Ciudadanos refuse to exclude Vox members from the España Ciudadana rally in Altsasu

The spokesperson for Ciudadanos’ national board and the party's leader in Catalonia, Inés Arrimadas, stated this Monday that anyone can attend the meeting España Ciudadana will hold on November 4 in Altsasu (Navarre), regardless of which party they support or belong to, including members of Vox [a far-right populist party].

"The events hosted by España Ciudadana are organized by an open platform" and they are attended by "members of the public, whether party members or not, members of Ciudadanos or other constitutional parties", Arrimadas declared at a press conference at her party’s headquarters.

Arrimadas went on to say that Altsasu’s (1) would not be the first meeting of España Ciudadana to be attended by people who had voted for other parties or who used to be card-carrying members of other political parties".

This was Arrimadas’ response when asked what she thought of Vox encouraging its supporters to attend the event hosted by España Ciudadana in the Navarrese town and that Vox leader Santiago Abascal had confirmed his attendance.

"It’s not for us to say which members of the public can join" the organisation "and which cannot" or "what party every member of the public who attends the event belongs to", adding that "it’s not a Ciudadanos party meeting", going on to say that what is important is that those in attendance stand up for equality for all Spaniards and freedom, and they support the Guardia Civil officers “who were attacked in a bar in Altsasu in 2016”.

AVOIDS CALLING VOX "FAR-RIGHT"

The Ciudadanos’ spokesperson avoided describing Vox as a far-right party, arguing that it’s "not her job" to define parties that have no seats in parliament, while taking the opportunity to attack the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.

"I don’t know how Mr. Sánchez would characterise his partners in government", she said, after referring to statements made by the president of the Catalan government, Quim Torra, and the leader of Esquerra Republicana, Oriol Junqueras, as to “the Catalans’ genetic peculiarities and their supposed differences from other Spaniards”. "What worries me" Arrimadas declared, "is a government that is in the hands of certain individuals who make observations such as these and hold those views", she added.

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Translator’s note:

(1) Eight youths from Altsasu, a small village in Navarre, were arrested in 2016 following a bar brawl with two off-duty Guardia Civil officers and their partners. Madrid’s National Court pressed terrorism charges against them. Since then Altsasu has taken on a political dimension.