Rising Right-Wing Forces Challenge Spain’s PSOE and Transform European Politics

As of late 2025, Spain and Europe are facing significant political shifts marked by the rise of right-wing, nationalist forces, challenging progressive governments and reshaping the European Union's political architecture. In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his PSOE party are grappling with a political crisis that mirrors a broader societal shift to the right. The traditional division between social and political life — foundational to post-World War II liberal democracies — is deteriorating, revealing deep contradictions within Spain's political structure. The government's slow response to these changes has left working-class needs unmet amid rising living costs and social inequality. According to an analysis in El Salto Diario, this has empowered state institutions like the police and judiciary at the expense of parliament and facilitated the growing influence of the far-right. The left faces an urgent need to unify social movements and political projects to effectively counter authoritarian trends, promoting ecosocialist alternatives.

Meanwhile, across Europe, recent developments at a demanding 16-hour EU summit highlighted a power realignment within the bloc. National populists, led by figures like Hungary's Viktor Orbán and Italy's Giorgia Meloni, have been assertively reducing Germany's traditional dominance over EU decision-making as well as the European Commission's authority. Notably, the EU approved eurobonds by qualified majority vote, signaling a departure from the long-standing unanimity rule that previously slowed decision-making. This procedural innovation is a critical shift that could enable more decisive responses to crises — like ongoing European support for Ukraine amid Russia's aggression — though efforts to deploy frozen Russian assets faced pushback from far-right factions. An article from El País emphasizes that beyond policy outcomes, these events underscore a crucial revival of political will integral to Europe fully grappling with its geopolitical challenges.

Together, these Spanish and EU developments illustrate an evolving political landscape marked by increased polarization and the erosion of traditional liberal democratic frameworks. The PSOE’s predicament and the rising right-wing presence at the EU level expose tensions that require new strategies to secure progressive governance and European unity.