Silence from Vox and Abascal on Felipe VI’s speech

The King burst into the homes of Spaniards on Tuesday to send a message of serenity in the face of what he called “thunderous political conflict.” Along with this, messages about immigration, the “unstable” international situation and a defense of the Constitution.

A few hours later, representatives of parties of all political stripes interrupted their Christmas celebrations to convey their evaluations of the words of Felipe VI. Support for this call for harmony from PP and PSOE, “disappointment” from Sumar and Podemos or criticism and requests from nationalists and independentists. The only ones who didn’t say anything were the members of Vox. Not even its president, Santiago Abascalneither the party officially nor any of its spokespersons made any comment on the traditional message from the King for Christmas. Nor when they were asked by ABC about it.

This reaction is not the usual one in the formation, which in previous years has commented in one way or another on the message of Felipe VI. Last year, for example, the assessment was made through the official Vox Twitter account. The party then reproduced one of the paragraphs of the King’s message, which spoke about the Constitution, and Abascal himself shared it on his personal account, although without adding any comments.

On other occasions, Vox has reproduced the complete video broadcast by the Casa del Rey or some of its excerpts. Also Abascal has applauded his message in several editions. In 2019, he even released a photograph of two of his children in front of the television watching the King on Christmas Eve. “We applaud the wisdom and temperance of His Majesty Felipe VI’s speech in these moments of uncertainty,” he said then.

Mutism in X

These words contrast with the silence of this year, in which silence has been the protagonist on all Vox channels and their leaders. Although it is not the first time, In 2021 they did not react either Immediately, the silence of a party that uses social networks with agility when it wants to mobilize its people in a direction or convey messages without filters or intermediaries is striking.

On this occasion, Abascal’s last message on X (formerly Twitter) is a Christmas greetings for the 23rd; while the party account shared its leader’s speech before the European group Patriots which he himself presides over.