Moreno seals coalition with Vox in Andalusia, burying his moderate image and cementing the PP–far‑right alliance across Spain
Juanma Moreno takes office today for a third term as president of Andalusia, but this time he does so in coalition with Vox, the far‑right party he once vowed to keep at arm’s length.
The coalition deal
After falling two seats short of an absolute majority in the 17 May election, PP leader Juanma Moreno Bonilla had no choice but to strike a pact with Vox. The 150‑point agreement, signed this week, hands the far‑right party a vice‑presidency and two ministries. Manuel Gavira, Vox’s spokesman in Andalusia, becomes vice‑president with a sprawling portfolio that includes Justice, Local Administration, Tourism and Deregulation. Moreno will announce the full 13‑member cabinet next week.
The investiture ceremony takes place today in the gardens of the Palacio de San Telmo in Seville, a far more subdued affair than the lavish 2022 event that celebrated the PP’s first absolute majority in the region.
Moreno’s vanishing moderation
For four years Moreno cultivated an image of centrist moderation, distancing himself from Vox on climate, migration and social dialogue. During the campaign he called a coalition with the far‑right an “impossible government”. Now he has swallowed every demand his counterparts in Extremadura, Aragón and Castilla y León had already accepted, including the controversial “national priority” clause.
Soy Juan Manuel Moreno, tengo 56 años y no voy a cambiar. Mi forma de hacer política y de pensar es esta.
Political analysts say the pact forces a painful rebranding. “He has an image of cross‑party appeal among Andalusian voters, and now the picture changes completely,” said Paco Camas of Ipsos Spain.
Tensions with Madrid
Moreno’s team initially explored a softer deal, but Génova, the PP’s national headquarters, insisted on the same terms applied in the other three regions. The Andalusian leader even floated the possibility of fresh elections, a move that irritated Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s inner circle. In the end, Moreno fell into line, accepting that Vox would get “café para todos” – the same treatment everywhere.
Juanma se pilló mucho las manos, y por eso le ha costado pactar, sabía que Vox le iba a exigir lo mismo que al resto de los presidentes.
The left cries foul
Opposition parties have branded the pact the most radical agreement the PP has ever signed with the far‑right. María Jesús Montero, leader of the Andalusian socialists, said the mask had slipped: “Se ha tragado absolutamente todo. Es el pacto de la trágala.” Antonio Maíllo of Izquierda Unida called it an “infamous pact, worse than Extremadura’s”. At the national level, government spokesperson Óscar López and minister Mónica García echoed the condemnation.
A national pattern
Andalusia is the fourth Spanish region where the PP has brought Vox into government after the latest electoral cycle. The sequence has transformed the relationship between the two parties. Feijóo recently declared on television that he has no problem governing in coalition with Santiago Abascal, and he has adopted some of the far‑right’s talking points, including questioning the electoral roll.
- Andalusian election: PP wins 53 seats, Vox gains one seat, Moreno loses absolute majority.
- Negotiations begin; Moreno’s team seeks softer terms but Génova insists on parity with other regions.
- PP and Vox sign a 150‑point coalition agreement, granting Vox a vice‑presidency and two ministries.
- Moreno is sworn in for a third term at the Palacio de San Telmo in Seville.
The pact cements a PP‑Vox axis that now stretches from Castilla y León to the south, leaving Moreno’s once‑touted “Andalusian way” as little more than a memory.
