Since 2022, the Spanish Partido Popular (PP) has entered multiple coalition agreements with the far-right party Vox at the regional and local levels. While these alliances have often been portrayed as pragmatic or unexpected, this paper argues that cooperation between the Spanish centre-right and the far right reflects a longstanding ideological genealogy rather than a strategic rupture. We ask: how do recent PP–Vox agreements relate to the historical evolution of Spanish conservatism, and what do they reveal about the transformation of contemporary political conflict?

Adopting a historical-ideological perspective, we trace continuities between the current PP and its predecessor, Alianza Popular, founded by figures linked to the Franco regime, most notably Manuel Fraga. We show that the PP has never fully represented a “pure” liberal-democratic conservative party; instead, it has consistently incorporated a reactionary wing rooted in authoritarian legacies, nationalist centralism, and close ties with economic elites. From this perspective, Vox—emerging as a splinter from the PP—should be understood not as an external challenger but as the organizational crystallization of ideological elements long present within Spanish conservatism.

We argue that recent coalition agreements activate a previously dormant ideological and strategic trajectory within the PP, enabling the politicization of cultural, territorial, and identity-based conflicts that increasingly structure political competition. This case illustrates how mainstream conservative parties may facilitate the normalization of far-right agendas by integrating them into governing coalitions. More broadly, the Spanish case contributes to debates on the interaction between supply-side party strategies and latent demand for reactionary politics, highlighting how alliances between mainstream right and far-right actors reshape cleavages and accelerate the transformation of democratic party systems.