Brussels – The People’s Party (PP) made gains, Vox advanced – though not as much as expected – and the Socialists held their ground. The polls in Castile and León – a stronghold of the Spanish right, given that the PP has governed the region continuously since 1987 – have marked a slight but significant shift in the political trend that has characterised recent Spanish elections. Elections yesterday (15 March) saw the victory of the People’s Party (PP) led by the outgoing governor Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, propelling the entire right-wing bloc to a record high of 54 per cent.
With 35.5 per cent of the vote, the PP won 33 seats, two more than in the 2022 election. Meanwhile, the right-wing Vox party also advanced, though without achieving the expected breakthrough: the party secured 18.9 per cent of the vote, winning 14 seats – one more than in the previous legislature – but falling short of its most ambitious projections. On the other side of the political divide, predictions that the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) was certain to suffer a crushing defeat proved to be wrong. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s party held its ground, securing 30.8 per cent of the vote and gaining two seats, thus increasing its total from 28 to 30 seats out of a total of 82.
A victory now appears likely for Mañueco, one that will require a delicate political balancing act: on the one hand, he will need Vox’s support to secure a new term; on the other, he will inevitably have to engage in dialogue with the PSOE, despite his continued categorical rejection of Madrid’s national policy. “We will have to engage in dialogue, but we have already made it clear with whom we will not reach an agreement. Castile and León will be a region free from Sanchism,” the governor proclaimed during the celebrations.
Despite the PP’s lead, the Socialists can breathe a sigh of relief following the setbacks they suffered recently in Aragon in February 2026 and in Extremadura in December 2025. On those occasions, the PSOE suffered a clear defeat whilst Vox capitalised on overwhelming support, doubling its representation in Aragon and increasing its seats from 5 to 11 in Extremadura. The right-wing opposition now hopes that this positive momentum — to be confirmed in the upcoming election in Andalusia scheduled for June — will confirm the irreversible crisis of the central government and force Sánchez to resign before his term naturally expires in 2027.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez congratulated Mañueco on X but immediately highlighted the significance of the result, saying he was “proud of Carlos Martínez Mínguez,” the Socialist candidate for the Regional Government, because in his view, “he has shown that our party is the only alternative for change.“
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
