The Spanish right divided: ideological positions and territorial cleavage

Abstract

Among the different changes that have taken place in the Spanish party system, this article tackles the end of one single party’s hegemony on the right of the ideological spectrum. Further attention is needed to analyze the emergence of a three-party logic within the right wing, consisting of a historic party (PP) and two new ones (Ciudadanos and Vox), being the latter a radical right-wing party. A wide variety of empirical evidence including public opinion data, experts’ data and analysis of electoral programs is used to study the three right-wing parties’ orientation, their ideological profiles, as well as their positions on the territorial cleavage. The work highlights the existence of closeness between the three parties in contrast to other political parties’ positions. At the same time, the analysis discovers nuances in political positions among PP, Vox and Ciudadanos that allow competition within right-wing parties regarding issues and voters.