Vox defends the "Catalan identity" in Catalan on October 12th while the PP sees victory as certain

BarcelonaThe Hispanic Day in Barcelona has shown that the PP and Vox have antagonistic strategies in Catalonia. The traditional demonstration of civil Spanish nationalism on Passeig de Gràcia, which brought together 1,700 people according to the Urban Guard, was marked by the electoral climate. Although the march's slogan was "Catalonia with Ceuta"and it was full of flags from the autonomous city, the calling of Spanish elections was the real protagonist. Santiago Abascal's party is aware that they are strong in the Principality, now more than the PP in the polls, but the conservatives are weathering the storm of the sorpasso predicting the triumph they take for granted in the State. The notable flight of voters or sympathizers from Aliança towards Vox in the Spanish elections –at least around 22%, according to the CEO– allows us to understand the multiplication of messages to seduce Sílvia Orriols' voters in the middle of October 12th. It must be taken into account that Aliança is not running in these elections.

Catalan was the majority language at the event that Vox held at the Plaça del Rei in the capital in defense of the "Catalan identity". The general secretary of the radical right-wing party, Ignacio Garriga, was clear: "Only united will we be able to continue defending the security, freedom, identity, and future of our children". And he asserted two more points, that "Vox will truly defend the interests of Catalonia in Congress" and that it is necessary to "vote massively for Vox because it is the only way to guarantee security, prosperity, freedom, and the Catalan identity".

Following the dichotomy also reproduced by Orriols of "either civilization or barbarism", the party has insisted on the message of "unity" of the Catalans around Vox and against Islam that was already defended by Abascal. At the same time, it has reiterated that "Spain is the union of all peoples", in the words of MP Júlia Calvet. Garriga suggested that the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez –who received all kinds of insults during the march–, would change the date of the "national holiday" to April 28 to commemorate the arrival of the Muslims on the Peninsula in 711. Ultimately, he made a call to "forget the squabbles between one another, because what lies ahead is the threat of migratory invasion", which "threatens survival, that Catalonia continues to be Catalonia". The parliamentary spokesperson, Joan Garriga, also gave a passionate speech, almost entirely in Catalan, to defend the Catalan identity within Spain: "Raise the flags, up with the senyera; our flag of the saltire; the cross of Saint George, symbol of our Christian civilization, and our national ensign", he said.

The PP, in its own way

Unlike the Vox path, the PP has chosen its own way and did not want to hold its own event, but rather participated in the demonstration with a brief prior intervention by the Catalan leader, Alejandro Fernández. He made a "recognition for the Ceuta compatriots," who he said have been "abandoned and humiliated by the government of Spain," and proclaimed that "soon there will be a change in Spain that will allow for their protection." In a message "of hope," he said that after "eight years in which lies, division, and polarization have been fostered and the idea of two irreconcilable Spains has been recovered." "Now a change will arrive that will serve to reunite the Spanish people around a common project," he said, and added that Spain is "one of the great nations of the world."

The Popular Party members were relegated to the background in a demonstration where a large part of the attendees came from the Vox event. For this reason, like last year, the far-right spearheaded the march and the chants, such as "Social aid for nationals," "Christian Spain and not Muslim," and "Pedro Sánchez, son of a bitch." Nevertheless, there were only 1,700 people who participated in the demonstration, which is drastically declining compared to the times of the 'Procés'. Mind you, it is more than last year, when there were barely hundreds of protesters, or than in 2024, with 500.

The electoral context has basically allowed for the verification of antagonistic strategies. Vox is accelerating the hunt for Aliança votes and insists on the strategy of stealing them from socialist strongholds. The PP, for its part, still has to designate the Catalan candidate for the Spanish elections, with the mayor of Badalona, Xavier Garcia Albiol, as one of the favorites of Génova, although it is true that the main protagonist of the campaign will be Alberto Núñez Feijóo.