Vox's Overton window: now it's "national priority" but not abortion

BarcelonaThe agreements between PP and Vox in Extremadura and Aragon have had a "do or die" that was not only about management, but above all about ideological war. On paper, Vox has won it with the achievement for the first time of "national priority" in "public aid, subsidies, and benefits" – in both regions. As ARA has learned, Vox focused the negotiations as a key scenario for the cultural battle a year ahead of the Spanish elections, with two essential axes: immigration based on the slogan "first, those at home"; and deregulation, the chainsaw of the Argentine Javier Milei. National priority has been an agreed element as a prelude to new offensives: "It is the Overton window," say consulted Vox sources, citing a concept from political science that describes the progressive acceptance of ideas that were initially rejected.

The roadmap planned by the far-right is to now present a battle so that "national priority" is assumed by society before the next general elections arrive. "End the stigmatization" of the measure, counting on the Spanish government to put up a fight. "Then, on to the next screen," they conclude. For now, they already defend the limitation of rights for all immigrants and the expulsion of all those in irregular situations. What will be next?

The migratory issue is "the button" they have seen needs to be pressed to advance their ideological agenda. They do not care that popular leaders have cried out against the Extremaduran agreement, such as the Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno Bonilla, who is playing to revalidate his absolute majority in the elections of May 17, or the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. Regarding the latter, she has a significant base of voters of Latin American origin, whom Vox calls "Little Caracas": the far-right, in fact, argues that Latin American immigration

harms Madrilenians

in accessing housing. However, the state PP has even taken the national priority agreed in Extremadura to Congress, despite internal clashes.

This is why Vox waited for national priority "with bated breath until the last moment" in Extremadura, given that within the popular ranks there were many reservations and they initially did not want to grant it to them. But when they accepted this concession, "everything else came easily". It will also be Santiago Abascal's party that will manage public aid through the new ministry of Families, Deregulation and Social Services. Thus, explain the sources, if the PP does not agree with some decisions, it can always say "that it is Vox's doing and distance itself politically". The other matter, deregulation, they see as a nod to the middle class and the self-employed, which is where Vox struggles most to penetrate. In national priority, on the other hand, the strategy of attracting working-class and former socialist voters is emphasized.

At the moment, Vox admits that they have not yet hit the mark on issues concerning women, abortion, and opposition to "gender policies" because they have found that it "generates a lot of contrary sentiment" and the party still finds it difficult to penetrate the female electorate. Although they continue to hold the same ideas as always, the emphasis is not on the anti-abortion gene – which does not appear anywhere in the agreements.

Hard clashes

In the negotiations in Extremadura, there have been some tense moments: "Either you stop playing the fool or it's over," was heard, after a canceled meeting and accusations of leaks. The PP also tiptoed around the harsh letter to Vox's rank-and-file addressed by Secretary General Ignacio Garriga, in which he spoke of the methods of "Galician smugglers" by the popular leadership and accused them of ganging up with critics to destabilize their party. The essential point of the conversations was the entry of the PP's state leadership with Secretary General Miguel Tellado and Feijóo's right-hand man, Marta Varela. This activated Guardiola who, despite everything, took the lead. If the negotiations move forward, it is thanks to "parallel communication" between Guardiola and Vox's Deputy Secretary General, Montse Lluis.

This facilitated the negotiating teams' success in exchanging roles for a task for which Vox received the incorporation of leaders in Congress Carlos Quero and José María Figaredo, party referents in immigration, housing, and economy, who have also been present in Aragon. Marathon meetings of "more than six hours" led to an agreement last Thursday evening, which also overcame the obstacle of relations between Feijóo and Abascal –although the Galician leader's revelation of a conversation between the two has accentuated the "cooling" between them. Reaching Guardiola's pact accelerated understanding in Aragon, where Vox already had more rapport with the popular Jorge Azcón.

Other issues have caused more clashes, such as Vox publicly stating that the agreed text foresees entities like Càritas ceasing to receive public aid related to irregular immigration, which the PP has denied. In the clash over portfolios, the proposal to reinstate a Vox regional senator that the PP had initially rejected also contributed to the agreement.