Far-right ‘Spaniards first’ policy looms over Andalusia election

MADRID — A contentious far-right drive to grant Spaniards priority access to public services ahead of immigrants is turning into a crucial political battleground before an important regional election in Andalusia this month.

In a blow to Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the conservative People’s Party is on track to round off a series of local election wins by keeping its grip on Andalusia, Spain’s most populous region, on May 17.

Polls suggest the key question in Andalusia is whether the PP will win the southern region outright or will need to team up with the far-right Vox party. And the prospect of forming a coalition with Vox explains why the vexed debate over a “national priority” for Spanish citizens is now racing up the political agenda.

After its election wins in the regions of Extremadura and Aragón in the past months, the PP had to strike coalition agreements in which Vox pressed for access to state benefits and services to be based on “the principle of national priority, which seeks to prioritize public funds for those who have a real, lasting and verifiable link to the territory.”

That language is vague but it has sparked a major national debate on whether Vox is strong-arming the PP toward racist and discriminatory policies.

Many in the PP are uneasy with the concept of the prioridad nacional, and it is proving particularly uncomfortable for Andalusian President Juanma Moreno, from the moderate wing of the party, who does not want to alienate centrists and immigrants.

For now, on the campaign trail, Moreno is slamming the national priority idea as an “overblown” measure and insists he has no ambitions of teaming up with Vox.

“The PP [in Andalusia] has won over a lot of voters from the center and center-right and it has to keep them,” said Fernando Vallespín, a political scientist at Madrid’s Autonomous University.

The controversy has also given battered Prime Minister Sánchez — reeling from a series of corruption scandals in his ruling Socialist Party — a rare opportunity to land some hits on the domestic political stage, and he has condemned the notion of the national priority as giving a “kicking” to the constitution.

But his party is far behind in the Andalusia race. A poll by Fundación CENTRA showed the Socialists securing only around half the seats of the PP, which was heading for between 53 and 56 — with 55 needed for a majority in the 109-seat parliament. 

Vox was in third place in the same poll, seen winning between 17 and 19 seats. 

Far-right strategy

The prioridad nacional concept, presented by Vox as part of its tough line on immigration, appears to be a Spanish take on the préférence nationale policy previously promoted by France’s far right.

“The money, effort and work of Extremadurans and Spaniards cannot provide for everyone, nor can it provide healthcare for everyone,” said Óscar Fernández Calle, leader of Vox in Extremadura and the region’s vice-president.

“We have to choose and we are clear about this: We choose Spaniards first,” he added. 

Vox says it aims to introduce the concept in Andalusia and has also called for national laws to be changed to accommodate it.

The PP leadership in Madrid has approved these deals while playing down the extent of the policy, insisting it does not seek to give preferential treatment to Spanish nationals over immigrants. However, as the meaning of prioridad nacional has been endlessly debated in recent weeks, it has become an increasingly awkward issue for the party.

Indeed, the PP is acutely aware it does not want to be seen as turning its back on highly significant immigrant communities.

That was apparent when Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the PP’s maverick president of the Madrid region, questioned the legality of prioridad nacional. Usually seen as a right-wing hardliner, analysts believe Ayuso’s position on this issue is likely to have been shaped by the many Latin American voters in her region.

Similarly, the PP’s campaign manifesto in Andalusia states that the immigrant community “forms an active part of our economy and contributes directly to the generation of wealth necessary for maintaining public services.”

The PP’s María Guardiola, who is staying on as president of Extremadura thanks to her agreement with the far right, did not use the phrase “prioridad nacional” during her investiture speech.

By contrast, her counterpart in Aragón, Jorge Azcón, chose to address the elephant in the room, explaining that the policy meant ensuring that those who receive social benefits must have a link to the region and contribute to the social security system, “regardless of their nationality.”

“This [issue] hurts the PP, because it has had to make concessions which it doesn’t necessarily believe in,” said Vallespín at Madrid’s Autonomous University.

“It has been very easy for Vox to have a clear position on this but the PP doesn’t seem to have managed that yet.”

The Catholic Church, usually seen to be close to the PP, has also spoken out against national priority.

Sánchez on the attack

Even though Prime Minister Sánchez has recently boosted his international reputation by standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump, he has been struggling to score points at home.

The fight over national priority has given him an opening.

As he addressed supporters on the campaign trail in Andalusia, Sánchez described the previous PP-Vox regional accords as “mansplainers’ pacts” and he said the two parties on the right had given the constitution “a kicking and violated the principle of non-discrimination.”

Flipping the buzzword to his advantage, Sánchez outlined what he said were “our national priorities: A fair and dignified Spain that leaves nobody behind and defends peace, in Spain, Europe and the world.”

Sánchez’s government has begun processing an amnesty for at least 500,000 undocumented migrants. It is an initiative that the PP and Vox have staunchly opposed, warning that it bucks the European trend of closing borders, although characteristically for a moderate, Moreno in Andalusia has been less critical.