Reasons Why the New Spanish Coalition Government Had to Adjust Its Foreign Affairs Policy Along Venezuela’s Political Position, the Sahara’s Conflict, and the Renewal of the U.S. Military Basis

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to detect the lack of coincidence regarding foreign affairs in the electoral programs of the two members of the Spanish center-left coalition1. The main assumption of this article is that the Socialist Party maintains its foreign affairs program, while Unidas Podemos, the coalition partner, does not because it focuses its priorities on other areas of its political agenda at the sacrifice of foreign policy. This article explores the tensions and resignations experienced in the field of foreign policy by the two government partners. It also explains how both political forces had to revise their proposals in order to allow the formation of a new government. This article hypothesizes that the resignations have been greater by Unidas Podemos, and that the Socialist Party has been able to maintain the core of its doctrine on foreign policy, security, and defense. The main challenge that this government will face in the upcoming months is the enlargement of the agreement between Spain and the United States regarding the establishment of the U.S. Army at the Spanish military bases of Rota and Morón. Regarding the methodology, we analyzed the top articles literature to compare the political action of several European coalition governments in developing its foreign affairs policy.