In April, far-right leaders from across Europe gathered in Porto (Portugal) for a two-day summit organised by Patriots for Europe, now the EU Parliament’s third-largest political grouping. The presence of France’s Jordan Bardella alongside Portugal’s André Ventura was a reminder, if one were needed, that the European right is not merely rising, but organising. From the National Rally to the AfD, right-wing and far-right parties are reshaping the political landscape of the continent. And yet, in Spain, Pedro Sánchez’s left-wing coalition governs on, even showing signs of stemming the right-wing Vox’s recent surge. How?

The impact of the Franco dictatorship

To understand what’s different in Spain, let’s take a quick dive into the country’s history. With the Franco regime only ending in 1975, the Spaniards experienced a brutal dictatorship quite recently. It’s closer than in other countries like Germany or Italy, where the last dictatorship ended with the Second World War.

General Franco delivering a speech to the cadets at the General Military Academy in
Zaragoza, 1931.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons todocoleccion | Anonymous / unknown author | Public Domain

A culture of silence and the late beginnings of collective remembrance

Spain did not immediately go from dictatorship to democracy: after Franco’s death, the political elites announced the period of transición (1975-1982) which was inherently characterized by a politically imposed culture of concealment and silence. The atrocities of the last 36 years were deemed to be forgotten. Only in the late 1990s, the soundness of this approach started to be questioned. This is why remembrance culture only began to emerge in the 2000s, with citizens’ initiatives starting to form.

When (intergenerational) traumatic experiences feel closer, remembering is inevitable. This could be reinforced by the Law on Democratic memory, passed by the second Sánchez government in 2022, which condemns the dictatorship for the first time in Spain’s history.

Spain’s Pro-European Values

Spain joined the European Economic Community in 1986, just over a decade after the death of Franco. For Spaniards, membership was never a purely economic transaction, it was the seal of democratic legitimacy as the country rejoined the European mainstream after four decades of isolation. Since joining the EU, Spain’s living standards have risen steadily, supported by structural funds, the single market, and post-pandemic recovery money. Spaniards see the EU’s impact in high-speed rail, Erasmus opportunities, and democratic stability. This has fostered a strongly pro-European political culture, making Spain less receptive to the euroscepticism that has fuelled much of Europe’s far right.

That sense of shared benefit shapes Spain’s attitude to immigration too. While northern European governments have tightened borders under pressure from their own far-right movements, Madrid has moved in the opposite direction. Sánchez has consistently framed immigration as an economic necessity, a way to fill workforce gaps and sustain an ageing welfare state, and this year his government backed that rhetoric with action, approving a plan to regularise around 500,000 undocumented migrants already living and working in the country. This political posture, near unthinkable in France or Germany right now, shows how differently Spain relates to the questions of migration and belonging that are tearing other European democracies apart.

The Policy Factor

While historical memory and pro-European attitudes help explain Spain’s political context, they do not tell the whole story. Much of the answer lies in policy. So which policies have made the difference?

Yolanda Díaz, Minister of Labour and Social Economy, during her speech in the Congress of Deputies on the day of the vote on labour reform.
Photo: El Salto | Álvaro Minguito | CC BY-SA 3.0

Sánchez’s government has focused on everyday economic pressures such as job security, wages, and the rising cost of living. The 2021 labour market reform is one of the clearest examples. By restricting temporary contracts that had left many workers stuck in unstable jobs, the reform favoured permanent employment and reduced job insecurity for the next generation. This has been reinforced by sustained increases in the minimum wage in Spain; which has risen since 2018 from €735 to €1,221 a month. For millions of lower-paid workers, that has meant a significant change in daily life, which could also reduce the economic pressures that often drive “protest voting”.

Rally in support of Pedro Sánchez in Madrid, 28 April 2024.
Photo: wikicommons | Nemo | CC BY-SA 4.0

Another important element is the escudo social (“social shield”), a set of measures including energy subsidies, housing and welfare protections designed to absorb the impact of recent economic shocks. These policies have not resolved deeper issues such as the housing crisis but have helped create a sense that the government is present and willing to act. Furthermore, Sánchez’s stance on Palestine has also resonated with parts of the electorate and reinforced support across the left. Together, these choices could help explain why support for far-right movements like Vox has not taken hold as strongly as elsewhere in Europe.

Holding the Line - For Now

Spain remains an outlier in an increasingly right-wing Europe, shaped by a mix of historical memory, pro-European identity, and policies that have eased economic pressure. Together, these factors have limited the appeal of the far-right, even as it advances elsewhere across the continent.

Yet this position is not guaranteed to last. With the rise of far-right propaganda through TikTok and limited emphasis on its impact across schools in Spain, its lessons may weaken among younger generations. If that happens, Spain could become more vulnerable to the same political forces reshaping the rest of Europe.

This article was written as part of the “Newsroom Europe” project. The project brings together young Europeans from Germany, Cyprus, and Ireland, who report in international editorial teams on European issues. Its aim is to strengthen journalistic skills and to foster European exchange. The project is organized by the European Academy Berlin. Treffpunkteuropa.de is the project’s media partner.