The rise of European right-wing movements branded as “extremist” by secular liberal globalists for their espousal of Christian-rooted history, customs and traditions has been marked at the other end of the political spectrum by a decline in voter support for parties of the left, especially Social Democracy. Indeed, there are now only two European nations still governed by Socialists, Spain and its Iberian neighbor Portugal, and the days of their rule in Spain could be numbered.
In the first place the Socialist government of Prime Minister Pablo Sanchez is a minority one, always a precarious position for a ruling party in a parliamentary system. Now a new political development, one that is highly significant from the Catholic point of view, is the meteoric rise of Vox as a very real force.
“Meteoric” is the word most Spanish newspapers have used to describe the party’s rise. The New York Times did not use the word but acknowledged after the party won 12 seats in Andalusian regional parliamentary elections on December 2, thereby ending 36 years of Socialist rule in the region, that the result “could make Vox a kingmaker of a right-wing coalition government in the region.”
The party had been predicted by pollsters to win four or five seats at most. No wonder The Daily Telegraph in London headlined a report: “Spain reels as far-Right Vox party storms into Andalusian parliament”.
Nationalist and populist, pro-life, opposed to same-sex marriage and vowed to bar entry into Spain of Middle-East and African Muslims called “migrants” by secular liberal globalists, including Prime Minister Sanchez, Vox is being compared by media to the “fascist dictatorship” of Francisco Franco (1939-1975).
Since the nationalist populist government of Italy that came to power earlier this year has closed that country’s borders to “migrants,” Spain has become their principal target for entry into Europe. Promising to thwart the influx during the election campaign in Andalusia, the Vox party leadership spoke in terms of “reconquest” (reconquista), a reference to Spain’s seven-century struggle to liberate the country from Moorish Muslim occupation.
Formed in 2013 by disaffected members of the center-right do-nothing People’s Party, roughly the Spanish equivalent of the non-Trumpist wing of the GOP in the U.S., Vox did not attract much media attention until 10,000 showed up at a Madrid rally in November where its president, 42-year-old Santiago Abascal, unveiled a 100-point party platform.
It is this platform which interests us. As of December 17 the party had yet to make it available on its official website, but the newspaper El Pais provides an English summary of key planks. Some of them:
Vox wants to “eliminate subsidized radical feminist groups, and effectively prosecute phony complaints.” It proposes creation of a Family Ministry and to introduce “an organic law protecting the natural family, which should be recognized as an institution that came before the State.”
The position of Vox on taxes is “the lower, the better.” It proposes a single income tax rate, lower corporate and property taxes, and to eliminate estate, inheritance and capital gains taxes.
Vox intends to “control immigration flow depending on the needs of our national economy and of the new arrivals’ ability to integrate into Spanish society and accept our values.” The party would deport all illegal immigrants. Years of residency will not be considered an acceptable cause for their being allowed to remain. It also proposes to “shut down fundamentalist mosques,” to “regain control of our borders,” and to “arrest and deport extremist imams.”
Vox seeks to introduce “an integral plan to encourage knowledge, awareness and protection of the national identity and of Spain’s contribution to civilization and to universal history, with a special focus on the achievements and deeds of our own national heroes.”
Evidence that the Vox victory in Andalusia has had real impact nationally is the fact that the center-right People’s Party, overcoming years of institutional inertia, has bestirred itself to announce it will now back measures to control illegal immigration.
