Alberto Núñez Feijóo says the PP is negotiating with Vox on joint Senate lists to reduce the left’s chances of controlling the chamber. The deadline to file candidate lists is Monday; an agreement could help the parties seek a three-fifths majority.
Under Spain’s Senate voting system, the leading list usually wins three of the four directly elected seats in each province. Voters do not choose a closed party list: in most provincial districts they can mark up to three individual candidates on a single ballot. That arithmetic is shaping talks between the PP and Vox over whether to coordinate their Senate candidates, Alberto Núñez Feijóo said in an interview with Cadena Cope.
Feijóo said the parties are discussing possible arrangements discreetly and seeking an agreement. As of October 20, the contacts had not produced a final deal. The candidate-registration period runs from October 21 to October 26, the Monday deadline. Vox’s national executive committee was expected to decide its position by then. Spanish media have reported that a possible arrangement could cover more than ten districts, with Vox either not fielding candidates in some provinces or placing candidates on PP lists.
The talks followed an agreement between PSOE and Frente Amplio to run joint Senate lists under the name Senado de Progreso. The PP had initially planned to run under its own party label nationwide, apart from its separate agreement with Unión del Pueblo Navarro in Navarre. Vox leader Santiago Abascal publicly signalled a willingness to reach an understanding in the Senate, while the party maintained that it would field its own candidates for Congress in all 52 districts.
If the two parties secure a three-fifths majority, they could make some appointments without support from the left, including the four members of the Constitutional Court chosen by the Senate. The Senate also has roles in procedures concerning parliamentary investigation commissions and the application of Article 155 of the Constitution.
The Senate has 266 members. Voters elect 208 directly, while regional parliaments appoint the other 58 according to their political representation. Vox’s five senators were appointed by regional parliaments where the party has agreements with other forces. Feijóo cited those arrangements as a basis for further talks and said future agreements should be transparent.
The negotiations follow a push by PSOE and parties to its left to become the largest force in the chamber. Santiago Abascal has also argued that Vox would keep Spain from relying on Pedro Sánchez, a position covered in an earlier report on his stance.
Feijóo also outlined proposals for a government led by the PP. He said a new nationality law would separate citizenship from voting rights and tighten the requirements for obtaining a Spanish passport. He argued that voting should depend on the Censo de Residentes Ausentes and said his plan would include a minimum residence period, as he says most European countries require.
His first Council of Ministers would, he said, begin a sharp reduction of the state apparatus and launch an institutional renewal package. He also promised an audit by the state’s general intervention, with findings in the first month. Budgets, he said, would be presented immediately. His economic proposals include lower taxes, especially for low- and middle-income households, plus annual pension updates through the Pacto de Toledo.
On immigration, Feijóo called legal migration necessary while describing uncontrolled migration as unsustainable. He said Spain needs migrants who work and obey the law, and proposed recruiting workers in their countries of origin for jobs such as housing construction. He said irregular migrants who commit crimes would be expelled, as would those who depend on benefits without contributing. He also criticised mass regularisations without conditions and said relations with Morocco should combine cooperation with firmness on territorial integrity.
Feijóo has also hinted that a woman will be his number two on the Madrid Congress list. He said she opposed the amnesty and had sought the appearance of the CNI director before the committee on official secrets. The PP Electoral Committee is due to announce her name on Sunday.
