Ortega Smith digs in against Abascal and threatens him with the courts

BarcelonaDespite the expulsion decreed this Wednesday by the Vox leadership, the party's municipal spokesperson in Madrid, Javier Ortega Smith, has refused to back down and has declared war on the far-right leader, Santiago Abascal, and the rest of the leadership. The expulsion—still provisional in formal terms— The reason was that Ortega Smith refused to accept his dismissal as leader in the city council of the Spanish capital.This Friday, he himself guaranteed that he will defend himself to the end, if necessary resorting to "the ordinary courts." Also for defending his position as spokesperson.

In fact, he verbalized the threat of taking Abascal's leadership to court, clinging to the suffering of an alleged lynching: "I believe my behavior has been exemplary and that I don't deserve what I'm suffering and what my party members are suffering, and that's why, that's why, that's why I will pursue every legal avenue, and if I have to go to the ordinary courts, I will," he declared, emphasizing his "honor."

According to his account, he is experiencing "persecution, an attempt to silence him, an apartment, and expulsion." "I haven't betrayed anyone, I haven't deceived anyone, I haven't lied," he concluded. Given his past as a founder and secretary general of the party, Ortega Smith even questioned whether he could be dismissed "summarily," in his view, without any explanation. However, the numerous letters and emails sent at least since April of last year by the secretary general, Ignacio Garriga, already made explicit the leadership's rebukes for Ortega's public criticisms and for the fact that he acted independently. This "unease" stemmed from interviews and statements that went against the official Vox line or that criticized Abascal.

Abascal has already asserted that he fears "nothing and no one": "The leadership is in charge, and that will continue to be the case." In a clear warning to others, the top Vox leader has reminded everyone in recent days that the structure is clearly hierarchical, both now and when Ortega was secretary general and led the purges.

Amid this all-out battle, the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida of the People's Party, has warned Vox that only the municipal group can remove Ortega Smith from his position as spokesperson, regardless of any decision by the national leadership. He even stated that "there is a tacit acceptance by all Vox councilors that Javier Ortega should remain the spokesperson, because otherwise, it's incomprehensible that no councilor has complained." In addition to being a councilor in Madrid, he also holds a seat in the Congress of Deputies, although he resigned last year. He was dismissed as deputy spokesman.

War of more than three years

The fight with Abascal goes back a long way: Ortega had repeatedly accused him of setting up the party as "modus vivendi"...like a placement agency for friends," he said, referring to the party's leadership as an "undisputed national leadership under the presidency of Santiago Abascal," a position he held since 2023, a year after being dismissed as secretary general, a post then assumed by Ignacio Garriga. He added that this leadership was "undisputed" after the departure of Macarena Olona and other leaders due to political disagreements. In fact, he was the driving force behind numerous purges within the party.