The president of Vox, Santiago Abascal, says that UGT and CCOO should backtrack and cancel the general strike scheduled for November 11 because it "makes no sense," and he has warned that, "if they don’t have the shame to do it," his party "will take note" if there is a "change of cycle" after the general elections on the 29th.
"They should call it off because it makes no sense to hold a general strike against the opposition," Abascal stressed in an interview on 'El Programa de AR' on 'Telecinco', reported by Europa Press. In this context, he brought up the statements of the former first vice president and former Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, who said that the general strike over housing was called against the opposition.
"They should have at least a minimum of shame," insisted the leader of Vox, who reiterated that if the unions calling for it "don’t have it," his formation "will take note if there is a change of cycle in Spain" after the general elections.
Attack on UGT and CCOO and promise to cut subsidies
In its electoral program, Vox proposes to eliminate public subsidies to the trade unions, while keeping its own union organization, Solidaridad. During the interview, Abascal went after UGT and CCOO, which he defined as "ideological unions, Marxist and communist in nature," and he believes that they "respond to ideological issues and not to workers’ interests."
He also wanted to emphasize that these central organizations do not exclusively represent trade unionism in Spain: "There are many in many areas, in the public sector, even workers’ unions."
Along the same lines, Abascal suggested that UGT and CCOO will increase "intimidation and pressure in the streets" if the right-wing bloc achieves a majority after the elections of November 29.
"I have no doubt that if Spaniards want a change, those who have been serving the Government with their silence will also serve them with intimidation and with pressure in the streets," the Vox leader said.
He also linked these organizations to protests that ended in disturbances, arrests, and injuries at some of his party’s pre-campaign events—mobilizations whose organization he attributes to the executive branch and that he interprets as "a preview."
Audits if Vox enters the Government and reproaches to the PP
On the other hand, Abascal has reiterated that, if Vox reaches La Moncloa, they will push for "audits and complete reviews" to find out the real state of public accounts and the effective data on issues such as immigration.
"We’ll end up finding out everything; I have no doubt," the leader of Vox has said, urging the PP to "not look the other way" and "not say 'let bygones be bygones'" only because there has been a change of government.
In his view, the Executive of Pedro Sánchez must assume "all political and criminal responsibilities". "There can’t be a government that, for political peace or for peace between parties, looks the other way," he added.
As for the weight Vox could have in a future Government, Abascal has pointed out that it will depend on support at the ballot box. In any case, he has warned that first it is necessary for PP and Vox to add up enough seats, something he "doesn’t take for granted" despite the polls.
Vox’s criticism of unions and support for train drivers
Vox’s spokesperson in Congress, Pepa Rodríguez de Millán, has also intensified her criticism of UGT and CCOO and has urged support for the protests of railway drivers following the Urda (Toledo) accident, considering that they are the "strikes that need to be supported".
Rodríguez de Millán has emphasized that "all those unions are good for"—which she has described as "paniagua" and "satellites of the PSOE"—is "for the interests of the Government". "It has been proven because they’ve been silent for eight years and now they come out for a demonstration against the opposition," she stressed.
In this sense, she has recalled that in the autonomous communities where the PP and Vox govern in a coalition, subsidies aimed at trade union organizations are already being reduced.