María Guardiola surrenders to the far right: "The feminism I defend is what Vox defends"

Madrid / BarcelonaMaría Guardiola is no longer what she used to be: while in 2023 she distinguished herself by projecting one of the most moderate profiles within the People's Party (PP), distancing herself from the far right—although she ultimately formed a coalition with them—and until a few weeks ago resisted yielding to Vox's demands, now she is surrendering to Santiago Abascal's party. Despite the fact that a few days ago He asserted that he preferred an abstention from the PSOE. After an uncomfortable pact with the far right, this Monday the 180-degree turn became evident and He's putting all his eggs in Vox's basket to win the presidency of Extremadura again.Embracing its far-right rhetoric, she stated, "The feminism I defend is the feminism that Vox defends." an interview in OK DailyPublished this Monday morning, in which she makes it clear that she wants Santiago Abascal's party to be her "government partner." The Popular Party candidate for re-election, in fact, claims to be willing to agree on 93.33% of the measures proposed by Vox. She adds that the remaining 6.66% "cannot be an impediment." "I want to bring our positions as close as possible and be able to have the strong government that the citizens deserve," she added.

Guardiola's words have not gone down well in Genoa: not because they disagree that there should be a pact with Vox –Alberto Núñez Feijóo has accepted this from day one–, but because they believe there should be more behind-the-scenes work and fewer public statements. "In these negotiations, there's too much noise and not enough serious work at the negotiating table," reacted the deputy secretary of the national PP, Carmen Fúnez, when asked about the Extremaduran politician's remarks at a press conference. Furthermore, she expressed her conviction in "equality policies" and clarified Guardiola's statement: she interpreted what she meant as... baroness Popular Party members say they don't believe in feminism "that protects the burka or the niqab." "We defend feminism that respects women's dignity," she declared. However, Fúnez also referred to Vox, reiterating the message of "responsibility" that Alberto Núñez Feijóo has been emphasizing for days. "We have hope in responsibility," she said regarding the formation of a government, and stressed that the election results indicate that Guardiola should be president and that there must be an agreement with Vox. "The negotiations must be governed by stability and proportionality," she demanded, adding that the most important thing is for Extremadura to have a government as soon as possible, as well as Aragon. Popular Party sources, in this regard, lament the "noise" being generated around the regional negotiations, including those concerning the Aragonese elections. In his opinion, "discretion" is needed, as well as sitting down to negotiate around a table.

Guardiola's change of direction

Although Guardiola is one of the PP leaders who had been most reluctant to form a coalition with Vox, this Monday she completely reversed her stance. In fact, she already had to do so during the 2023 regional elections, when she initially refused to form a coalition with the far right and then had to backtrack. Her responses on feminism this Monday confirm this. While three years ago he claimed After the elections, in which she refused to allow anyone who "denied gender violence" into her government, she stated this Monday that feminist policies will in no way be an obstacle to reaching an agreement with Santiago Abascal's party. "The feminism I defend is not that of the left, nor that of the protest banners [...] I defend true feminism. I fight for real equality between men and women [...] without excluding or demonizing men," she affirmed. And she added: "The feminism I defend is the feminism that Vox defends."

Her statements ignore the fact that Vox's proposals represent, in many ways, a setback for the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people, whom Guardiola—incidentally—also claims to defend. For this reason, the PSOE of Extremadura has already asked the acting Popular Party president for a "clear" explanation of her "real" position on equality.

In the interview, Guardiola states that she doesn't believe she is whitewashing the far right and, in fact, avoids labeling Vox as such. "The far-right party we have in our country is Catalan separatism, which despises and hates Spaniards. That's what they've agreed to with Pedro Sánchez without anyone batting an eye," she says, implicitly asking that her alliance with Santiago Abascal's party not be criticized. To reach an agreement with them, she assures that she will give "everything" on her part. "I'm already doing it," she says to conclude the interview.