The leader of Spanish far right party Vox, Santiago Abascal, turned up at Arrecife Marina yesterday morning to address the media and a small gathering of supporters.
Abascal appeared to have chosen the marina because it was the current mooring point of the charity vessel Open Arms, which is dedicated to rescuing migrants on the high seas. In August, Abascal called for the Open Arms to be confiscated and sunk.
Earlier in the day, Óscar Camps, head of the Open Arms charity, had invited Abascal aboard the rescue boat so that he could see “a reflection of the best of Spain.” Abascal refused, saying the boat “contaminated the waters.”
In response to posters displayed by the Open Arms, showing an AI-generated image of Abascal in a lifejacket and saying “Santiago, we would save you too,” the Vox leader responded that he would also save Camps “to deliver him to a judge”.
At the meeting, Abascal repeated that the answer to Spain’s problems is “Deportation, repatriation and remigration” and repeated unfounded claims that “traitorous politicians and global billionaires finance and maintain this invasion”.
In response, the Coalición Canaria (CC) commented that Abascal “came looking for an invasion and found a peaceful island.”
“The Canaries turned out to be too big for such a small politician,” said CC secretary David Toledo, “If you want to do politics here, the first thing is to understand us and respect our values.”
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!