As BBC World Service and the FT report, the ultra-nationalist party Vox was expected to do very well in the Spanish general election held over the weekend. In the event, though it did win some representation, its main effect was to split the conservative vote.
"the centre-right People’s party (PP) [...] lost half of its seats, down from 137 to 66, in its worst election result ever. The party veered sharply to the right under its new leader, Pablo Casado, but it haemorrhaged support to Vox while also losing votes to the liberal Ciudadanos, which did better than anticipated, winning an estimated 57 seats."
Although Spain operates an electoral system based on proportionality by political party, rather than the superior STV which allows voters to discriminate between individuals, the poll just concluded shows that socialist parties, far from fearing PR, can actually benefit from it. For Vox, read UKIP and for PP read the Conservative party in the current situation in England and Wales and imagine what PR might achieve.
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