'People are much more unashamed to bring back the Franco flag'

Spain is no different to other European countries when it comes to the far-right –but ultras were too fragmented for years to grasp power. And this could now change.

In an interview with the Catalan News Agency, the European Network against Racism (ENAR) warns that there are now in Spain more people "unashamed" to bring back the old Franco-time flag.   

"People are much more in favor or unashamed to bring back the old Franco-time flags, we see this popping up again," said ENAR Director, Michael Privot.

Even though many described Spain's transition to democracy as a "success" because it managed to marginalize far-right parties, Privot argues that their silence was actually due to the extremists "weaknesses."

"It's not that much that the governments have won the battle of ideas, it's rather than the far-right has been fragmented, not up to the task," said Privot. "And this is a concern, because when there is someone that can bring their energies together, they rise very fast," he added.

And now, there is "a new party coming on the playground", VOX, openly far-right. The organization uses Trump-like slogans such as 'Let's make Spain great again' or 'Spaniards first' and is openly against immigration, abortion or gay marriage. They are also strongly opposed to Catalan independence and self-government and want to suppress the regional system in Spain. 

According to Privot, if VOX manages to get the "resources and skills" to "bring the far-right together" it could get up to "25% of the population."