PP and Ciutadans deal with far-right support sparks political outrage

Catalan president links it with "fascist outbreaks," Barcelona mayor calls it "agreement of shame," while Ciutadans says Vox is not its "partner"

Image of a 10,000-strong Vox party meeting in Madrid in October 2018 (by Vox)
Image of a 10,000-strong Vox party meeting in Madrid in October 2018 (by Vox) / Guifré Jordan

ACN | Barcelona

January 10, 2019 03:23 PM

The party leading opposition in Catalonia, unionist Ciutadans (Cs), will be part of a government in southern Spain headed by the People's Party (PP) with the support of Vox, the far right rising force.

This was confirmed on Wednesday with PP and Vox sealing an agreement in Seville, Andalusia, and since then the outraged reactions from the rest of the parties, especially in Catalonia, have not ceased.

Right-wing Cs, PP and Vox ran electoral campaigns portraying the independence movement as a major threat to Spanish unity.

Catalan president: "New fascist outbreaks worry me"

The Catalan president, Quim Torra, was one of the officials reacting to the news. "The fact that there are new fascist outbreaks worries me as a European," he said.

Vox has some links with other parties in Europe such as French Marine Le Pen's National Rally –formerly known as National Front.

Parliament speaker: "Agreement of shame"

Roger Torrent, the Catalan parliament speaker, called the agreement between PP and Vox "an agreement of shame."