Spain: Socialists Sue Vox Leader for Hate Speech

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Facts

  • Spain's ruling Socialist party has called on public prosecutors to investigate Santiago Abascal, leader of the conservative Vox party, over comments he made about Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.1
  • In an interview published on Sunday by the Argentinian newspaper Clarín, Abascal said there would come a time when the Spaniards would want to see Sánchez 'strung up by his feet.'2
  • Abascal's comments came days after Sánchez granted amnesty to Catalan separatists, who illegally tried to leave Spain in 2017, allegedly to get their support in his efforts to form a new government.3
  • On Tuesday, Sánchez's party filed a legal complaint accusing Abascal of 'inciting hatred and even violence' with his remarks about the country's prime minister.4
  • Furthermore, the lawsuit claimed that Abascal had 'a clear allusion to the 1945 execution of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini,' who was beaten and hung upside down by a mob after being shot.4
  • However, despite outrage in the country, Vox's Secretary General, Ignacio Garriga, defended his leader, arguing Abascal had only 'recalled the fate of some dictators,' which he claimed isn't hatred but 'history.'5

Sources: 1Magzter, 2Guardian, 3Times, 4Barrons and 5Www.euractiv.com.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by The cambridge language collective. Santiago Abascal and his far-right Vox party are calling for political violence against the democratically elected prime minister of Spain, and this dangerous language has no place in Spanish society. While comparing Pedro Sánchez to fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, Abascal shows that he's the real fascist who wants to rile up the masses to depose a democratically elected government.
  • Right narrative, as provided by Europeanconservative. The Socialists love to cry victims while finding an excuse to exercise fascist attacks on political opponents while pretending to be persecuted. Santiago Abascal wasn't calling for any form of violence against Sánchez. He was reminding the Spanish people that their current prime minister is very similar to the fascist dictators of the 1940s.

Predictions