Vox expels Ortega Smith from the party's executive committee

MadridVox has expelled Javier Ortega Smith from its executive committee after months of strained relations with the party. His replacement will be the party's current national youth spokesperson, Júlia Calvet, former president of the student platform "Se ha Acabado!" (It's Over!) and current member of the Catalan Parliament, Vox announced on Tuesday. Calvet, a lawyer, is a rising star within Vox and one of the young figures Abascal is promoting, along with Pepa Rodríguez de Millán, José María Figaredo, and Carlos Hernández Quero. All of them joined the executive committee as members after the 2024 assembly. The relationship between the far-right party and Ortega Smith has deteriorated in recent weeks, but he still holds the positions of member of parliament, spokesperson for the Justice Committee in Congress, and spokesperson for the Madrid City Council, although he lost his position as deputy spokesperson in Congress in early November. However, he is one of the most vocal critics of his own party. The relationship of one of the party's founders, who served as vice president and secretary general of Vox, soured after clashes with former leader Macarena Olona. With her departure in 2022, Abascal removed Ortega Smith from the secretary general position and appointed Ignacio Garriga in her place. In 2023, in an interview with Europa Press, the then-vice president of Vox warned that the party could not become a job placement agency. His relationship with the Vox leadership deteriorated further after reports surfaced suggesting he was considering challenging Santiago Abascal for the party leadership at the 2024 Assembly. Abascal removed him from the vice presidency of Vox after it garnered over 90% of the vote, but did not remove him from the Vox leadership, a step the executive committee approved this Tuesday. Ortega Smith shared the vice-presidency with Jorge Buxadé and Reyes Romero, and all three became board members. More recently, Ortega Smith has been involved in incidents that have been interpreted as provocations by the Vox leadership. He attended the presentation of the think tank The former Vox leader Iván Espinosa de los Monteros, an uncomfortable figure for Vox, was also seen in the official stand at the October 12th military parade, after Abascal declined to attend to avoid coinciding with the Spanish government. Vox downplayed these two events, claiming that Ortega Smith visited Espinosa de los Monteros "in a personal capacity." Abascal, for his part, refused to comment on the presence of the still-serving member of parliament at the National Day military parade. When he was demoted in Congress, Ortega Smith declared himself "surprised" by a decision he considered "wrong and unjust." Then, Abascal and he engaged in a football analogy, with the Vox leader responding that one must "learn to give way" and that the party "has a deep bench." The deputy likened himself to an experienced "striker" who knows how to "score goals."