VOX, the Spanish conservative-populist party which has grown substantially in recent years, saw a disappointing election result last month in the snap Spanish general election and may face even more turmoil as its spokesman Iván Espinosa de los Monteros has announced he will be resigning from politics.
Espinosa de los Monteros, well known for his speeches in the Spanish parliament, has been one of the most high-profile figures in VOX and was considered second only to the party’s leader Santiago Abascal.
According to a report from the newspaper El Mundo, Espinosa de los Monteros resigned on the night of Monday, August 7th during a two-hour meeting with Santiago Abascal in what was described as a cordial meeting between the pair.
Following his resignation, Espinosa de los Monteros is expected to go back to the private sector but will remain a supporter of VOX and a member of the party.
The MP is said to have been disappointed with the results of VOX in last month’s election, as VOX saw a reduction of around 600,000 voters compared to 2019, picking up just 33 seats, down from 52 seats in the prior election.
Espinosa de los Monteros released a statement on Tuesday, August 8th regarding his resignation stating:
Today at noon I will announce my resignation from the act of deputy, for personal and family reasons. It has been the greatest honour of my professional life to serve in the Congress of Deputies, and I feel deeply grateful to life for that opportunity it has given me.
I am especially proud to have served alongside Santiago Abascal since the beginning of this party, and very grateful to all the people with whom I have collaborated over the years; especially, to the 52 of Vox. Life is made up of stages, and now I start a new one, with enormous optimism about the future of Spain, even at times like this. We have a great nation, which I hope to continue serving always, wherever it is.
In the meantime, I remain in Vox naturally as a grassroots affiliate. I want to say THANK YOU for all the support at this time and wish Vox, and its new parliamentary group, all the success in the world for the future. Spain needs Vox very much. I won’t say goodbye because I’m still here for whatever it takes.
While it is unclear what caused the resignation of Espinosa de los Monteros this week, VOX vice president Javier Ortega Smith has hinted that there may be more to the story.
On X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter, he stated:
Dear colleague and friend @ivanedlm, I am very sorry for your resignation and much more for the reasons that caused it. You have fought tirelessly since the founding of VOX with loyalty, generosity and sacrifice. Although some have not been able to admit it to you, the vast majority have an unpayable debt of patriotism to you. We will continue fighting for the same principles and values for which together we launched this project at the service of Spain and freedom. Always by your side. THANK YOU.
The loss of Espinosa de los Monteros, who has been involved in the party since it was founded in 2013, is a major blow for VOX and comes after the party parted ways with Macarena Olona in July of 2022 after she led the party in the regional elections in Andalucia.
Initially, Olona cited personal medical reasons for stepping down from the party but later formed her own political party Caminando Juntos (Walking Together), which was registered in June of this year, fuelling speculation that her departure was due to internal disputes within the party.
Olona’s party competed in the July elections but failed to achieve any success, with Olona herself getting just over 400 votes in Grenada, one of the lowest scores of any of the candidates in the area.
Olona also took to X following the announcement by Espinosa de los Monteros saying,
Today I will just say something. The silence that I have maintained for myself will not be maintained if he is harassed. Because at the start, everything is good words. Organized bullying comes later.
VOX leader Santiago Abascal, meanwhile, released his own statement saying,
Dear Iván, the parliament loses a great spokesman (now, that they will no longer suffer you, they will recognize you more than before). But the party maintains a luxury affiliate who surely still has a lot to contribute.
“With everything we’ve been through together … I’m convinced that the best is yet to come, and that you will participate very actively in it,” he said and added, ”No goodbye. See you soon.”
