The far-right Vox announces its no to Juanma Moreno and demands the PP assume its "national priority" in Andalusia

The investiture of Juanma Moreno will be stalled before the first vote. The far-right Vox announced this Monday that it will vote against the candidate of the Popular Party (PP) for the Presidency of the Junta de Andalucía if there is no agreement closed before the vote scheduled for this Tuesday. The party led by Santiago Abascal also does not guarantee its abstention in the second round on Thursday, when Moreno would only need more yes votes than no votes.

The warning came as the acting Andalusian president defended his third investiture speech in Parliament. The national spokesman for Vox, José Antonio Fúster, was blunt from Madrid: “In the first, no, and in the second, I don’t think so”. He then increased the pressure on the PP with a phrase designed to mark territory: “Let him continue on that path and he will be elected in the third, fourth, fifth, or never.”

Moreno won the Andalusian elections on May 17 with 53 seats, just two short of an absolute majority. The PSOE got 28, Vox obtained 15, Adelante Andalucía achieved 8, and Por Andalucía got 5. With this distribution, the popular candidate needs Vox to be re-elected without exhausting parliamentary deadlines. The first vote requires an absolute majority. If it fails, the second will be held on Thursday and will require a simple majority.

The acting president has tried to channel the debate from an institutional perspective. He has claimed a “resounding and unappealable” victory, asked the groups for “intelligence and generosity”, and placed the general interest of Andalusians above any partisan calculation. He has also argued that Andalusia needs to approve its 2027 Budgets in due time and form and start the new Government as soon as possible.

Moreno has also set his own line against Vox. “My character and my values are solid and will not change due to political circumstances,” he stated during his speech. His speech maintained the tone of stability, reforms, and moderation that the Andalusian PP has made its hallmark, with measures on housing, health, tax cuts, debureaucratization, defense of the countryside, and rejection of the financing model agreed by the central Government with the independentists.

The far-right demands to enter the Andalusian political framework

The clash has occurred as much for what Moreno has not said as for what he has said. Vox expected an express reference to immigration and to the so-called “national priority” in social aid and access to housing, one of the banners that the far-right has imposed in other regional negotiations with the PP. The popular candidate has avoided adopting that formula in his speech.

The spokesperson for Vox in Andalusia, Manuel Gavira, later confirmed that, “at two in the afternoon” this Monday, no agreement had been signed with the PP-A. “If an agreement is not reached, Vox will vote no,” he stated. Gavira reproached Moreno for not addressing immigration and insisted that his party wants Andalusia to have a Government where the “national priority” is in writing.

The Vox leadership seeks for Andalusia to cease being an exception within the PP's regional map. Abascal already conditions popular governments in Extremadura, Aragon, and Castilla y León, and now wants to transfer that same scheme to Spain's most populated community. The negotiation is not limited to the investiture vote. The program, deadlines, guarantees of compliance, and the possible entry of Vox into the Andalusian Executive also weigh in.

Moreno, for now, tries to maintain his profile without breaking the dialogue. He has recalled that Vox has been the only group willing to negotiate with the PP, but he has also asked the rest of the forces to join a common project to avoid a blockade. PSOE, Adelante Andalucía, and Por Andalucía have already made clear their rejection of facilitating the investiture.

The first test will arrive this Tuesday in the Andalusian Parliament. If Vox maintains its no, Moreno will not be invested in the first vote. On Thursday, he will have a second opportunity, although the far-right has already warned that it also does not see abstaining as probable if there is no pact. From there, the clock would start ticking with a maximum period of two months before an eventual repeat election.