Spanish politics rocked by far-right win

MADRID: The first success of a far-right party in a regional election since Spain’s return to democracy in 1975 has shaken national politics ahead a busy electoral season. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists were set to lose control of southern Andalusia, which it has governed for over three decades, after Vox took a surprise 12 seats in a regional election on Sunday, handing a majority to right-wing parties in Spain’s most populous region. It was Sanchez’s first electoral test since taking office in June after winning a vote of no-confidence against the conservative Popular Party (PP) government of Mariano Rajoy over a corruption scandal. Top-selling daily El Pais called the results an “earthquake” which have changed the “national political panorama”. The vote kicks off a series of polls with municipal, regional and European elections slated for May, and an early general election widely expected next year.