resentment and revenge." Feijóo, who was supposed to move the party back toward the center when he took over four years ago, is now walking a different path. The Andalucía deal suggests what that path looks like.
Notable Quotes
A sensationalistic but empty slogan— Moreno on Vox's 'national priority' policy during the campaign
There's only a PP that's exactly the same as Vox— Rebeca Torró, Socialist Party organizational secretary
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Moreno reverse himself so completely on the national priority policy?
He didn't have a choice. Losing the majority meant he needed Vox's votes to stay in power. You can call something a sensationalistic slogan during a campaign, but when you need those 15 seats, you sign the agreement.
But couldn't he have tried to form a government with other parties?
The math didn't work. The left was fractured and weak. The only viable partner was Vox. That's the trap—once you lose your majority, you're negotiating from weakness.
What does this mean for the national election next year?
It's a test run. If the PP falls short of a majority nationally, Feijóo will face the same choice Moreno faced. And if the Andalucía deal is any guide, he'll make the same one.
Is there anything in the agreement that surprised you?
The Franco-era part did. Overturning laws meant to honor dictatorship victims—that's not a small thing. It suggests how far the PP is willing to go to keep Vox happy.
What do the Socialists think this means?
They see it as proof that the PP has moved right, not left. That there's no meaningful difference between the two parties anymore. Whether that's true or just campaign rhetoric, it's what they're going to argue all the way to next year's election.
Could Feijóo still govern alone?
Theoretically, yes. But the polls would have to shift significantly. Right now, the math suggests he'll need Vox. And if he does, Andalucía shows what the price will be.