Abascal compares Kirk's murder to ETA: "They call us fascists for killing each other."

MadridVox's alliances with the global far right have been both a source of criticism (including internally) and a source of pride for Santiago Abascal, who is taking advantage of the party's annual convention, now an international gathering, to boast about his transnational ties. However, this time, the Europa Viva 25 event held this Sunday in Madrid was marred by the absences. If last year the main attraction was the Argentine president, Javier Milei, The most prominent leader to participate (in person) this year at the Vistalegre Palace, who was also accompanied in person by the leader of the French National Rally, Marine Le Pen, was André Ventura, the leader of the Portuguese far-right party Chega, which was the second largest force in the last elections in Portugal. In fact, the organizers hadn't even announced the details of the event, from which participants have been dropping out until the last minute, and in which most of the interventions have been via videos projected on giant screens.

The event has become a tribute to the American far-right activist Charlie Kirk, who was murdered this week, and a rally against the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, whom attendees have repeatedly called a "son of a bitch." "We have to end socialism in Spain, we must send Pedro Sánchez to prison," the Portuguese Ventura reiterated, sparking a resounding ovation from the audience. One of the common threads running through the speeches has been the call led by US President Donald Trump to annihilate the left, which one of the speakers—Afroditi Latinopoulou, leader of the Greek far right—has even called "a mental illness that poisons our children." Abascal also spoke out, describing the left as "criminal." "The murder of Charlie Kirk is not an isolated case. It shows that the left does not renounce violence but rather promotes and utilizes it," he asserted. The Vox leader also compared the murder to those of ETA. "They did it in Spain until the day before yesterday, with 1,000 deaths caused by the terrorism of separatist leftism at the hands of the criminal gang ETA," he stated, before asserting that "today [ETA] resides in the government of Spain." Abascal concluded by warning: "They don't kill us for being fascists; they call us fascists for killing us."

Despite the lackluster poster, 8,500 people attended Vox's rally, according to the organization. The party has stated that they had to leave people out because capacity was reached, although some seats remained empty with Spanish banners (without the constitutional coat of arms) above them, which no one waved. One of the most applauded speeches was Milei's, who connected live via video call and received the support of Abascal and the audience after the electoral defeat in Buenos Aires. "If they attack us, it's because we're doing the right thing and we're close to defeating them politically, socially, culturally, and economically," she asserted. In Spain, with Vox far from the established position that that ideology has in other countries where it governs or is the leading force, but on the rise to the detriment of the PP according to the polls, Abascal attacked both the Socialists and the Popular Party.

The leader of Vox has denounced the PP's pacts with the Socialists in the European Union and has criticized that in the regional governments of the Popular Party, without the intervention of Vox, "nothing changes." "They have been the same for many years and they act in the same way. The sooner we accept it, the sooner an alternative will come to Spain," he said. According to Abascal, in fact, Europe is at risk of ending up in the hands of the "hooligans of Osama bin Laden" for the "PP's complicity" with "the Islamist left." "We will never accept the caliphate of Brussels," he reiterated. The speeches also included another of the leitmotifs of the global far right, such as Islamophobia and the defense of "massive deportations." Slave ship like the Open Arms. "Yes, it must be confiscated and sunk," Abascal asserted after having generated controversy with similar statements a couple of weeks ago.

The differences in Europe

Italian President Giorgia Meloni also spoke in a video despite not being part of the same group in the European Parliament as Vox and its allies on the continent. Abascal chairs the more radical Patriots party, and Meloni leads the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group. In her speech, despite receiving widespread applause from the audience, Meloni highlighted the division within the far right on issues such as the war in Ukraine and Israel's attack on Gaza. The Italian criticized Russian leader Vladimir Putin and defended the two-state solution in Palestine just before the video of Hungarian President Viktor Orbán, an ally of Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, was broadcast. Abascal, who has close ties to the Hungarian, focused his speech on denouncing the actions of Hamas and calling for the "genocide of Christians in Africa" to also be denounced.

Space for anti-Catalanism

Caps with the slogan "Make Spain Great Again," Civil Guard T-shirts, and Spanish flags featuring the Reconquista horse were some of the merchandise that attendees could purchase at the stands set up at the entrance to Vistalegre Palace. There was also one from an organization, the Union of Brigades, which promoted anti-Catalanism with two esteladas strategically placed on the ground so that anyone approaching would have to step on them. They also had ironic ANC Diada merchandise placed as decoration.