Santiago Abascal will be confirmed, except for a last minute surprise at midnight, as the only candidate who will run for the presidency of Vox, which ‘de facto’ assures him four more years at the head of the party. The leader of the extreme right will have no rivals. The express condition, according to the party’s statutes, is to have 10% endorsements among the members. His leadership was never in doubt, but the internal crisis that has been going on for months left open the possibility that unrest would surface in support of other leaders. And, in fact, some decisions in this new candidacy aim to plug the unrest. In addition to maintaining Ignacio Garriga as secretary general and spokesperson or MEP Jorge Buxade On his list, he has decided to include Javier Ortega Smith after the latest disagreements.
In recent months the party has experienced moments of tension. After the summer, the departure of Iván Espinosa de los Monteros as spokesperson in the group opened new wounds that have not yet healed. Many leaders did not accept the decision to support the Andalusian Pepa Millan to the parliamentary spokesperson. Millán also enters the candidacy of Abascal. Furthermore, the loss of deputies in the general elections and the inability to be decisive in a PP government has also forced the party to rethink its political strategy in this legislature.
Now, at the threshold of an uncertain electoral cycle for Vox, Abascal decided to bring forward his party’s political assembly scheduled for March to the end of January. From that moment on, this candidacy will become ‘de facto’ the power structure of Vox. At least on paper. Decisions until now are made by a very small group of people.
In his candidacy, Abascal has included the deputies Pablo Saez (also treasurer), Reyes Romero, Rocío de Meer, María Ruiz, Blanca Armario and José María Figaredo, the latter also rising talent within the formation. The other novelty is the incorporation of several territorial leaders, such as the regional vice presidents Juan García-Gallardo (Castile and León), José Ángel Antelo (Murcia Region), Alejandro Nolasco (Aragon) and Vicente Barrera (Valencian Community), in addition to Luis Gestoso (spokesperson in the Murcia City Council) and Masso Plains (president of the Valencian Cortes).
There are three other people who are completely trusted by Abascal who are not in the institutions and who are also part of the new executive: Enrique Cabanasa kind of chief of staff and man of his complete confidence; Rosa Cuervas-MonsDirector of Communication at Abascal and who also has her full support and Montserrat Lluisa key player in human resources and at Vox headquarters.
