Sánchez hoped that fear of the far right returning to government for the first time since the death of General Francisco Franco, victor of the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War, a mass killer and dictator of Spain for three and a half decades, until his life-support machine was switched off in November 1975. Vox polled well and entered regional governments with the PP in the Valencian Region, the Balearic Islands and Extremadura. This snap general election had been called by Spanish premier, Pedro Sánchez, after his Socialist Party (PSOE) and its coalition partner, Podemos, had lost in May’s regional and municipal elections to the right.

It seems clear that, as polling day neared, growing numbers were concerned about the prospect of Vox entering government, particularly its growing emphasis in driving back legislation on women’s and LGBT rights. In the event, the PP won 136 and Vox 33 (a loss of 19 seats), giving them together 169 seats in the Spanish parliament, less than polls had predicted, and short of the 176 needed for a majority.

Polls had predicted a victory for the right-wing Popular Party (PP), though requiring agreement with the far-right Vox party to be able to form a government. The outcome of Sunday’s Spanish general election came as a surprise. Chris Bambery analyses the polarisation of politics in Spain, following the results of its general election

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