Robert Firth
PREDICTIONS that Vox could become the kingmakers if today’s elections prove again to be inconclusive are worrying for expats and Spaniards alike.
The far-right nationalists have pledged to retake Gibraltar and ban political parties that support Catalan independence.
Its leader, Santiago Abascal, is anti-Islam and has called for a reconquista – a rollback of five or more centuries when Jews and Muslims were expelled from Spain.
Vox want to ‘Make Spain Great Again,’ according to a poster they used during the April election campaign. And unlike the American president, whose slogans they mimic, its members back up their words with action.
In 2016, their current leader controversially unfurled a giant Spanish flag on the rock of Gibraltar, an act he was willing to be arrested for.
With a coalition between the bickering centre-left PSOE and leftwing Podemos still looking unlikely, the PP and Ciudadanos may be tempted to break the impasse and make bedfellows with the far-right xenophobes.
But they would be foolish to do so, as it could sent Spain into a dangerous spiral of populism and lead to the expelling of expats and many other decent hard-working immigrants.
