Spain: Islamophobia brings together the extreme right of Vox and Aliança Catalana

Opposing on the independence of Catalonia, two far-right parties come together around their speeches against immigration and Islam. Vox, led by Santiago Abascal, defends Spanish unity. Aliança Catalana, led by Sílvia Orriols, advocates Catalan independence and makes hostility to Islam a central axis. According to La Sexta, a private Spanish general television channel, Abascal said he was open to a collaboration with Aliança Catalana. In her article of October 26, she highlights their convergences despite their opposing national projects.

Abascal invokes an alleged threat from Islamism to Catalan identity. This is a political statement, not an established threat. This opening also responds to an electoral calculation: to attract supporters of Aliança Catalana, which does not present candidates in the mentioned election. Orriols believes that his voters are free to vote for Vox.

The paradox is obvious: Vox wishes to ban separatist parties while considering cooperation with one of them. Javier Ortega Smith, former vice-president of Vox, denounced this contradiction with the party’s commitments. No agreement has been announced. These declarations nevertheless illustrate how the designation of a common enemy can promote rapprochements between extreme right-wing parties.