Abascal warns PP: Vox will exit regional coalitions if pacts are breached, calling this 'the hour of truth' for the party

Coalition governance enters new phase

Santiago Abascal closed Vox's General Assembly in Madrid on Saturday by declaring the party has entered “the hour of truth”, the moment of governing. After a cycle of regional elections, Vox is now a junior partner in the governments of Extremadura, Aragón and Castilla y León, with vice‑presidents Óscar Fernández, Alejandro Nolasco and Carlos Pollán holding deregulation portfolios. Abascal told them seated in the front row that all eyes would be on their performance, calling this “probably the most decisive and difficult stage” for the party.

“The hour of truth has arrived.”

Respect paired with a readiness to walk out

Abascal balanced conciliatory language toward the Popular Party with an explicit threat. He asked his regional vice‑presidents to “respect our government partners, just as we demand respect from them,” but immediately added that Vox would abandon the executives if agreements were not applied “to the letter, without any trick or delay.” He invoked the precedent of July 2024, when Vox withdrew from five coalitions after PP accepted a national migrant‑minors relocation scheme.

“If we again encounter tripwires and tricks, we must be ready to do what needs to be done.”

Deregulation with a scalpel, not a chainsaw

The Vox leader admitted that as a minority partner the party cannot deploy the full programme its voters want. Instead of a “chainsaw or flamethrower,” the vice‑presidents will wield a “scalpel.” The plan is to eliminate three existing regulations for every new one adopted, targeting norms on labour equality, LGBTI plans, working‑time records and digital‑disconnection protocols. Abascal noted that voters are impatient but that the party's electoral weight limits what can be achieved immediately.

Attack on the prime minister

Abascal used part of his speech to insult Pedro Sánchez, calling him “unbalanced, a psychopath and a scoundrel” and warning that Spain has “a dangerous madman at the wheel.” He accused the prime minister of wanting “any catastrophe, epidemic or war” to distract from what he termed “filthy corruption.” He also repeated the allegation that Sánchez intends to manipulate the electoral roll through migrant regularisations and nationality grants under the Democratic Memory law.

“Today in Spain there is a madman at the wheel, a dangerous madman.”

Assembly backdrop

The gathering served to approve the party's 2025 accounts with over 98% support. Abascal highlighted the work of the Disenso Foundation, which he said would receive more funds to operate as a think tank and to send international observers to “all the communists, narcos and riff‑raff in Latin America.” The audience cheered and waved Spanish and Vox flags as he descended the auditorium steps.