Hidden in plain sight: (Mis)readings of the Spanish far right

The relatively late emergence of an electorally successful far-right party in Spain (Vox) confounded observers who had long assumed that the country's recent experience with dictatorship had rendered it immune to the temptations of right-wing populism. Yet a closer analysis of the nature and evolution of the Spanish Right reveals that the absence of a far-right party should not have been read as an absence of far-right sentiments. For these, the Partido Popular, which identifies itself as centre right but has never identified as anti-fascist, long provided a welcome home. The fact that it continues to do so to this day shapes its relationship to Vox and sets it apart from most of its counterparts in Western Europe.