Spain is not longer an exceptional European country without a far-right party. VOX won 12 seats in the Andalusian regional elections held last Sunday. Here is a summary in English of the main features of its discourse based on campaign spots, interviews and meetings.
1 National unity against the “coup d’Etat” in Catalonia. This is the most salient issue. Recentralization and end of the autonomous communities (Spanish regional self-government institutions). Make Spain Great Again. References to a heartland represented by the Reconquest.
2 Antifeminism: against “gender ideology”, “male criminalization”, gay marriage and abortion. Rejection of cultural change and praise of old traditions such as bullfighting and religious processions.
3 Nativism: Those from Spain should go first, immigrant criminalization, anti-Islamism, closed-borders.
4 Above the left-right dimension. Contempt both for the left and its political correctness, and the “derechita cobarde” (coward little right).
5 Plenty of manicheism: their light, truth, goodness, beauty, decency, freedom, against the obscurity, corruption, filthiness of others.
6 Plenty of bellicose language: attack, reconquest, military, fallen (caídos), defeat, victory, courage, fear, treason, invasion, accomplices, honors. Epic images of leader alone climbing a mountain, or bunch of leaders (all men) horseback riding with Lord of Rings music.
7 Other features of populism only marginally present. Few appeals to the good people (beyond "España") or references to some sort of elite (though of course there are many enemies).
Some positive references to the judicial power and the rule of law which can hardly be considered typical of populism (to be interpreted in the context of the Catalan conflict and the role the judiciary is playing in it).
8 Use of resentment to generate anger and hate. The resentment of all those that feel despised because they just want to defend Spain, keep traditions, control borders, pay less taxes, stop the waste of 17 regional parliaments, or simply happen to be male.
Anger and hate towards the supporters of Catalan independence, radical feminists, migrants.
9 Appropriation of the term “facha” (colloquial pejorative Spanish term for fascist), which is held with pride as a “medal on our chest”.
10 All this a bit more elaborated and also a tentative answer to the why now question (in Spanish) here: agendapublica.elpais.com/el-discurso-de…
