Santiago Abascal, Vox leader, responded from Extremadura to Alberto Núñez Feijóo's accusations, where the PP head claimed Vox was pinching with the PSOE against his party. Abascal accuses the PP of hypocrisy for holding an anti-corruption rally right after a scandal dismantled their Almería branch. He urges the PP to file a no-confidence motion instead of street protests.
Last Sunday, Alberto Núñez Feijóo led a rally in Madrid's Debod Park, attended by about 40,000 people, under the slogan 'Mafia or democracy.' There, Feijóo warned Vox: “Stop the pinching. I won't mistake my adversary. Don't mistake your objective, priority, or adversary.”
From Guadalupe in Cáceres, Abascal hit back harshly on Monday. He accused Feijóo of defrauding voters by allying with the PSOE instead of opposing it strongly. “Why does he accuse Vox of something it doesn't do while he does it massively with a brutal clamp of agreements between the Socialist Party and the Popular Party?”, he questioned. He called on the PP to act in courts, as Vox did by bringing Pedro Sánchez's wife to trial, rather than protests that merely distract.
Abascal highlighted the irony of the event: “It's surprising that the Popular Party dares to call that demonstration precisely when its Almería organization was dismantled this week for corruption reasons.” He expressed respect for the protesters but reproach for PP leaders who “defraud Spaniards” and dodge a no-confidence motion, which Vox has demanded for months. Feijóo claims insufficient support.
This retort comes amid Abascal's third visit to Extremadura since regional president María Guardiola dissolved the Assembly to call early elections. Vox was caught off guard, appointing Óscar Fernández Calle as candidate late. Abascal deemed the elections “unnecessary” and accused Guardiola of avoiding a deal like Valencia's, where Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca gained Vox backing by rejecting the EU Green Deal and adopting their immigration views. Vox denies its budget amendments warranted dissolution, stating they wouldn't back PSOE and Unidas por Extremadura alternatives.