Vox is left without its number 1 candidate: Ansaldo, the 'green beret' of aristocratic blood

BarcelonaThe bitter war between the leader of Vox in Madrid, Javier Ortega Smith, and the leadership of Santiago Abascal has ended with the expulsion of the unruly player And with collateral effects. Two councilors loyal to the rebel, Ignacio Ansaldo and Carla Toscano, have also been expelled from the party, although they retain their seats and participated in this week's municipal plenary session, obstructing the leadership's decisions. Ortega Smith holds membership number 6, as he showed at a press conference, but what's most striking is Ansaldo's number 1. He is Ortega's most loyal henchman, unknown to the general public, but who once pulled strings behind the scenes.

It was he, for example, who instrumentally offered his gardening business in Alcobendas as the first headquarters of the far-right party. From then on, he was already a close friend of Ortega Smith. "He has always been in his shadow," Vox sources consulted by ARA say. He has never been very "relevant" when it comes to making decisions, but he has certainly moved the machinery, obeying Ortega's orders when the latter was secretary general. That involves tasks of "plumber", which he carried out with another mutual friend, Tomás Fernández, a key figure in the internal purges and who is still a member of parliament – ​​also on his way out. Sources familiar with the matter assure that in Ortega Smith's previous structure, Ansaldo "was the territorial director" and "the one who gave orders to the men in black," with whom he had arguments and dismissals to ensure everything ran according to his interests.

Ansaldo, Fernández, and Ortega Smith became friends in the military, in the 13th Special Operations Company (COE), and for years they directed the Vox structure. This is why within the party this group is still remembered as the "green berets," united by the green of the army and that of Vox. Vox's number 1 member is named Adriaensens, of Dutch origin, but stands out for his father's second surname, Bernaldo de Quirós, typical of an Asturian aristocratic lineage. A surname that they also share, On a different branch of his family, he is descended from former Vox spokesperson Iván Espinosa de los Monteros, former members of parliament, and the first female international airplane pilot. Currently, he has a string of uncles and noble relatives; also military figures, such as his great-uncle and pilot Ignacio Ansaldo Vejarano, who fought in the Spanish Civil War on the fascist side. Ansaldo is also a foreign surname from an Italian lineage, part of which settled in Spain.