Santiago Abascal wants the growth of Vox to be interpreted as a condition for the change of Government. In an interview given to El Mundo, the leader of the formation maintains that his party is decisive for building an alternative to Pedro Sánchez and claims an electorate that, according to him, goes beyond the traditional boundaries of the right.
«We are voted for by people who have voted for the right all their lives, some who have voted for the left and many others who abstained», he declares. With that argument, Abascal seeks to differentiate his offer from that of the PP while defending the agreements between both formations for the Senate.
The interview, published in the midst of the crisis over the Urda railway accident, also sets out some of his positions ahead of a possible postelection negotiation: he avoids talking about ministries, considers the «national priority» non-negotiable and places among his first actions an audit of public spending and measures on the Ceuta border.
Vox presents itself as an option for former left-wing voters and abstainers
Abascal responds to the competition with the PP by claiming a distinct electoral identity of his own. «I think Vox knows its own and it is not a right-wing electorate», he states in El Mundo.
His explanation is based on the origin of those he says support the party: former right-wing voters, people who previously chose left-wing options and citizens who did not take part in elections. The interview does not provide data that would make it possible to quantify each group; it is the description that the leader gives of his electoral base.
Abascal identifies four elements of his proposal: «national priority», deregulation, a sharp tax cut and the so-called «remigration». He maintains that these positions distinguish him from the PP and admits that those who do not share them may find an option in Feijóo's party.
His message therefore combines competition and understanding: he claims reasons to vote for Vox, but defends cooperation with the PP when he believes it facilitates Sánchez's exit.
«The growth of Vox» as an argument against the useful vote for the PP
The leader of Vox rejects the idea that an advance of his formation benefits the head of Government by making an alternative more difficult.
“The growth of Vox is the only thing that is ensuring at this moment that there is an alternative,” he maintains in the interview. It is the argument with which he tries to turn greater backing for his party into a guarantee of political change.
Abascal appears, at the same time, distrustful of the polls. He questions the ability of some surveys to measure the mood of citizens in moments of serious events and avoids committing to a number of votes or seats.
His appeal to the electorate is summed up in a phrase that he uses when recalling his conversations with supporters: “If you do not want me to be left halfway, do not vote for me halfway.”
With it he links the ability to apply his program to the weight he obtains at the ballot box. He does not specify, however, what result he would consider sufficient nor what government formula he would defend after 29N.
The agreement for the Senate: collaboration without renouncing to compete
When asked about the understanding with the PP for the Senate elections, Abascal prefers to speak of “reciprocal and mutual gestures.” He justifies them as a response to the left’s attempts to coordinate candidacies and secure a majority in the Upper House.
According to what he explains to El Mundo, his objective is to prevent the Senate from becoming an obstacle to a possible alternative Government. He also considers it desirable to achieve a three-fifths majority, although he does not offer a projection that would make it possible to anticipate that result.
The interviewer raises whether the collaboration could favor a transfer of useful votes toward the PP. Abascal responds that his main concern is Sánchez’s continuity and defends the agreement as a decision in the service of Government change.
His position keeps two simultaneous strategies open: coordinate with the PP in the Senate and ask for greater own strength to condition what happens after the elections.
The “national priority,” his condition for negotiating after 29N
Abascal avoids getting into a division of posts. “You are not going to find anyone with me talking about the division of powers, ministries or anything similar,” he assures.
He does establish a political condition: the “national priority” will be non-negotiable. In the interview he relates that concept to the defense of the general interest and to migratory and border measures, especially in Ceuta.
Among his first actions, he also places an audit of the State’s accounts and spending. He demands to know the situation of public finances before addressing changes and expresses his distrust toward the data offered by the Government, without providing in the conversation an alternative audit that proves irregularities.
The leader combines those demands with a warning to his own voters: the changes would not be immediate. He acknowledges that transforming infrastructure, public services and institutions would require time and sufficient political backing.
Abascal defends maintaining the campaign after Urda and questions the singling out of a worker
The railway accident occupies a central part of the interview. Abascal defends his decision to continue with political events during mourning and maintains that continuing to work is compatible with respect for the victims.
“May no one use mourning to silence us,” he declares to El Mundo. He also expresses his reservations about visits by politicians without executive responsibilities to the sites of disasters and reivindicates the privacy of families.
Regarding the causes of the accident, he demands that technicians and judges be the ones to determine them. At the same time, he criticizes the explanations for focusing on the actions of a worker at the control center.
“Trying to convince public opinion that it is a human error and exposing that worker seems to me to be a scoundrel act of the worst kind,” he states.
Abascal also makes accusations about the management of infrastructure and raises possible ties with corruption. These are accusations from the Vox leader: the interview provides no proof that would allow that causal link with the accident to be established.
The message to older people: healthcare, security and the future of their families
Asked about differences in support between generations, Abascal rejects the idea that the image of his events reflects a weakness among older people. He says he perceives a diverse attendance by age and economic situation.
His answer seeks to broaden the message addressed to that electorate beyond pensions. He speaks of healthcare, security and opportunities for children and grandchildren, and rejects the notion that Vox intends to stop paying benefits.
What it proposes on immigration and what remains pending to be specified
Abascal also develops his concept of «remigration». He distinguishes between those who, according to his approach, depend on aid without having contributed and the people who have worked, paid contributions and later lose their jobs. Regarding the latter, he recognizes that they have acquired rights that must be respected.
He also defends the repatriations of those who enter irregularly and the expulsion of foreigners who commit crimes. The leader himself admits that his proposals would require legislative changes in Spain and at the European level; the interview does not detail their legal articulation.In electoral matters, he again accuses the Government of trying to alter the electoral roll through the naturalizations linked to the so-called law of grandchildren.