The Vox paradox: it cracks in full boom of its European partners

Vox's biggest crisis in Spain coincides with the momentum of the rise of far-right forces in the rest of Europe. The loss of 19 seats and the subsequent departure of Iván Espinosa de los Monteros tilts the balance of power of the green formation from the most liberal wing to the most ultra faction, led by MEP Jorge Buxadé.

In recent years, Vox's strategy has drawn on ultra-conservatism led by Poland and Hungary in the social sphere and ultra-neoliberal policies in economic matters.. The current set of chairs, which tilts those of Abascal more to the right, translates into a maintenance of the first and a metamorphosis of the second. In other words, it moves towards a more protectionist strategy. A trend that has been consolidating in many of the far-right forces on the continent, which are focusing on seducing the popular vote, the middle classes and the rural world.

“Lower taxes, especially those that affect the income and consumption of families. Stop the massive and uncontrolled immigration that the rich use to reduce wages and destroy security in our neighborhoods and put an end to the 2030 agenda, the darkest utopia that man has known”, Buxadé stated in the last plenary session in Strasbourg.. Some words that crystallize the three legs of the party's current agenda: bury the European green pact, toughen the migratory discourse and project themselves as defenders of the popular classes. This roadmap was previously designed by Marine Le Pen, who in recent years has moved away from the banner of the upper classes, presenting herself as the defender of the popular classes against the “globalists”.. In his program he promises VAT cuts, housing aid or tax reforms for the most vulnerable French.

However, in terms of values, Vox has always looked to the Polish Law and Justice Party (PiS), with whom it shares a political family in the European Parliament under the banner of the Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).. Together with Víktor Orbán's Fidesz, which has not had a group since it abandoned the popular Europeans, the two countries form the illiberal tandem of the EU. In terms of ideology, this is where the Vox that Buxadé is looking at. “Young people of Europe, you have every right to enjoy what your elders had: security on the streets, united families, stable jobs and a homeland that defends you,” he asserted in another plenary session.. The campaign in Spain has been monopolized by equality debates. And Vox has defended a rather harsh speech inspired by Warsaw and Budapest. Shortly after entering the Government of Castilla y León, he tried to replicate the Hungarian law that obliges women to listen to the heartbeat of the fetus before aborting.. And in dozens of town halls it has removed the gay flag, a practice that Poland took to the extreme by declaring localities as “LGBTI-free” places.

The new muse of the European ultra-conservative forces is the Italian Giorgia Meloni. The leader of Brothers of Italy has implemented the nationalist agenda internally. It has declared a state of emergency due to the arrival of immigrants, penalized rescue NGOs at sea or prohibited the registration of children of homosexual couples. However, he has read Brussels intelligently.

After his resounding victory, Meloni calmed the restlessness of the community capital by guaranteeing loyalty and good practices in the most important issues for the EU. To this day, firmness against Russia and support for Ukraine. From Von der Leyen to Pedro Sánchez or Mark Rutte, photographs are taken with the transalpine leader. In the corridors of the community capital, they recognize that there is a growing acceptance of this type of force on the continent.. The greatest proof of this is that the European People's Party, led by Manfred Weber, is testing Meloni to run together in the next European legislature. For now Meloni is the president of ECR. And Buxadé the vice president. This week, the Italian surprised with the announcement of an extraordinary 40% bank tax, a measure against which Vox heavily charged in Spain.

In this political amalgamation, Vox would be cooking up its strategy for the new stage, reflecting on Meloni's idea of Catholic conservatism, of restriction in the fields of gender equality and the homosexual community in Hungary and Poland, and of Le Pen's economic protectionism.. Many nuances still separate her from the French. For the French far-right, women's liberation is a model of progress against the repression of Muslim culture. Defend laicité, sacrosanct in the republic. And his spokesman for years declared himself homosexual.

The sector led by Buxadé goes beyond Marine. His favorite for the last elections in the neighboring country was not even Le Pen, but the even more radical Éric Zemmour, popularizer of the great replacement theory, according to which there is a conspiracy to end Western civilization and its values through immigration. Buxadé asked in Parliament “not to spend European money to promote the replacement.”

On 23-J, Vox suffered a great electoral bump losing 19 seats. A situation that contrasts with the good state of form that many of its sister families are going through. Meloni swept the Italian elections last year. The Polish PiS has been in power since 2015, although it could be ousted in the important elections of October. The Finns Party is for the first time in the Helsinki Executive, controlling seven ministries. Jimmie Akesson's Sweden Democrats give foreign support to Ulf Kristersson's Conservative government. And in the last elections in Greece, the ultranationalists of the Greek Solution improved their result of 2019.

The other European far-right family is embodied by Identity and Democracy. The party that includes the Austrian FPO, the National Rally of Marine Le Pen and the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which the latest polls already position as the second force. One of its objectives in the face of the European elections in June 2024 is to “refound the failed EU”. Already in the last elections, personalities like Marine Le Pen eliminated from their programs the idea of leaving the euro or the community bloc. Its strategy is to weaken sovereignty and powers from within around a 'Europe of the peoples'. And it is this ideology where the Vox de Buxadé is closest. The different ultra families of the Twenty-seven have spent years trying to join forces to form a single family in the Eurochamber, but to date they have failed due to their internal divisions on economic matters or on Russia and China.