The son of a marquis who gathers the expelled from Vox: will he create a new party?

BarcelonaIván Espinosa de los Monteros y de Simón, son of the Marquis of Valtierra, entered politics with Vox and was expelled last Wednesday, culminating a power struggle with the state leadership of Santiago Abascal that had been going on for three years. Everything took a turn for the worse when the right-wing parties lost the 2023 elections and he could not become a minister – which is what he desired – but the clash already stemmed from the electoral lists, where Abascal vetoed several names he proposed for key positions in the state and municipal elections, according to informed sources consulted. Once he has been eliminated, there are no longer any critics within the far-right party and the attempt at internal rebellion to request an extraordinary congress has completely ended. But the rebellion could end up being external, in the form of electoral competition if Espinosa and his acolytes opt to form another party, as several of the former leaders have publicly stated.

"The best is yet to come" was Espinosa de los Monteros' message when he was informed of his expulsion last week. "See you soon, friend," said the current Madrid councilor and also expelled Javier Ortega Smith, while the expelled former Murcian leader and current deputy José Ángel Antelo supported him. The truth is that for many months now, Vox's leadership has been convinced that, under Espinosa's leadership, "they are preparing a new party," according to sources consulted by ARA.

When Espinosa launched the Atenea foundation last year, it was already seen as the antechamber to a political project. Antelo is the one who has most clearly expressed the desire to promote a new "patriotic liberal" party, while Ortega Smith has not ruled it out publicly for some time. Espinosa himself advocated in June that "there would be space" for a third party in the right-wing bloc. Juan García-Gallardo, the former Castilian-Leonese vice-president, also claimed this, but his more radical stance led him not to sign Espinosa's manifesto and that of the other critics to refound Vox, and he has distanced himself from the leading group. Instead of being the four fantastic, now there are three. Former spokesperson Macarena Olona has also shown herself to be out of the running lately, even though she was the first to denounce Abascal's malpractice.

The ultra MEP Alvise Pérez already sounded out Espinosa de los Monteros to be his candidate in the state elections, but so far he has met with a no for an answer. They were even photographed together, but at the time Espinosa doubted that the presence of a third party could be beneficial in bringing down the left-wing government. However, the moves he has made in recent months go against what he had initially stated.

In Madrid, with Ortega Smith, and in Murcia, with Antelo, rivals could emerge for Vox at a municipal or regional level, while waiting to see if Pedro Sánchez brings forward the general elections.

Turns

Espinosa de los Monteros has been the last one to be expelled because was the most uncomfortable piece and less aggressive for Vox's leadership, who feared that an expulsion would cause an internal crisis. He was less considerate with the Madrid councilman and former party general secretary, Javier Ortega Smith, expelled in mid-February. With him, who is one of the party's founders, Vox also expelled the councilors of the Spanish capital Ignacio Ansaldo and Carla Toscano. In March it was the turn of the then leader in Murcia, José Ángel Antelo, who ended up defenestrated in a serious confrontation with Abascal. In February of last year, the former Castilian-Leonese vice-president Juan García-Gallardo resigned, who disconnected from the party, and has driven the anti-Zionist stances of the radical right along with Ortega Smith.

Among the political criticisms made by the expelled members, the "national priority" stands out, which, for example, Antelo and Ortega Smith find too soft – they would prefer it to be based on nationality rather than on being registered in the census. An ultraliberal, Espinosa has also railed against the contamination of "workerism" and "statism" by Le Pen's followers, which has gained traction within the far-right party thanks to the deputy spokesperson, Carlos Hernández Quero, for example, in housing matters.

On the other hand, with the process of cleaning up critics completed, Vox leaves several messages: no challenge to Abascal's leadership or political line will be tolerated, and the state elections will be approached from a position of strength and without any internal murmur.