The agenda of Spain’s left-wing government clashes with the worldview of Donald Trump on everything from defence and the Middle East to immigration, gender and the environment, creating enormous scope for a turbulent relationship. But the disruptive US administration could provide prime minister Pedro Sánchez with an opportunity to bolster his fragile domestic position.
As the European Union prepares to face the full impact of the Trump presidency, Sánchez, whose socialists head a coalition government, is the bloc’s most prominent left-wing leader.
So far, he has avoided full-on confrontation with the US president, instead taking aim at Elon Musk and other Silicon Valley billionaires, by warning of the threat posed to democracy by what he called the “tech caste”.
Meanwhile, he responded to Trump’s “dig baby, dig” pro-fossil fuel slogan by humorously reaffirming his own government’s commitment to renewable energy with the words “green, baby, green”.
But with a government record of promoting gender equality and transgender rights, as well as taking a more positive stance on immigration than most of his neighbours, the staunchly pro-EU Sánchez would appear to be exactly the kind of figure who could rile Trump. When you add his alignment with Ireland and Norway in acknowledging a Palestinian state, his criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza and Spain’s defence spending which, at 1.3 per cent of GDP, is Nato’s lowest, the potential for diplomatic fireworks appears substantial.
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Sánchez is no stranger to bilateral spats. Over the last year, he has had well-documented diplomatic disputes with the far-left government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and the ultra-libertarian administration of Javier Milei in Argentina, both countries with close, long-standing ties to Spain.
“He can’t allow things to go in that direction with the United States,” said Pablo Simón, a political scientist at Madrid’s Carlos III University. “With Argentina, for example, he can allow it to happen, because the relationship is solid and has developed over time, but right now the risk of provoking an adverse reaction from Trump means [Sánchez] has to tread more carefully.”
That would appear to mean walking a fine line between reflecting the views of Spaniards – two-thirds of whom see the return of Trump as cause for worry or fear, according to a recent poll – and diplomacy.
But Carlota García Encina, senior researcher on the United States and Transatlantic Relations for the Elcano Royal Institute, believes that, in the short term at least, Spain is “not in the crosshairs” of the Trump government.
“Spain is a medium-sized power, we’re neither a priority nor a problem [for the US],” she said. “Defence spending is an issue. But the Italians spend 1.5 per cent of GDP and, despite that, Giorgia Meloni has a cordial relationship with Trump.”
While Meloni’s ideology is more in line with the US president than that of Sánchez, García Encina points to Spain’s close co-operation with the United States in logistical areas and the US military’s use of bases in Morón de la Frontera and Rota in the south of the country. The withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq in 2004, following the election of a socialist government, dented the US view of Spain as a reliable ally but the relationship was subsequently repaired.
For some, Sánchez has already gone too far in seeking to appease the Americans. The far-left Podemos party accused him of “licking the boots” of Trump by aiming to accelerate the increase in defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP.
As such episodes suggest, the new US leadership could have an impact on Spain’s highly polarised domestic politics. Sánchez has frequently sought to mobilise voters on the left by warning of the threat of the far-right Vox party, which would be the natural coalition partner of the conservative Popular Party (PP), the main opposition force.
With the Sánchez government under fire from the right over concessions it has made to Catalan nationalists and also facing several corruption investigations, the prime minister is likely to attempt to use the Trump presidency to his advantage, presenting Spain as a bastion of progressive policies holding out against an international reactionary wave.
“[The government] think the idea of rallying around the flag is something which could help them, it could be useful domestically,” said Simón. “The idea is: ‘At a moment of uncertainty, and difficulties, here we have inclusive policies to counter the far right.’”
Ironically, it is Spain’s right which could face the stiffest dilemmas during Trump’s tenure. The PP has kept a polite distance from the US president, without criticising him (although MEP Esteban González Pons did ruffle feathers within the party for describing Trump as “the alpha male in a band of gorillas”).
The Eurosceptic Vox, much of whose support is in rural areas, has been more vocal in its support for the US president; its leader, Santiago Abascal, attended his inauguration. Yet it too could find itself wrong-footed.
“Vox is going to have to explain to farmers why it supports a country that imposes 25 per cent tariffs on them,” said one person close to the Spanish government who described this as “an opportunity for [Sánchez] to square up to the opposition, leaving them in a very uncomfortable position”.
