Politics · Spain · 5 hrs ago
Ex-Vox figure Iván Espinosa de los Monteros will not run in Spain's 29 November election
Former Vox leader Iván Espinosa de los Monteros will not run in Spain's general election on 29 November.
He had considered standing with Atenea, his liberal-conservative think tank, but says he wants to avoid splitting right-wing voters.
Polls suggested a list backed by his circle might win seats, and he said it could have focused on 10 to 12 provinces.
He says the priority is defeating Pedro Sánchez's government, which he believes a separate candidacy could make harder.
The decision puts his possible return to elected politics on hold.
Atenea will not field candidates in this election, while a new party called Democracia 21 plans to run in Madrid and Barcelona.
Former Vox figure Iván Espinosa de los Monteros says he will not run in Spain’s general election on 29 November.
He says he wants to avoid fragmenting the right and weakening the effort to remove Pedro Sánchez’s government.
His conservative-liberal think tank, Atenea, had considered running candidates in 10 or 12 provinces.
Espinosa de los Monteros said polling suggested the group could win parliamentary representation.
Miriam González Durántez launched a separate party’s election bid on 10 October, focused on Madrid and Barcelona.
- Who
- Iván Espinosa de los Monteros, a former Vox figure, and his think tank Atenea.
- What
- He will not run in the 29 November general election. He says he wants to avoid fragmenting the right.
- When
- The election is scheduled for 29 November; his decision was reported on 15 October 2026.
- Where
- Spain.
- Why
- He says the priority is to remove Pedro Sánchez’s government and that another candidacy could undermine that goal.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Miriam González Durántez launched her candidacy for the 29 November election, with her new party planning to run in Madrid and Barcelona.
El Confidencial reported that Espinosa de los Monteros would not run with Atenea.
Spain’s general election is scheduled to take place.
- Election date
- 29 November
- Party project
- Atenea, a conservative-liberal think tank
- Potential constituencies
- 10 or 12 provinces
- Separate candidacy
- Democracia 21 plans to run in Madrid and Barcelona
- Election report
- 15 October 2026
What people are saying
After having analyzed it a lot, we have decided that we are not going to run in these general elections.
The main responsibility is to remove Pedro Sánchez.
I do not want under any circumstances to contribute to breaking the main objective.