Vox's Regional Coalition Warning
Abascal warns PP: Vox will break regional governments if faced with 'obstacles or traps'.
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Santiago Abascal has put the PP on notice: Vox will walk out of their joint regional governments if his party is sabotaged from within. Speaking at Vox's General Assembly in Madrid on June 27, Abascal warned he is ready to "break again" the coalitions in Extremadura, Aragón, and Castilla y León if the PP places "trips or traps" (*zancadillas o trampas*) in Vox's path. El Periódico de Aragón and El Periódico de Extremadura reported the warning widely across Spain.
The threat lands just months after Vox re-entered those three regional governments in January 2026, following a 2024 mass walkout that ended five coalition deals in a single day. Abascal's message was blunt: principles come before cabinet seats.
Abascal's Ultimatum: 'To the Letter, Without Trap or Delay'
Abascal closed the Vox Ordinary General Assembly at around 11:45 AM and aimed his words directly at his own vice-presidents in the three regions. He told them to make sure coalition pacts are followed "to the letter, without trap or delay." He called the central government of Pedro Sánchez "psychopathic" and accused PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo of being "incapable of breaking definitively" with the left. La Opinión de Málaga and Levante reported the speech generated strong applause from delegates.
Inside the assembly, 98.2% of Vox members voted to approve the party's 2025 accounts. That near-total unity signals Abascal has a firm grip on his party as he escalates pressure on the PP. Secretary General Ignacio Garriga backed him up, naming "National Priority" as the red line for any continued coalition, according to Diario de Mallorca.
How the July 2024 Breakup Still Haunts the Spanish Right
The current tension has deep roots. On July 11, 2024, Vox ended its coalitions with the PP in five regions — Valencia, Aragón, Castilla y León, Murcia, and Extremadura — in a single move. The trigger was the PP's decision to accept a government plan to relocate 347 unaccompanied migrant minors from the Canary Islands. Vox called it an "aggression" against their core immigration platform. Five regional governments were affected by a fight over fewer than 350 people, as El Correo Web noted.
After over a year governing alone, the PP struck new deals with Vox in late 2025. Vox returned to power in Extremadura, Aragón, and Castilla y León in January 2026 after the PP accepted strict "National Priority" clauses. But three regions — Valencia, Murcia, and the original five — never came back. This is the second time in two years Abascal has used the threat of a walkout as a political weapon, according to La Nueva España.
Three Regions, 5 Million People, and a Budget Clock Ticking
The stakes are real. Extremadura, Aragón, and Castilla y León are home to roughly 5 million people — over 10% of Spain's population. In the last regional elections, the PP-Vox bloc won between 43% and 48% of the vote in these territories. If Vox exits now, the PP would need to find support from the PSOE or regionalist parties just to pass 2027 regional budgets, according to La Provincia.
Business groups in Aragón and Castilla y León have already raised alarms. They warn that budget delays could put European recovery funds and farm subsidies at risk. In Aragón specifically, El Periódico Mediterráneo reported that friction has grown over water policy and green energy funding — projects the PP backs but Vox opposes as part of what it calls the "anti-Agenda 2030" stance.
PP Calls It 'Blackmail'; Sánchez's Allies Celebrate the Chaos
The PP hit back fast. By 12:30 PM, party sources in Madrid called Abascal's threats "irresponsible" and "repetitive." Internal PP voices told El Correo Gallego that Abascal is "trapped by his own rhetoric" — he cannot govern without the PP, but staying in government makes him look like he is selling out his voters. The PP wants to project calm ahead of the next general election.
On the left, allies of Prime Minister Sánchez seized the moment. They called the PP-Vox row a "circular firing squad" that proves the right cannot be trusted to run the country. Political analyst Rodrigo Fuentes Tello argues Abascal is running a "sprint final" before general elections, using regional power as a stage to show Vox cares more about principles than cabinet seats — what Spaniards call *sillones*, or chairs, according to Diario de Córdoba.
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